AllMovie

In this documentary, part of the 20th Century With Mike Wallace series from CBS News and the History Channel, series host and CBS News correspondent Mike Wallace documents the history of mistakes, errors, and overall failings of the United States military. This episode questions the early mistakes of the armed forces, such as the lack of more early warning for the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941. Mistakes that come under fire later in the century include the botched Iranian hostage rescue mission, and the Lebanon disaster where Marines were killed when their barracks were bombed. 20th Century With Mike Wallace uses CBS News footage to relive some of these awful events and provides commentary from reporters and military scholars who talk about what went wrong in each instance. Author Donald Kagen and Colonel David Hackworth examine the U.S. military's grave errors throughout the Korean and Vietnam Wars.