The Fog of War - Eleven Lessons to Be Learned from Documentary - Movie Review Example

The Fog of War Documentary The Film “The Fog of War” by Errol Morris documents eleven difficult lessons that Robert Strange McNamara, the former Secretary of Defense in the United States, learned about conduct and nature of war in the modern world. McNamara was born on 9 June 1916 in San Francisco and passed away on 6 July 2009 at the age of ninety-three years. He did his degree in Economics at Berkley in the University of California. He was interested in economics because during this time the economy of the country had deteriorated. Later on in 1939, he attained his Master’s degree from the University of Harvard. He was then employed as an instructor in the same university before his promotion to the position of Assistant Professor in the department of Business Administration. He joined the Air Forcer in the United States and served as the captain in 1943 (Harris and Tichenor 473). He served in several countries, including Pacific, China, India and the United Kingdom. He served as the eighth Secretary of Defense between 1961 and 1968 during which John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson were presidents in the United States. McNamara played a major role in intensifying the involvement of the United States in Vietnam War. McNamara also served as the president of World Bank between 1968 and 1981.The Public policy system analysis which later developed into the recent discipline referred to as policy analysis was instituted by McNamara. After the Second World War, he contributed into reestablishment of the Ford Motor Company while serving as its president before becoming Defense Secretary. He became the company’s director in 1957 and its president in 1960.He was then requested by President John F. Kennedy to abandon his position in the company and serve as the Defense Secretary of the United States. He also served as a member of the board of directors in various corporations as well as non-profit making organizations. He has written documents on several issues and topics like world hunger, nuclear arms, relationships between east and west, the environment, population and development (Harris and Tichenor 473). According to Morris (38), the focus of the film under discussion is Robert McNamara. The film provides an analysis of McNamara’s controversial issues in the course of Vietnam War, his contributions during World War II, his upbringing and educational background at Berkeley and Harvard and finally, his service as the president of World Bank for a period of thirteen years. The subtitle of the film is “Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara”. During his study, he did statistical analysis with the aim of improving bombing strategies during World War II. At the age of 85, Morris interviewed McNamara; the film was produced based upon that interview. In addition, the film contains television and new reports of 1960’s and cabinet photos during the reign of President Kennedy. Information was recorded during Vietnam War, Cuban Missile Crisis, bombings of World War II, and air attacks against Vietnam to help in understanding what was going on during those periods. Some of the major contributions of McNamara are seen in the Vietnam War which caused deaths of over fifty eight thousand Americans and 3.4 million Vietnam Citizens. Vietnam War was a conflict between the Northern part of the country under the support of communist countries against the southern part that was supported by the United States and other countries that were against the communist policy. The reasons for the United States’ engaging in the war was to prevent communism from further spreading while Vietnam government wanted to unify the country under a communist government (Morris 38). During World War II, McNamara acted as the commander under General Arch-hawk. He was among the group that came up with the decisions and bombed 67 cities in Japan during which large numbers of civilians were killed. For instance, in the city of Tokyo alone, more than one hundred thousand civilians died after the bombing that took place in one of the nights of March 1945.Later on, atomic bombs were dropped in Nagasaki and Hiroshima causing deaths of many people. McNamara points out that proportionality is an important guideline during wars. He, however, argues that if the United States could have been defeated during World War II, then together with his colleague Le May, could have faced persecution for acting as criminals in war. War causing victims are criminals many peoples are injured while others die during wars. Such people are prosecuted for causing loss of human life. The victim may not act directly but through incitements, they are held responsible for their actions (Sapolsky Gholz and Telmadge 100). During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Mr. McNamara was on the side of Kennedy, the then sitting president. During the crisis, Kennedy was supposed to make a choice between two difficult issues. In 1962, Americans discovered nuclear missile sites which had been constructed in the island of Cuba by Soviet Union. Kennedy did not want Soviet Union to have the knowledge that he any idea over the incidence but he spent some days discussing with his advisors over the matter. Kennedy decided to completely block the passage to the island by placing ships all round the island to prevent Soviet Union from bringing in any more military arms. He also demanded for the removal of the missiles already in the island and immediate destruction of the site. President Kennedy spoke over the matter openly on 22 October on the television (Sapolsky Gholz and Telmadge 105). Bourries (81) argues that Nikita Khrushchev, the leader of Soviet Union, responded positively to the naval blockage and the demands of the United States. Both presidents saw the effects that the nuclear war would have not only within the powers in question but throughout the world and decided to find a peaceful solution to the problem. Soviet Union agreed to dismantle the weapon site in Cuba on the condition that the United States was not to attack the island of Cuba. The United States also agreed to dismantle their nuclear missile site that was located in Turkey. President Kennedy went against the advice of joint chiefs who were for the idea of destroying the Island. McNamara was in support of the president to end the war. The lesson attained from the incidence is that people should show empathy to their enemies. In 1945, the city of Tokyo in Japan was bombed by American troops. Warplanes from the United States showered the sky with fire rivulets that led to death of thousands of people. An estimated population of around one hundred thousand people died on that same night of attack. About 16 square miles of the city were destroyed. The most devastating air raid in the history of the world is the Tokyo bombings. McNamara was involved in the plans to bomb Japan. Together with other cabinet members in the United States, they gave approval for the attacks. They also ensured that the troops had all they required to bomb Japan (Bourries 81). Vietnam War occurred during the last five years of McNamara’s term. During this period, Vietnam was in conflict with the United States. President Kennedy announced his plan of getting his troops from Vietnam in 1965. President Kennedy was assassinated a year later. Between the second and fourth of August, attacks by North Vietnamese occurred in Tonkin Gulf. The United States under the leadership of President Lyndon Johnson, the new president, responded through a series of 64 bombing missions. What followed was the authorization of the United States troops to attack Vietnam (Kruse and Tuck 70). According to Kruse and Tuck (72), McNamara helped in the development of third world countries when he was the president of the World Bank. This was made possible because he issued them with loans that helped in advancement of the economy of the country. Some of the third world countries were very much underdeveloped during this period. The infrastructure was poor, making it difficult for people and goods to be transported from one area to another. Most of the countries had to walk for long distances before accessing the market. Trade was mainly barter trade. Third world governments used the amount they were given in construction of roads. Another problem was social amenities. In many third world countries, people lacked sufficient health care facilities. This increased the rate of deaths among children and adults. In cases of complications during birth, the lives of expectant mothers were in danger. In addition to construction of roads and health centers, third world countries used to amount to establish schools. Many schools were built, especially in rural areas where schools were scarce. This improved the high rates of illiteracy that was especially recognized in the rural areas. McNamara played a major role in development of social amenities in many third world countries. Vietnam War was not only a disaster to Vietnam and the United States but it also impacted on his life greatly. His admission, profession and personal life were greatly affected. In the first place, he was viewed as a successful and brilliant leader in the Department of Defense. During 1960, he was praised and recognized as a hero of the country. Some journalists considered him the greatest and most genius leader during that time. Moreover, Goldwater in 1961 described him as one of the best secretaries ever in the history of the United States. McNamara was confident that he could prevent Vietnam War but he was for the option. When one of the journalists told McNamara that an early opponent of the war referred to as Sen. Wayne Morse described the war in relation to his name “McNamara’s War”, he was not offended; instead, he was happy to be associated with the war which led to deaths of many people which is an irony. He did not mind of that and he was proud to be associated with the war. Both Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnston had great respect on McNamara. For instance, Kennedy chose him in favor of Johnson, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party in 1968. Later on when Johnson became the president, he considered him as a serious running mate (Kruse and Tuck 76). McNamara’s fortunes began fading slowly and by the beginning of 1969, the same person who was considered a hero in the society went unrecognized. During this period, his contempt was widely spread throughout Washington such that he could not easily step in some areas like college campus simply because students would protest against him. His health also deteriorated and people were worried over what would happen to him. He suffered from sudden fits and screams during meetings an incidence that meant his colleagues have questions about the state of his mental health. In 1967, Johnson talked over the issue with his wife. He was worried that McNamara could commit suicide just as James Forrestal, who was the first defense secretary in the United States, did. He told his wife that they would not wish to have repetition of the same case because the family members and the country feel the effects in general. The main cause of the fall of McNamara was the Vietnam War. After leaving the pentagon immediately after the great Tet Offensive that took place in the beginning of 1968, he realized the mess that the United States was in and he was responsible for it all. This made him loose his fame (Levy 31). Levy (33) points out that the effects of Vietnam War greatly affected his family members. His children and especially his son were supposed to be in college. It was not easy for them because they were identified with the man who led the wildly unpopular war. Nobody would wish to be associated with his children, an aspect that caused discrimination against his children. This created unfriendly relationship between him and his children. Margy, his wife, was not left out. She died out of cancer that was rare during this period; that, according to McNamara, could have been caused by trauma during the war. From the Fog War documentary, there are eleven main lessons that can be learned. The first lesson is that people should show empathy to their enemies. According to McNamara, Nikita Khrushchev was well understood by the experts the reason behind the peaceful end of Cuban Missile Crisis. However, he later meant it clear that Ho Chi Minh’s nationalist agenda was not in any way related to cold war an issue which people from Washington failed to know. Rationality according to McNamara could not save them. During his time as the secretary of defense in the United States, there is three times in which they wanted to declare nuclear war. They, however, thought that the effects that it will have on the country are devastating and avoided war engagement (Levy 34). According to Blight and Lung (40), somethings are just beyond human control. He points out that people should have the second thought before taking any actions by asking questions like the effects that the action will have. If the disadvantages of the action outweigh the advantages, then the action should be stopped. Failure to think outside the box caused his the great loss experienced in the United States during his time. The fourth lesson is efficiency maximization. He congratulated Curtis Lemay, the General of the Air Force for fire bombing cities in Japan. McNamara points out that people should make maximum use of their time so that they can attain their goals. Throughout the wars, he used every opportunity to ensure that he succeeded. McNamara points out proportionality as a major guideline in wars. He suggests that the strategy that LeMay used in bombing Japanese cities of two nuclear bombs were unsuccessful. The sixth lesson is to collect data. McNamara wanted a study to be carried out to determine the cause of increased car accidents in the city of Washington. He introduced the issue of safety seat belts in vehicles as a measure to reduce car accidents. According to him, North Vietnam did not succeed in blocking the American Naval vessels that failed to find solution to the problem. Another lesson is that people should re-examine their thoughts to make sure that they are right. His argument is that America should have thought twice why other countries like France, Britain and Japan that share the same policies and values with America failed to support the idea of Vietnam War. By re-examining their thoughts, they could have realized that their actions are obviously wrong (Blight and Lung 40). Sometimes people may engage in evil activities to attain good things. Again, he does not support the argument that the end justifies the means. Another lesson is that people should never confess that they have been defeated. They should always struggle to till the last minute. Lastly, he learned that human nature could not be altered. McNamara remains to be important figure in the history of United States. Work Cited Blight, James and Janet Lang. The fog of war: lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. Print. Bourries, Mark. The Fog of War: Censorship of Canadas Media in World War II. London: Douglas & McIntyre, 2011. Print. Harris, Richard and Daniel Tichenor. A History of the U.S. Political System: Ideas, Interests, and Institutions. New York: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Print. Kruse, Kevin and Stephen Tuck. Fog of War: The Second World War and the Civil Rights Movement. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print. Levy, Debbie. The Vietnam War. New York: Twenty-First Century Books, 2004. Print. Morris, Peter. The Management of Projects. Washington: Thomas Telford, 1997. Print. Sapolsky, Harvey, Eugene Gholz and Caitlin Talmadge. US Defense Politics: The Origins of Security Policy. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2008. Print. Read More