The Fog of War

Robert McNamara claims LBJ had power over him and that he had no way to control the wage of war. If McNamara was unable to do the right act, dirty hands would be inevitable. Bob is in a corner when he tries to relieve himself of too much responsibility, but at the same time taking some for the team. In the quotes and footage of him played in the movie, he seems like a walking Rumsfeld.

McNamara takes on a very realist persona early on in his career. (We have to spread freedom and keep falling dominoes from encompassing the globe.) He then sees more human in the present interview, with a dash of idealism and rationality. I think that humans are rational with limits, but at the same time, acknowledge that we should not go the route of 160 million dead from wars in this century.

I see a man who wants the world to resort to war justly and adhere to proportionality to lower killings. At the same time McNamara contradicts himself by ensuing that he has made mistake and war is too complex to understand. By this, I feel as though McNamara comes to the conclusion that war is inevitably dirty when carried out. As he says, "war is cruelty." So I will end my thoughts thinking McNamara feels we are able to keep our hands, although it is really hard, free of dirt when resorting to war. However, from the interview, I think McNamara is wishing the conduct of war did not inevitably have dirty hands. So in the end are dirty hands inevitable in going to war? I now lean toward yes.