The Fog of War Movie and the Article Supremacy by Stealth by Robert Kaplan - Essay Example

The Fog of War Movie Review and Supremacy by Stealth Review Good governance is one way of determining the well-being of the society. Good governance is achievable when some principles are mastered. Governance has a lot to do with decision-making, the implementation process and the rendering of an account. In order to understand governance we consider such issues as agreement procedures, policies that identify the person that gets power. The documentary fog of war and the article supremacy by stealth are two educative pieces that provide us with principles that are essential in achieving good governance. The fog of war presents the principles summarised from the experience of the former secretary of defence, and supremacy by stealth combines information from military personnel, to provide us with the principles vital in directing us towards the achievement of good governance. Clarity of purpose is a principle that is essential in good governance. This involves describing to stakeholders, members of an organisation or society the existence of a certain policy or decision. It also involves explaining what the policy or decision does and what to expect of the policy or decision. McNamara illustrates in a number of ways the importance of clarity of purpose in war. McNamara believes that facts like understanding their enemy during the Cuban missile crisis helped them prevent a nuclear war three times. This fact helped them make reliable decisions pertaining to ways of handling the crisis. It is true that the United States decision to join the Vietnam War was not clarified because Americans knew they were fighting a cold war while the Vietnamese knew they were fighting a tribal war (errolmorris.com, “The fog of war”). Such misunderstanding contributed to wrong decision-making in the Vietnam War. Kaplan, on the other hand, considers the United States decision to support interagency cooperation. The sole reason as Kaplan explains is to improve the United States foreign policy (Kaplan, “Supremacy by stealth”). Such clarification does encourage the transitions of such decisions, and allowing for the successful implementation of these decisions. Participation is also vital in good governance. Participation affects the decision making process either constructively or destructively. In the documentary fog of war, McNamara briefs as on the Cuban missile crisis where the United States had to make a decision pertaining their intended invasion of Cuba. President Kennedy through participatory decision-making was able to get an understanding of his enemies’ intention, and this enabled the American government make a wise decision concerning the situation (errolmorris.com, “The fog of war”). On the other hand, we see the downfall of the United States when it comes to the Vietnam War. In the Vietnam War, McNamara presents the idea of a divided team, which destroys the focus of participatory decision-making. The result was the misinterpretation of facts in the Vietnam War; therefore, wrong decisions were made, and the United States lost the war. Kaplan does present the idea of participation in governance when he tackles the issue of people in the United States government reaching out to the hyphenated Americans. This plan does guarantee that the United States would have diplomatic and military groups who are well educated and sophisticated. This illustrates how participatory governance can benefit the society. Good governance relies on direction such as mission statements that provide the way forward in the achievement of goals set. For instance, the United States military personnel carry out their orders depending on the directions issued by their superiors. Kaplan looks into such issues such as decisions on foreign policy. According to Kaplan, the effective implementation of issues such as foreign policies largely depends on crucial matters such as personnel appointments (Kaplan, “Supremacy by stealth”). On the other hand, McNamara considers the United States victory in the cold war involving Japan relied so much in their guiding principle of winning the nuclear war. The United States global war on terrorism does indicate in many ways that missions depends on the direction. For instance, the army sent to Iraq, their mission was to fight terrorism and restore stability in Iraq. Kaplan provides another example of the Special Forces deployed to Colombia who received instructions to train the forces in Colombia, in case of a battle; the forces are restricted not to engage in the battle. Such an example illustrates the importance of a mission, which serves as a direction for soldiers. Consensus orientation is another vital principle in good governance. In the Cuban missile crisis, United States and Soviet Union had to reach a consensus in order to prevent the nuclear war that was a threat to Cuba and the United States as a whole. The United States had to forego their intentions of invading Cuba to prevent unnecessary loss of lives, which was to happen if the Soviet Union were to carry out their threats (errolmorris.com, “The fog of war”). On the other hand, we see Kaplan’s view of the risk faced by the United States special force in Colombia. According to Kaplan, the Special Forces in Colombia only train their counterparts engaging in fights even in self-defence is restricted for these soldiers. Representing the interest of the special force to engage in fights with the sole purpose of self-protection will require negotiations between the United States and the Colombian government (Kaplan, “Supremacy by stealth”). These negotiations advocate the importance of consensus orientation in handling diplomatic issues. Responsiveness does reflect good governance in a number of ways. Responsiveness assumes the facts that the organizations and processes strives to serve all stakeholders. McNamara as the secretary of defence had a duty towards his president and to his country. Owing to this fact, the decisions he makes as the secretary of defence were not to fulfil his interest, but to serve his country. This means that when America was at war their sole purpose was to protect its citizens from the insecurity overtaking the world. McNamara supports his understanding by presenting us with the idea that rationality was not going to save the world when war represents an impulsive action. Trying to rationalise such facts as the existence of nuclear weapons could give space to an eruption of war that would destroy the world (errolmorris.com, “the fog of war”). Kaplan supports this view indirectly by indicating the United States army principle of being on the move (Kaplan, “Supremacy by Stealth”). The idea of having military relationships with various countries is a response to the insecurity issues, a response to the rise in acts of terrorism against the United States. This relationship provides better intelligence and easy ways of finding solutions in times of crisis. Such relationships ensure that all stakeholders benefit from the relationship. Efficiency is an indicator of excellent governance. Any efficient process is a result of strategies systematically laid out. McNamara provides as with the thought of maximising efficiency as one of the ways of illustrating good governance. Although the Tokyo incidence presented the loss of innocent lives, McNamara explains that, their skill in the bombing operations was an efficient strategy in weakening their enemies (errolmorris.com, “The fog of war”). On the other hand, Kaplan’s illustrates the efficiency by referring to the idea of utilising the old rules where quiet professionals would be used to stabilize or destabilize a regime. Quiet professionals present the idea of efficiency in the military operations. This is because they can blend with whatever environment they are deployed to and they aim at delivering the desired results. Quiet professionals as Kaplan observe are skilful when handling their undercover operations due to their understanding of such factors like culture, economy, and criminal operations (Kaplan, “Supremacy by stealth”). Transparency in governance plays a critical role in ensuring that stakeholders gain confidence in the decision-making process or management process. Kaplan looks at the issues of transparency in his idea of fighting on every front. Kaplan suggests that, coming up with an information strategy will enable the united states deal with issues affecting the globe before they become top headlines in the media front pages. This strategy provides transparency over the issues and helps in preventing criticism from people due to the attacks aired by the global media. Kaplan explains that the United States faces judgement from the public over their dealings in Iraq and Palestine due to the global media airing negative views the matter. Kaplan’s advice directs the United States in being transparent over their foreign policies to allow the public to judge them based on facts rather than views presented by the media (Kaplan, “Supremacy by stealth”). Transparency is also crucial in that it allows leaders to re-examine their reasoning on critical matters McNamara refers to United States decision in the Vietnam War. Apparently, their allies disagreed with most of their policies on the Vietnam War. Their application of their power unilaterally resulted in their failure in the Vietnam War (errolmorris.com, “The fog of war”.)Transparency over such policies allows the presentation of different opinions on the matter and as result organisation get to make acceptable decisions. This helps to prevent failures or criticisms on critical issues. Selflessness and good governance are inseparable. Leaders need to be aware that policies they present in the decision making process are valuable when they represent a compassionate gesture. McNamara emphasis on altruism in governance is addressed in the documentary. McNamara states that with all his achievements his acceptance to be secretary of defence was to be able to serve his country (errolmrris.com, “The fog of war”). He presents an individual who believed in the United States ability to win the cold war and restore peace in the world. His was self-sacrifice. His thoughts on this matter are addresses in his observation that there is something beyond oneself. Kaplan will agree with McNamara on this principle in that for military personnel their involvement in war is self-sacrifice. In order to achieve good governance, fairness is a principle that directs the decision making process in organisations. Many countries that are allies of the United States believe in democracy. Kaplan points out the involvement of both the state and defence department in diplomatic issues is a gesture of exercising fairness in international issues. The U.S military tries to promote fairness in their operations by participating in both humanitarian and diplomatic work (Kaplan, “Supremacy by stealth”). The United States military and the military in countries who are allies of America tend to promote democracy. Democracy reflects fairness in the society. McNamara indicates the importance of fairness by presenting the idea of proportionality in war (errolmorris.com, “The fog of war”). McNamara points out the American fault in the cold war against Japan. He confirms in his statements that the United States army was not fair when it killed 100,000 Japanese using firebombs, and later on dropped nuclear bombs to end the war. McNamara equates the actions of the United States military in this war to be like that of war criminals. Accountability ensures that leaders, stakeholders, staff members take responsibility for their decisions. In Kaplan’s article, we look at the rule, be light and lethal. Kaplan defends the United States military actions in Latin. According to Kaplan, the United States military during the cold war operated in a rough and dirty way in response to the security threats that Cuba, china and the Soviet Union represented during this period (Kaplan, “Supremacy by Stealth”). Military operations focus on maintenance of moral concerns by trying to minimise the death of civilians and focus on eliminating the enemy. However, McNamara presents the idea that sometimes, in order to do a good one may have to engage in evil. From a military perspective sometimes in order to save, the society soldiers may end up killing civilians. Although military personnel do hold themselves responsible for such decisions, it is evident that such operations are at times unavoidable. McNamara considers the fact that human nature cannot be changed this explains their decision in opting to engage in war as a way of solving issues. McNamara that human nature will always be a barrier to ending the war. It is evident that different people approach the concept of governance in different ways. However, the idea of attaining good governance aims at assuring the well-being of stakeholders, members of the organisation or the society. The principles presented apply in different aspects of governance and mastering the principles warrants that an organisation achieves good governance and enjoys the results of good governance. Works Cited Kaplan, Robert D. “Supremacy by Stealth.” The Atlantic Monthly, July 2003. http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/2003/07/kaplan.htm. 28 November 2012. Morris, Errol. “The Fog of War: Transcript.” Errolmorris.com. 19 December 2003. http://www.errolmorris.com/film/fow_transcript.html. 28 November 2012. Read More