One of the first studies to examine exclusively the legal activities of judge advocates in Vietnam, focusing primarily on the U.S. Military Assistance Command (MACV).

Based on a variety of classified military records, Lewy provides the first systematic analysis of the course of the Vietnam War, the reasons for the failure of American strategy and tactics, and the causes of the final collapse of South Vietnam.

Examines the nature of counterinsurgency and nation-building missions, the institutional obstacles inherent in dealing effectively with such operations, and the strengths and weaknesses of U.S. doctrine, including the problems that can occur when that doctrine morphs into dogma.

This volume contains, for each aspect of international humanitarian law, a summary of the relevant treaty law and relevant state practice including legislation, military manuals, case-law and official statements, as well as practice of international organisations, conferences and judicial and quasi-judicial bodies. It offers a comprehensive overview of what current or past practice has been in the chosen representative countries around the world. This original and Authoritative work is published by Cambridge in association with the ICRC and will be an essential reference work for anyone involved with international humanitarian law.

A comprehensive study of the work and individual experiences of judge advocates in the Vietnam war, not only in headquarters units but also in combat organizations such as II Field Force, the 1st Cavalry Division, and the 25th Infantry Division.

In November 2005, Sunni insurgents attacked a U.S. Marine squad en route to Haditha with an improvised explosive device (IED). One Marine died and two others were wounded. Within minutes, squad members killed 24 Iraqi civilians, including an elderly couple, four women and six children. It was the worst incident of its kind in the Iraq War. Thirteen months later, four officers and four enlisted men were accused of crimes ranging from dereliction of duty to murder. The legal proceedings dragged on for five years, longer than any in U.S. military history. The only conviction was that of an NCO who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. Unlike other legal actions conducted during the 60-year history of the present military justice system, these proceedings were held mostly in secret. This book investigates the tactics adopted by Marine Corps commanders and the ineptness of the proceedings, which raise serious questions about the need for reform of the Code of Military Justice.

This book brings into focus the legal status of armed forced on foreign territory within, inter alia, the context of multi-national exercises and a variety of so-called crisis management operations. When it comes to criminal offences committed by military personnel while abroad it is important to know whether such offences fall under the criminal jurisdiction of the Sending State or that of the Host State. The book analyses this question from two different perspectives, namely traditional public international law and military operational law. Taking his readership through two hundred years of international practice the author arrives at the current practice of laying down the status of forces deployed abroad in so-called Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs). Having looked at SOFAs from the two different law perspectives the author proposes the development of a “Status of Forces Compendium” to serve as a kind of guideline for future SOFAs. The author’s intention in proposing this idea is to instigate further discussion on the subject in public international law and criminal law circles and among armed forces’ legal advisors. Joop Voetelink is an Associate Professor of Military Law at the Netherlands Defence Academy.