Page 186 of Cry Havoc

“There’s more to it. God knows, we’ve made mistakes in Vietnam, an unacceptable number. At the strategic level, we lost all credibility with Tet. That was the beginning of the end. The American people don’t trust us. They haven’t since Kennedy was killed. With Tet, we were all reminded that empires fall.”

“If you are trying to cheer me up or talk me into something, you are doing a piss-poor job.”

“Someday this war is going to be remembered for the politicians in suits and in uniforms, for think tanks in the Beltway, for the lobbyists andbusinessmen who didn’t lose a single son in Vietnam. It will be remembered for the industry of war.”

“You should teach at Berkeley.”

“Eisenhower called it the ‘military-industrial complex,’ and I fear they have done irreparable harm not just to the United States, but to Southeast Asia as well.”

“With an optimistic outlook like that, why do you do it?”

“I can’t sing or dance.”

Tom couldn’t help but smile.

“What about Brémaud?” he asked.

“He’s too well connected, and we don’t yet know if he’s burned. He could be useful.”

“So, he lives?”

“That’s the intel world, Tom. You are going to have to get used to it.”

Tom shook his head.

“Not me. I’m going back to SOG.”

“You’re a SEAL. SOG was a temporary assignment. What are you going to do—deploy back to the Mekong Delta or Rung Sat Special Zone and keep killing people? You’ve done that. This war is lost. If you look back, we probably lost it before it began, but if there was any question—look at Tet. They lost, yet they won.”

“I think Ho Chi Minh had something to say about that.”

“He was right.”

“So, what are you doing here if you don’t believe in it? And don’t give me the ‘sing and dance’ routine.”

“The truth?” Serrano asked.

“That would be nice.”

“The truth is that it’s a higher calling.”

“You are telling me the CIA is like some sort of monastic order?”

“It’s not dissimilar. In fact, I’m starting up something new, a program for which I think you’d be perfect. We call it Phoenix.”

“Phoenix?”

“It’s designed to identify and eliminate the NVA and VC infrastructure in the South.”

“Eliminate?”

“You want to make a difference in this war, this is how you do it. But before you decide, I have another mission for you, one that utilizes your language skills, and one that I think will offer you some measure of justice.”

“Where?”

“Berlin.”

“I don’t have training for that. I haven’t even been to the Farm.”