Robert Strange (yes, that is his middle name) McNamara is interviewed about the world he grew up in and his rise to eventually become the Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1968. The documentary is structured around eleven lessons. I believe he is 85 during the interview and he is sharper than ever. He recites poetry (see the bonus scenes), discusses military personalities, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Presidents, enemies and war. It was compelling to see such an intelligent man, often referred to as a walking IBM computer, reflecting on the devastation of an unyielding military machine that he operated for a brief period of time under the direction of two US Presidents, Kennedy and Johnson.
Some interesting quotes from Mr. McNamara:
LeMay said if we lost the war (World War II) that we would have all been prosecuted as war criminals. And I think he's right. He... and I'd say I... were behaving as war criminals.
LeMay recognized that what he was doing would be thought immoral if his side has lost. But what makes it immoral if you lose and not immoral if you win?
I think the human race needs to think about killing. How much evil must we do in order to do good.
I'm not so naive or simplistic to believe we can eliminate war. We're not going to change human nature any time soon. It isn't that we aren't rational. We are rational. But reason has limits. There's a quote from T.S. Eliot that I just love: "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." Now that's in a sense where I'm beginning to be.
And this one has such overwhelming meaning when you consider the current engagement in Iraq.
What makes us omniscient? Have we a record of omniscience? We are the strongest nation in the world today. I do not believe we should ever apply that economic, political, or military power unilaterally. If we had followed that rule in Vietnam, we wouldn't have been there! None of our allies supported us; not Japan, not Germany, not Britain or France. If we can't persuade nations with comparable values of the merit of our cause, we'd better reexamine our reasoning.
A personality that kept popping up in my mind throughout the interview was Donald Rumsfeld and his mishandling of the Iraq War. Prior to watching this documentary, I'd only known McNamara as the Defense Secretary who led the American people deeper and deeper into a war that would ultimately divide a nation and serve no justifiable purpose. But after seeing and hearing a man that obviously knew the course of action in Vietnam was flawed, that baseless judgment was thrown out the window. Yet, I think of the Nazi guards sentenced at the Nuremberg Trials that stated they did as they were told, they followed orders and that was simply their duty. Should McNamara have done more, should he have spoken out against the War after leaving his position at the Pentagon, would it have even made a difference? I also wonder if I'll ever have the same understanding of Rumsfeld, although I doubt I could ever empathize with him as I sure many people who lived through the war in Vietnam could never empathize with McNamara.
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