RAND Corporation: Robert Komer activities

RAND Corporation is a «think tank» in the USA. It is a corporation in which experts of different fields of science write analytical works devoted to that or other problem. RAND has strong authority in the USA. Many works on Vietnam were done by the state order of the USA (from the Ministry of Defense), including Robert Komer’s works (conducted by the request of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency at the U.S. Department of Defense). It is the research of this expert that is discussed in this paper. The paper looks at the biography of Robert Komer in the context from the conflict in Vietnam to cooperation with the RAND Corporation. In Vietnam, on the personal instructions of the US President Lyndon Johnson, Komer was the head of the program of «appeasement» or officially: the program of «Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support» (CORDS). Having completed his activities in Vietnam, Komer shared his experience and knowledge in reports for the RAND Corporation. His works are addressed to the problems of the counterpartisan war. The paper describes the work of Robert Komer in the framework of the RAND Corporation. In conclusion, the relevance is emphasized. Due to the events such as the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, Komer’s activities in the implementation of the CORDS program in Vietnam have gained increased interest from many modern experts.