We are pleased to announce The Institute of World Politics’ (IWP) upcoming event with Dr. James Robbins, IWP Dean, on the topic of “The Myths and Realities of the 1968 Tet Offensive.” This event will be part of the Asia Initiative Lecture Series, sponsored by IWP’s China/Asia Program.
On April 13th, Dr. Robbins will present his lecture in Reston (5-6 PM), where Dr. Long Nguyen, an IWP trustee and the founder, chairman, and CEO of Pragmatics, along with his wife Kimmy Duong, Vice Chairman and CFO of Pragmatics, have kindly donated office space and classrooms in their corporate building. As a distinguished scholar-practitioner, Dr. Long has been an active supporter of the U.S. intelligence community while serving as a leading figure for the D.C. Vietnamese community. IWP’s China/Asia Program is delighted to share this event amongst the members of the D.C. Vietnamese community, specifically the Movement for the Renaissance of Vietnam.
During his lecture, Dr. Robbins will provide an antidote to the flawed Tet mythology still shaping the perceptions of American military conflicts against unconventional enemies and haunting our troops in combat. In his re-examination of the Tet Offensive, Robbins analyzes the Tet battles and their impact via the themes of terrorism, war crimes, intelligence failures, troop surges, leadership breakdowns, and media bias. The result is an explosion of conventional wisdom about this infamous incident, one that offers real lessons for today’s unconventional wars. Without a clear understanding of these lessons, we will find ourselves refighting the Tet Offensive again and again.
IWP’s China/Asia Program is a new academic initiative that encompasses academic courses, lectures, and research concerning China and Asia, as well as partnerships with academic institutions in the allied countries in the regions of Northeast and Southeast Asia. This program includes two IWP lecture series: the Asia Initiative Lecture Series (AILS) and the China Series. This event is part of the AILS, founded in 2019 by Dr. Amanda Won, graduate of IWP’s Doctor of Statecraft and National Security program, who currently serves as the Director of the China/Asia Program at IWP.
Dr. Amanda Won
Director of the China/Asia Program