Fog of War is a film about U.S. Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara professional life and experiences with including World War I and II, The Cuban Missle Crisis, running Ford Motor Company, and the Vietnam War. Looking back on what he and his country went through, McNamara structures the film with 11 lessons pertaining to war as well as life. The lessons are as follows:
1. Empathize with your enemy.
2. Rationality will not save us.
3. There is 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 order to do good, you may have to engage in evil.
10. Never say never.
11. You can't change human nature.
The ideas behind the lessons shift after lesson 5. The first lessons are mainly regarding war and how to go about it successfully. The next six lessons pertain to life, and more importantly people in positions of power. He uses these lessons from a reflective standpoint, admitting his mistakes and shows how they can be applied generally to war to bring about a better result. The title Fog of War, in military terms refers to the ambiguity of situational awareness in military operations. The fog is also in front of government officials making the decisions behind war. These officials issue orders that those who are "in country" must follow. We have studied the difference between what those who were in the war and those who ran the politics of the war. That difference is the fog that McNamara faced, and his lessons look to clear that up and aid in future war operations.
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Fog of War is a film about U.S. Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara professional life and experiences with including World War I and II, The Cuban Missle Crisis, running Ford Motor Company, and the Vietnam War. Looking back on what he and his country went through, McNamara structures the film with 11 lessons pertaining to war as well as life.
ReplyDeleteThe ideas behind the lessons shift after the fifth lesson; "proportionality should be a guideline in war." The first lessons are mainly regarding war and how to go about it. For example the lessons, "Empathize with your enemy" as well as "maximize efficiency" are both focused on being successful in war. At lesson 5, "Proportionality should be a guideline in war," McNamara tone turns to an apology, looking to justfy his actions during the war. The next six lessons pertain to people in positions of power. McNamara says to "never say never" and that "belief and seeing are both often wrong" to apologize for his actions. He uses these lessons from a reflective standpoint, admitting his mistakes while attempting to give future advice to help the rememberance of his name.
The title Fog of War, in military terms refers to the ambiguity of situational awareness in military operations. The fog is also in front of government officials making the decisions behind war. These officials issue orders that those who are "in country" must follow. We have studied the difference between what those who were in the war and those who ran the politics of the war. That difference is the fog that McNamara faced, and his lessons look to clear that up and aid in future war operations.
Despite McNamara's attempts to ensure his legacy and protect his reputation, he continually contradicts himself throughout his lesssons. The lesson "In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil" goes against his concept of proportionality as well as "be prepared to reexamine your reasoning." Him saying that it is likely that you will have to engage in evil in war shows he did not reexamine his reasoning, because if one were to reexamine reasoning they would not accept evil as an outcome. Furthermore, McNamara's belief in using proportionality in war decisions is inherently evil. From that it can be assumed evil will come from war because the leaders are willing to trade the lives of some for the lives of many.