Diplomat in Khaki

McCoy began his military career with Leonard Wood in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. After the war, he and Wood (who became military governor) worked together to establish democratic reforms in Cuba. There followed for McCoy a succession of difficult and sometimes dangerous assignments: the Philippines (during the Moro uprising), Mexico, France (as commander during World War I), Turkey and Armenia, the Philippines again, Nicaragua (during Sandino's guerrilla campaign), Bolivia and Paraguay, and China (with the Lytton Commission investigating Japan's invasion of Manchuria). Following a series of stateside appointments, McCoy served finally as chairman of the Far Eastern Commission, an international body created to determine the fate of postwar Japan.

Based on exhaustive research in McCoy's personal papers and official records, Bacevich shows that McCoy's career provides a unique perspective both on American foreign policy and on civil-military relations.

This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.