William Colbys Leadership: The Legacy Behind Todays War Tactics

Adrian Gonzalez
Junior Division
Website
Process Paper Word Count: 500

While debating what my topic should be for National History Day:

Leadership and Legacy theme, I asked myself, What part of history interests me the

most? my answer was Vietnam. Although Vietnam was too broad of a topic, I knew I
needed to narrow it down to an individual who over time made an impact on society
in order to determine a legacy. I chose to do my National History Day project on
William Egan Colby. I believe his primary role in the Phoenix Program , although
controversial, proved over time that many of the covert tactics used such as targeted
assassinations, civilian tortures, and spy infiltrations and methodologies would be
beneficial in our counterintelligence fight in Afghanistan and Iraq today. The legacy
of William Colby and the tactics used have been effective in our countrys War on
Terror.
I started my research at the Springdales Public Library. I searched for books
and found information with the help of the librarian. Fayettevilles Public Library
was also a great sources of information. I found articles pertaining to my topic and
pictures that were extremely valuable to my website entry. I later consulted with
the librarian at Mullin Library at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville who
provided me with several articles that were quite beneficial to my project and put
me in touch with The Virtual Vietnam Center and Archives at Texas Tech,
which houses William Colbys personal files. It provided incredible primary sources
and a vast amount of images to choose from. I also visited the National Archives
website along with the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress
which helped me better understand the time era and collect valuable information.
I chose to present my NHD project as a website. The website category
seemed appealing and allowed me to portray valuable information with the use of a
variety of multimedia. Although images of William Colby are few and far between

hence, his secret agent status and after much effort, I managed to obtain
information that would help develop the website. Using Weebly, I then chose a
template that fit my needs, added tabs to direct the reader and incorporated my
research in a clear, clean and creative design that would make reading enjoyable.
My topic adheres to the National History Day theme Leadership and Legacy
because William Egan Colbys leadership was instrumental in how the war was run
and changed over time. The program Colby pioneered in Vietnam was known as the
Phoenix Program which armed Vietnamese soldiers to help root out suspected
Communist insurgents much like American intelligence agents do today by training
Afghan soldiers to fight Al Qaeda militants. Therefore, Colbys legacy was the turning
point that help change the face of war tactics and pave the way for the United States
counterinsurgency warfare. The legacy of William Colby and the tactics used during
Vietnam, the changes in American policy and the pacification programs put in place
would become key in our countries War on Terror.