The Fog of War - Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

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Starring: Robert McNamara
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Type: DVD
Directed By: Errol Morris
Studio: Sony Pictures
Release Date: 2004-05-11
The story of america as seen through the eyes of former secretary of defense robert mcnamara. One of the most controversial & influential figures in world politics he takes us on an insiders journey through many of the seminal events of the 20th century. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 05/13/2008 Starring: Robert Mcnamara Run time: 107 minutes Rating: Pg13

Great Insight Into the Cold War
Robert MacNamara was a major advisor and player in the Cold War. He advised Presidents Kennedy and Johnson on the Cold War, the Bay of Pigs and the Vietnam War. He has great insight into what happened and why it happened. He admits mistakes were made and that he had to support things he did not feel comfortable with also. In dealing with Castro, he found a man who would have allowed the use of nuclear weapons even if Cuba had been destroyed. With the North Vietnamese, he found people who thought the Americans were colonizers and mystified by the idea that Americans thought the Vietnamese were pawns of the Chinese. One look at their history would have told them that was not so! MacNamara does not flinch from mistakes but he also doesn't believe that things could have gone any other way. He points out what Americans believed and how they thought at the time. He admits that hindsight helps him understand a lot now but he certainly didn't have it when events were happening. Errol Morris provides a fair and balanced documentary for MacNamara. It is also a work of art and has its own form of suspense. A very good work by a wonderful director.

A disconcerting film
Admittedly I do not know enough about RSM or history to give an insightful review or to convey some clever details I may have discerned in the film. However, I can say that this movie has had a profound affect on me and the way I do see that period of history as well as other periods of history and let me explain why. A dark aura pervades most sections of this film, even when it seems a victory for McNamara's side he still seems to convey a sense of guilt and moral turpitude for his actions and all parties involved, most notably the fire bombings of Japan and the Vietnam War. Even when RSM describes the Cuban missile crisis and the path the U.S. trod to end the crisis peaceably, he still seems hung up on the tenuousness regarding how close millions of lives were brought to an end.
I have watched this film several times now, for I pick up new perspectives every viewing, and I am never comfortable with the outcomes of any situation RSM was a part of, not due to his personal involvement per se, but the fact the thought processes and decisions of a select few individuals can render such harm to so many.
I am not suggesting absolutism here, especially in a political climate such as the U.S. where the leadership structure plus philosophies are always shifting, but one group does not have to be in power for long to generate massive overhauls of advancing action that can tie up nations and cost literally millions of lives and trillions of dollars. It is this realization of how chaotic, of how easily, this world can turn out of control because a few people at the top believe what they are doing is right. We see this fact today with current conflicts, and one simply has to read history books, especially regarding wars, to understand wars and conflicts don't happen by accident. They are usually preceded by a thought process that inevitably leads to the final action, but there are many variables along the way that snowball downhill and once the avalanche builds up it is impossible to stop since it's simply too complex, hence "The Fog of War".
There are specific lessons to be learned from RSM, but the biggest lesson is one that doesn't need to be told.

A Clear Insight into the Fog of War
Director Errol Morris starts his DVD by questioning Robert McNamara, the only person in view. McNamara begins to reminisce over his decades of experience. This is where the eleven lessons begin. Considering the political and military course of action the United States has taken in the past eight years, some of these lessons should be bronzed, and prominently displayed. Here are the ones that stuck most in my memory:

Empathize with your enemy.

Critics mistake empathy for sympathy or appeasement--a word most often misused. It means neither. Understanding your enemy is one of the most important things in defeating your enemy, or not engaging him in the first place. The example given by McNamara was the one person during the Cuban missile crisis who knew Premier Nikita Khruschev. He was the only one who counselled JFK against getting tougher with the Soviets. He knew that the US had to throw a political bone to Khruschev so that he would look tough against the Americans, at least to the hard core communists in the Politburo. It worked and nuclear war was averted.

Rationality will not save us.

There is a mistaken assumptions that if you gather rational people in one place to think rationally, they will always make the best decision or come up with the best course of action. According to McNamara, even rational people can make egregious errors in judgment.

Proportionality should be a guideline in war.

A lack of proportional response will not only get innocents killed, it will also kill our own. Nothing should be overkill. (As the ancient Greeks said, nothing in excess; everything in moderation.)

Belief and Seeing are both often wrong.

The wisdom in this one had perhaps the most profound effect on me. This should be self-explanatory. From what we believe and even see, we can still draw incorrect conclusions e.g. while we were searching for weapons of mass destruction, Washington signalled our forces that there were caves in a mountain where Iraqi missiles might be hidden. They turned out to be places to store water for cattle.

Be prepared to reexamine your reasoning,

especially if believing and seeing are both often wrong. It took sixteen centuries for someone to actually challenge Galen's idea of bloodletting.

In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil.

This is a Machiavellian reference to war. But Mr. McNamara raised the following question: How much evil must we do in order to do good? This made me revisit my belief that the US was justified in dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Was this too much evil? Would we really have had to invade Japan if we didn't drop the bomb? Be prepared to reexamine your reasoning if you have no doubt that this would have been necessary.

You can't change human nature.

Reason has limits according to the former Secretary of Defense. Back in the days, one of my hippie friends reasoned that no one would die if everyone just got rid of their guns. This was an oversimplification of human nature, but still recognizable in many ways today. We cannot force people to like things our way, or what value what we hold dear. It is not their nature.

Near the end, Mr. McNamara quotes T.S. Eliot: "We shall not cease from exploring and at the end of our exploration we will return to where we started and know the place for the first time." This sums up the "Fog of War."

This was a worthwhile viewing (rather than buying) for the above lessons I hope I will remember for the rest of my life. The only disappointment was Secretary McNamara's vagueness or refusal to discuss some of the more controversial decisions and issues of his life. He was very thoughtful of John F. Kennedy, and still wept in relating the event. He was also thoughtful of his wife who died several years ago. I got the impression that he is a lonely man who has made peace with himself and his demons.

This will give you some clear insights.




Forty-five days and a wake-up until the fog leaves Foggy Bottom.

One of the best films ever made...
haunting...

McNamara murders hundreds of thousands during his career, and then finds a way to forgive himself anyway.

A must see, that is well shot and scored, unique, and worth watching multiple times.

Historical Spin
McNamara is clearly spinning history and running from his ghosts. I once read that he was known for simply making up any 'facts' he needed.

His comment in the film that "None of our allies supported us (in Vietnam)" would come as a surprise to South Korea,Thailand,Australia,New Zealand and the Philippines - all of whom had troops in Vietnam.

He claims to have opposed the consensus of military leaders to bomb Cuba during the missile crisis, but then goes along with them for their recommendations of the conduct of the Vietnam war - saying later that he should have spoken up. This is a man who wants to have it both ways - and always be on the right side in the judgment of history - or so he thinks.

His reflections on the bombing of Japan are also somewhat curious. He neglects to mention that the Japanese civilians were warned by the US Air Force to evacuate 26 cities - but their leadership cynically dispersed the wartime industries into the residential areas and kept the civilians there. The Japanese government was to blame for what happened to their civilians - just as they were to blame for war crimes committed by Japanese troops. Taking events out of historical context - as McNamara frequently does - is the mark of someone who is trying to explain away actions at the time in order to conform to current political correctness.

The documentary is technically excellent - but having other voices to contradict McNamara on his many self-serving statements would have added more context and additional depth to the work. But that is solely (and correctly) the editorial judgment of the filmmaker.

All in all - an interesting soliloquy from McNamara, who was a participant in many of the events that have shaped our times.