Know Your Enemy

Robert McNamara seemed to play the role of a hardass from the beginning of The Fog of War when he stared coldly at the annoying interviewer. McNamara did not act like any 85-year-old I have ever seen or met. His personality was sharp, his memory was perfect, and he was extremely emotional and honest through his “live and learn” theme about the United States military involvements.
The Fog of War provided the deepest insight of Vietnam that I have seen thus far. McNamara certainly knows more about it than anyone, and I found his phone call recordings with Presidents Kennedy and Johnson absolutely fascinating. Aside from the war in Vietnam, McNamara made me realize how close we came to Nuclear War, or, World War III. Highlighting Lessons 1-11 was very effective because it structured the documentary around specific points. I found the most interesting lesson to be Lesson 1, which stated “Empathize with your enemy.” What is ironic about this is that John Kennedy and his Executive Committee were able to see the Cuban Missile Crisis through the eyes of the Cubans and Soviet Union, which eventually prevented World War III from ever occurring.
As McNamara explained, the Kennedy Administration initially wanted to destroy Cuba upon learning about the missiles they had facing the United States. However, they were advised to negotiate with Khrushchev because some felt that if he prevented the US from destroying Cuba, he would feel victorious…and sometimes that is enough. This showed that the United States was capable of solving a major problem without war, but they were unable to do the same in Vietnam simply because we were too ignorant to understand their reasons for fighting. McNamara explained that he eventually learned through a dinner with a former Vietnamese government official that they saw us as another version of the French, who they just defeated. Vietnam had a clear reason for fighting, whereas the US seemed confused for years. Even LBJ and JFK seemed confused when it came time to address the public about Vietnam.
I also noticed that McNamara was truly sorry for some of the mistakes he made. His job was considered extremely stressful for obvious reasons. I believe he really did want the troops out of Vietnam, but because of the different perspectives he had with LBJ and other government officials this did not happen while he was Secretary of Defense. However, over the course of the documentary I learned that many people respected McNamara and thought of him as someone with all the answers. I was confused how this was possible since he did not even consider himself qualified for the position after being president of Ford Motor Company. I got my answer toward the end of the film when McNamara says “Don’t ever answer the questions asked of you; answer the questions you wish they would have asked.” The man must have been such a convincing speaker that people went along with him. I am not saying he was manipulative because he does not come across that way, but he was definitely intelligent enough to not allow the country to go completely out of control.
Overall, this film provided stellar footage from various US conflicts, and director Errol Morris intensified the interview scenes by focusing solely on McNamara. It is interesting that the annoying guy in the background was never shown. Perhaps this is because he probably did not know a damn thing compared to McNamara. The close up coverage of McNamara made me feel personally connected to him because it was as if he was talking to me in particular.