Robert Komer | |
|---|---|
 Komer meeting withLyndon Johnson | |
| Under Secretary of Defense for Policy | |
| In office October 24, 1979 – January 20, 1981 | |
| President | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | Stanley Rogers Resor |
| Succeeded by | Fred Iklé |
| United States Ambassador toTurkey | |
| In office December 3, 1968 – May 7, 1969 | |
| President | Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | Parker T. Hart |
| Succeeded by | William J. Handley |
| 3rd Deputy National Security Advisor | |
| In office 1965 | |
| President | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Preceded by | Carl Kaysen |
| Succeeded by | Francis M. Bator |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert William Komer (1922-02-23)February 23, 1922 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | April 9, 2000(2000-04-09) (aged 78) Arlington, Virginia, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (BA,MBA) |
| Nickname | "Blowtorch Bob" |
| Military service | |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Robert William "Blowtorch Bob" Komer (February 23, 1922 – April 9, 2000) was an American national security adviser known for managingCivil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support during theVietnam War.
Born inChicago, Illinois and raised inSt. Louis, Missouri. Komer graduated fromHarvard College andHarvard Business School, later training atCamp Ritchie and its Military Intelligence Training Center, making Komer one of theRitchie Boys. Like many Ritchie Boys, he later joined theCentral Intelligence Agency in its infancy in 1947.[1]
Komer worked for the Central Intelligence Agency from 1947 to 1961. For part of that time, he was chief of the Estimates Staff in the Office of National Estimates.[2] In 1961 he went to work in the White House, on the staff of theNational Security Council, which was led byMcGeorge Bundy. After Bundy's departure, Komer briefly succeeded Bundy as interimNational Security Advisor, before he was assigned to the Vietnam pacification campaign.
While with the NSC, Komer and others negotiated with Israeli prime ministerLevi Eshkol a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aboutIsraeli nuclear capabilities. The March 10, 1965, MOU, variously interpreted since, said 'Israel would not be the first country to "introduce" nuclear weapons to the Middle East'.[3]
Komer arrived inSouth Vietnam in May 1967 as the first head of the newly createdCivil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support program, the most controversial aspect of which was thePhoenix program, whichWilliam Colby later testified resulted in 20,587 deaths.[4] CORDS was an agency with a staff of both civilians and military personnel, but it fell under the authority of theMilitary Assistance Command, Vietnam. President Lyndon Johnson had sent Komer to South Vietnam to provide impetus to the nation-building efforts of the new organization. Komer was known for his brusque management style, which had endeared him to the president and earned him the nickname "Blowtorch Bob" from U.S. ambassadorHenry Cabot Lodge Jr.[5] As head of CORDS, he commanded all pacification personnel in South Vietnam.[6]
However, the problems CORDS faced were intractable and the results of Komer's work ambiguous. In a revealing discussion with military historians,[7] Komer said "everybody and nobody" was responsible for counter-insurgency against thecommunistVietcong guerrillas. He said it "fell between stools which accounted for the prolonged failure to push things on a large scale even though many correctly analyzed the need". Komer focused his work on the expansion of village militias loyal to the South Vietnamese government, believing they could provide local security against guerrillas.[8]
Komer left South Vietnam in November 1968 and after working briefly as a consultant for theRAND Corporation was appointedambassador to Turkey. He was succeeded as head of CORDS byWilliam E. Colby, who would later become head of the CIA.[1]
Ambassador Komer, known for his success in garnering support in a hostile environment like Vietnam, tried to calm down the relations to the Turkish population,which was furious due the presence of sailors of theUnited States Navy6th Fleet in Istanbul, who had an exclusive access to certain theaters. He ordered that the US military presence should be adapted to only the necessary, navy fleet visits were to be halted and NATO facilities would be operated by Turkey.[9] But he was not as successful in Turkey as he was in Vietnam, and he left a special mark in Turkish history: on January 6, 1969, at the beginning of his tenure as the US ambassador to Turkey, his car was set on fire inMiddle East Technical University[10] by a group of students who then formed the core of theMarxist-Leninist movement in Turkey under the banner ofDev-Genç. Komer was visiting the campus at the invitation of university presidentKemal Kurdas, who relied on American donors to finance the building of the modern campus.
Komer joined the RAND Corporation in June 1970 as program manager for defense studies, which included RAND's ongoing work in South Vietnam.[11]: 383 In July 1970 Komer returned to South Vietnam for a two week visit in which he toured 20 of the 44 provinces to assess the progress of pacification. On his return to the US he optimistically reported to various interested parties that the US and South Vietnam had beaten the Vietcong insurgency and controlled most of the population, but that the South Vietnamese government still needed to secure the support of the population to prevent the North Vietnamese from conducting a protracted struggle while waiting for the US to withdraw.[11]: 385–7
Komer also later worked in theJimmy Carter administration as theUnder Secretary of Defense for Policy.[1]
In the 1980s, Komer became a vocal critic of "The Maritime Strategy", which was devised bySecretary of the NavyJohn Lehman. Komer argued against spending the resources for600 ships, part of a controversial plan to deter and contain the Soviet Union.
Robert Komer's first marriage to Jane Komer ended in divorce. He later married Geraldine, who died in 1996.[1]
On December 23, 1967, he was presented with thePresidential Medal of Freedom by PresidentLyndon Johnson.
Komer died on April 9, 2000.[1]
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help) Declassified in 2005.| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Deputy National Security Advisor 1965 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Under Secretary of Defense for Policy 1979–1981 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Turkey 1968–1969 | Succeeded by |
| Chargé d'Affaires | |
|---|---|
| Minister Resident | |
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | |
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | |
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
