During any war, policymakers, political leaders and military commanders make decisions to intervene, escalate, innovate and, in some cases, end the war without total victory. This course critically examines the problems of decision-making in wartime by comparing and contrasting the factors that influenced decisions made during both the war in Vietnam and the war in Iraq. Explores factors such as bureaucratic obstacles, group-think, imperfect intelligence, the role of history and much more. By the end of the course, the student will understand the critical factors that affect policymaking during time of war and be able to use the Vietnam and Iraq examples to better analyze, assess, and draw conclusions about current events.