--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A key to McMaster's thinking is his 1997…" description: "\"A key to McMaster's thinking is his 1997 book, 'Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies that Led t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/peter-bergen-1880_book_a-key-to-mcmaster-s-thinking-is-his-1997_1904239.jpg" --- # A key to McMaster's thinking is his 1997 book… ![“A key to McMaster's thinking is his 1997 book, 'Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies that Led to Vietnam.'” quote by Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/peter-bergen-1880_book_a-key-to-mcmaster-s-thinking-is-his-1997_1904239.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/peter-bergen-1880_book_a-key-to-mcmaster-s-thinking-is-his-1997_1904239.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ef/peter-bergen-1880_book_a-key-to-mcmaster-s-thinking-is-his-1997_1904239.jpg) > “A key to McMaster's thinking is his 1997 book, 'Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies that Led to Vietnam.'” [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights that understanding McMaster's perspective requires reading his detailed analysis of Vietnam-era decision making. **In simple terms:** McMaster's view stems from a specific historical study. Key Takeaway Read the book for context. Themes history politics military analysis Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical informative When to use this quote - academic research - policy debates - military education - public discourse Key Concepts decision making leadership accountability Questions to Reflect On - How does this book shape your view of Vietnam? - What other sources could balance this perspective? A Different Perspective The book may present a biased interpretation of events. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Vietnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vietnam/) ## Related quotes > [Brainy folks were also present in Lyndon Johnson's administration, especially in the Pentagon, where Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's brilliant 'whiz kids' tried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/brainy-folks-were-also-present-in-lyndon-johnson-s-administration/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Any military commander who is honest will admit he makes mistakes in the application of military power. -Robert McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/call-of-duty/any-military-commander-who-is-honest-will-admit-he-makes-mistakes-in/) Call Of Duty > [I covered the Vietnam War. I remember the lies that were told, the lives that were lost - and the shock when, twenty years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/i-covered-the-vietnam-war-i-remember-the-lies-that-were-told-the/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [If we can't persuade nations with comparable values of the merits of our cause, we'd better reexamine our reasoning. -Robert McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/call-of-duty/if-we-can-t-persuade-nations-with-comparable-values-of-the-merits-of/) Call Of Duty > [President-elect John F.Kennedy said to Robert McNamara that there's no school for presidents, or, for that matter, for secretaries of defense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-strock/president-elect-john-f-kennedy-said-to-robert-mcnamara-that-there-s/) [James M Strock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-strock/) > [Lyndon Johnson who was the president who was executing that war, announced in the spring of 1968 that he would not seek the presidency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/lyndon-johnson-who-was-the-president-who-was-executing-that-war/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [“Of the things I had not known when I started out, I think the most important was the degree to which the legacy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-halberstam/of-the-things-i-had-not-known-when-i-started-out-i-think-the-most/) [David Halberstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-halberstam/) > [ Those days \[of the Vietnam War\] you couldn't get on a bus going to the South without expecting a riot over something or the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/those-days-of-the-vietnam-war-you-couldn-t-get-on-a-bus-going-to-the/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Lyndon Johnson is not a comfortable model for President Obama to imitate. He is an all-but-forgotten president - pilloried for the failed war in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/lyndon-johnson-is-not-a-comfortable-model-for-president-obama-to/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [Lyndon Johnson may have escalated the war, but when I was drafted and shipped off to Vietnam, the signature on my orders was Nixon's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-gunton/lyndon-johnson-may-have-escalated-the-war-but-when-i-was-drafted-and/) [Bob Gunton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-gunton/) > [Much of the conventional wisdom associated with Vietnam was highly inaccurate. Far from an inevitable result of the imperative to contain communism, the war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-r-mcmaster/much-of-the-conventional-wisdom-associated-with-vietnam-was-highly/) [H. R. McMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-r-mcmaster/) > [Like Lyndon Johnson, President Obama understands that timidity in a time of troubles is a prescription for failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/like-lyndon-johnson-president-obama-understands-that-timidity-in-a/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [Everyone believed the Senate could not really be led. It used to take so long to rise up through seniority. In two years Lyndon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/everyone-believed-the-senate-could-not-really-be-led-it-used-to-take/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [Lyndon Johnson faced some clear moral issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/lyndon-johnson-faced-some-clear-moral-issues/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [ \[Lyndon \] Johnson was responding to a black freedom movement that was tearing the country open and he did what he had to do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/lyndon-johnson-was-responding-to-a-black-freedom-movement-that-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## More by Peter Bergen > [So Pakistan is a country that I'm very fond of and have spent a lot of time, but it is a country where conspiracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/so-pakistan-is-a-country-that-i-m-very-fond-of-and-have-spent-a-lot/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) > [The Trump administration launched the cruise missile strikes in Syria, an act of war, without a U.N. resolution or Congressional authorization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/the-trump-administration-launched-the-cruise-missile-strikes-in-syria/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) > [The deep problems that afflict the Middle East are not easy to fix, but they must be dealt with if we are not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/the-deep-problems-that-afflict-the-middle-east-are-not-easy-to-fix/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) > [The dirty little secret of the intelligence world is that much of what you really need to know isn't exactly a secret anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/the-dirty-little-secret-of-the-intelligence-world-is-that-much-of/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) > [Abedi appears to be one of the many thousands of Western Muslims who have embraced militant Islam, often as a way of trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/abedi-appears-to-be-one-of-the-many-thousands-of-western-muslims-who/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) > [Trump has claimed he knows more about ISIS than America's leading generals. 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