In 2002, Governor General Michael Jeffrey stated that 'we Australians
had everything under control in Phuoc Tuy Province'. This referred not
only to military control, but to the policy of 'pacification' employed
by the Republic of Vietnam and external 'Free World' allies such as the
US and Australia. In the hopes of stemming the tide of Communism,
pacification aimed to win the allegiance of the populace through
political, economic and social reform. In this new work, Thomas
Richardson explores the 1st Australian Task Force's (1ATF)
implementation of this policy in Phuoc Tuy between 1966 and 1972. Using
material from US and Australian archives, as well as newly translated
Vietnamese histories, Destroy and Build: Pacification in Phuoc Tuy,
1966-1972 challenges the accepted historiography of the Western forces'
fight against insurgency in Vietnam.