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Special Forces Soldiers Used in Book, The Ugly American by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick

Decent Essays

Special Forces soldiers work in foreign lands with situations which are not always completely clear from its beginning. The Special Operation Imperatives serve as the base for success by providing the framework to develop and assist the host nation in achieving their desired goals. Through this essay I will use the novel “The Ugly American” (William J. Lederer & Eugene Burdick) to provide context to the benefits of applying such imperatives and the consequences of improper application. I will bring to light the actions of the characters and depict the reasons why the application of the imperative made the character succeed or fail in his desired goal.
The first character that I will discuss is Honorable Louis Sears, American Ambassador to …show more content…

He informed the prince that he personally did not care about the resemblance to him in the picture, but proclaiming that it hurt relations between the two countries. The prince, aware of Sears’ shallowness, directed a positive article to be published in order to relieve tensions.
A third failure in understanding the operational environment occurred when Sears coordinated the delivery of rice from Haidho to the stricken area in Sarkhan. His lack of understanding of the Sarkhanese and communist tactics was reciprocated by his subordinates. The latter became evident when the rice bags were labeled as if coming from the communists and no USIS employee realized what it meant. In addition, there was no effort from US employees to talk or interact with locals at the destination. The confusion led the Sarkhanese to believe that the rice bags in fact were provided by the communists.
A good description of Sears’ failure in understanding the operational environment was provided by Ambassador Louis Krupitzyn on his report to Moscow. Krupitzyn wrote how Sears kept his subordinates away from the Sarkhanese and didn’t allow them to “go into the hills.” This disconnect between the American employees and the Sarkhanese provided Moscow with the ability to freely connect with the population and turn the table

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