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

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

Thesis : McNamara and Morris have introduced eleven lessons of war derived from the historical events of the 20th century , specifically the Cuban , Vietnam and World wars . As the former United States Secretary of Defense , McNamara reveals the most important conflict that existed during those events - human nature versus war

The movie , The Fog of War : Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S McNamara incorporates the pivotal events

of the 20th century , namely the Vietnam War , the Cuban missile crisis and the ever-famous World War II Errol Morris directs the sequences of the movie parallel to the events that occurred during the time of McNamara 's war leading against the 20th century disputes . Throughout the movie , Morris and McNamara illustrate eleven lessons derived from the bloodshed wars , pressures from the enemies , and the critical decisions that leaders have to make . Eleven lessons introduced by the movie are (1 ) Empathize with your enemy (2 ) Rationality will not save us (3 There 's something beyond one 's self (4 ) Maximize efficiency (5 Proportionality should be a guideline in war (6 ) Get the data (7 Belief and seeing are both often wrong (8 ) Be prepared , to reexamine your reasoning (9 ) In to do good , you may have to engage in evil (10 ) Never say never , and (11 ) You can 't change human nature (McNamara and Morris

At eighty-five years old , McNamara 's clear thoughts and decisions during the wars comprise the eleven lessons of war however , the simplified version of these lessons reveals the fundamental conflicts that McNamara has to confront , war versus human nature . In his first lesson , McNamara states the importance of empathizing with your enemy or .to put ourselves inside their skin (McNamara . For this statement , McNamara emphasizes the need for a war council to decide parallel to the perspective , views and possible thoughts that the enemy might have . In the Cuban missile crisis , McNamara needs to decide under the skin of the soviets , while under the skins of cold war elements in the case of the Vietnam War . For the second and third lessons , McNamara negates the philosophy of rationalism and asserts the influence of a powerful Being above them all - God . Human nature is not entirely the ultimate decision makers , but most importantly the character beyond one 's self being cultivated by the Being beyond any individual . McNamara asserts that the expectations and desired outcomes of their military strategies during the Cuban missile wars and direct Vietnam confrontations were not entirely followed . By the time reports of casualties and damages have arrived , McNamara has realized that rationality is not always the pathway of wars since different components in man 's nature will always be the conflict . With lessons four , five and six , McNamara turns to the objective principles of (1 ) efficiency (2 proportionality and (3 ) data as the foremost important guidelines of war . If rationality...