The Fog of War

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The Battle of the War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara is a 2003 American documentary about the life and times of former US Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara illustrates his observations about the nature of modern warfare. The film was directed by Errol Morris and featured the original score by Philip Glass. The title is derived from the military concept of "fog of war" which illustrates the difficulty of making decisions in the midst of conflict.

The film won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature. It was non-competitive playing at the Cannes Film Festival.

Video The Fog of War

Drafts

Using archival records, recording of US Cabinet conversations, and eighty-five-year-old Robert McNamara's interviews, the Battle of War depicts his life, since his birth during the First World War, given the time the American troops returned from Europe, to work as military officer of the Children of World War II, to become president of Ford Motor Company, to serve as Defense Minister for the presidents of Kennedy and Johnson (including his involvement in the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War).

In its 2004 appearance at U.C. Berkeley, Errol Morris says his inspiration for a documentary film that came from McNamara's book (with James G. Blight), Wilson's Ghost: Reducing the Risk of Conflict, Killing and Disaster in the 21st Century (2001). Morris initially approached McNamara for a one-hour television-specific interview. It was extended several times and Morris decided to make a movie screen. Morris interviewed McNamara for about twenty hours; a two-hour documentary consisting of eleven lessons from In Retrospect: Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam (1995). He argues, discourses upon, and advocates lessons in interviews namely The Fog of War . Especially in U.C. In Berkeley's event, McNamara disagreed with Morris's interpretation of the Battle of War, but, once completed, McNamara completed the original 11 lessons with ten additional lessons; they're on the The Fog of War DVD.

When asked to apply eleven lessons from Retrospective to the US invasion of Iraq, McNamara declined, arguing that the former defense minister should not comment on the existing secretary of defense policy. He advised others to apply eleven lessons for the war in Iraq, but that he would not, noting that his lesson was about war in general, not a special war.

Maps The Fog of War

Plot

The film focuses primarily on the interview of former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, interviewed for about 20 hours by documentary film director Errol Morris through a special device called "Interrotron" that projects the interviewer's image and is interviewed in a two-way mirror in front of each camera, each so that each appears to speak directly with the other. The use of this device is intended to convey actual interaction with each other and direct eye contact with viewers.

In an interview, McNamara talks about the aspects of international security and how and in what way it can be affected by circumstances. This documentary explores current events in American history and also focuses on the life of McNamara and how he arose from a simple American family to become a politician who attained great power and influence. McNamara works with presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson and with Curtis LeMay general, and has direct access to many government documents. His opinion, personal experience and lessons learned while serving as Minister of Defense can provide an audience with an enlightening philosophy and view of American politics.

The documentary covers important events such as World War II, Vietnam War, Cuban Missile Crisis, and many others witnessed by McNamara himself.

McNamara is considered the "architect" of the Vietnam War; a war that spends a lot of lives fighting against enemies whose determination is severely belittled. The McNamara interview, along with the recording of the archive, offers a close view on international security and US international relations, and insights into why certain conflicts occur and lessons learned from these conflicts.

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Reception

Reviews for movies are very positive. The film received an overall score of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, earning it a "Fresh Certified" rating. Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "Although McNamara is photographed through Interrotron, the movie is far from just offering a talking head." Morris is remarkable in his ability to bring life to the abstract, and here he uses graphics , charts, moving titles and visual effects in counterpoint to what McNamara says. "

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War Fog

These lessons were chosen by Morris, not McNamara himself

Lesson # 1: Empathize with your enemy.

He repeated the penalty several times throughout the documentary. McNamara spoke of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when he and Kennedy tried to prevent the United States from fighting but General Curtis LeMay wanted to invade Cuba. Kennedy discovered LeMay's obsession with nuclear weapons while focusing on the Laos problem in 1961. Kennedy received two messages from Nikita Khrushchev during the Cuban missile crisis. McNamara calls them "hard messages" and "soft messages". McNamara distinguishes two messages because the first message is unofficial, and the second message is formal and broadcast to the world. McNamara says the first message sounds like it came from "drunken men or people under a lot of pressure." He stated if the United States is guaranteed not to attack Cuba, missiles will be brought out by Cuba. The second and "hard message states that if" you [the United States] attack [Cuba] we are ready to face you with the masses of military force. "Llewellyn Thompson, the former US ambassador to Moscow, urged Kennedy to respond softly. Thompson knew Khrushchev personally and believed that Khrushchev just wanted to be able to tell Cuba that he stopped the invasion of the US. Kennedy finally changed his mind to agree with Thompson.

Lesson # 2: Rationality alone will not save us.

In the documentary, McNamara stressed that luck is preventing nuclear war. Rational individuals such as Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro, almost created national destruction. McNamara stated that the possibility of nuclear destruction still exists today.

Lesson # 3: Something out of yourself.

This lesson is used to describe the personal life of McNamara. McNamara states that "there is something outside ourselves and responsibility to the community.", McNamara discussed when he began to punish his wife, Margaret Craig, and have a child. Then the war came. McNamara was later promoted to the youngest assistant professor at Harvard.

Lesson # 4: Maximize efficiency.

McNamara was brought back from the Eighth Air Force and assigned to the first B-29, 58 Wing Bomb. It is estimated that B-29 can destroy targets much more efficiently and effectively. McNamara is in charge of analyzing bombing operations and how to make them more efficient.

Lesson # 5: Proportionality should be a guide in war.

McNamara speaks of the proportion of cities destroyed in Japan by the United States. McNamara compared the Japanese cities that were destroyed with cities in UD before the dropping of nuclear bombs. Tokyo, roughly the size of New York City, destroyed 51%; Toyama, the size of Chattanooga, 99% destroyed; Nagoya, Los Angeles size, 40% destroyed; Osaka, Chicago size, 35% destroyed. McNamara compared the proportionality of the war against Japan to immorality.

Lesson # 6: Get the data.

McNamara worked at Ford in executive positions and conducted a study of buyer demographics to crash reports to make cars safer. McNamara was later promoted to president of Ford and was the first person outside the family to hold that position. He stopped just five weeks later because of the position offered to him by Kennedy. Kennedy has offered McNamara a position as Finance Minister whom he rejected and then accepted his position as Defense Minister.

Lesson # 7: Trust and see both are often wrong.

McNamara linked lesson 7 to the Tonkin Bay incident :, "We see what we want to believe."

Lesson # 8: Be ready to retest your reasoning.

McNamara believes that although the United States is the strongest country in the world, he should never use that power unilaterally: "If we can not persuade countries with values ​​that are comparable to the good of our cause, we better reexamine our reasoning. "

Lesson # 9: To do good, you may have to be involved in crime.

"Know sometimes we have to engage in crime, but reduce it."

Lesson # 10: Never say never.

McNamara talked about how he believed the responsibility for the Vietnam War was on the president and said that if Kennedy had lived, the situation would have been better.

Lesson # 11: You can not change the human nature.

McNamara speaks of "the fog of war" by comparing it to the human mind and how it can not be fully understood.

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Ten additional lessons from R.S. McNamara

These topics were selected by McNamara to complete the documentary; they are in a special feature DVD.

1. Mankind will not eliminate war in this century, but we can reduce the brutality of war - the level of murder - by adhering to the principles of "True War", especially on the principle of "proportionality."
2. The unlimited combination of human fallibility and nuclear weapons will lead to the destruction of the nation.
3. We [the US] are the most powerful country in the world - economically, politically, and militarily - and we are likely to remain that way for decades to come. But we are not omniscient. If we can not persuade other countries with similar interests and similar values ​​of the proposed use benefits of that power, we shall not proceed unilaterally except in conditions impossible to defend directly to the continents of the US, Alaska and Hawaii.
4. Moral principles are often an ambiguous guide to foreign policy and defense policy, but surely we can agree that we should establish the ultimate goal of US foreign policy and, indeed, worldwide foreign policy: avoidance, in this century, from the massacre - 160 million dead - caused by the conflict in the 20th century.
5. We, the richest nation in the world, have failed in our responsibility to our own poor and for the less fortunate around the world to help them improve their welfare in the most basic of nutrition, literacy, health and employment.
6. Company executives must admit that there is no contradiction between a soft heart and a hard head. Of course, they have responsibility to shareholders, but they also have responsibility to their employees, their customers and society as a whole.
7. President Kennedy believes that the primary responsibility of a president - indeed the one who is the primary responsibility of a president - is to keep the nation from war, if possible.
8. War is a blunt instrument used to resolve disputes between or within countries, and economic sanctions are rarely effective. Therefore, we must establish a system of jurisprudence under the International Tribunal - that the United States refuses to support - that would require individuals to be responsible for crimes against humanity.
9. If we have to deal with terrorists effectively around the world, we must develop a sense of empathy - I do not mean "sympathy," but "understand" - to counter their attacks against us and the West.
10. One of the greatest dangers we face today is the risk that terrorists will gain access to weapons of mass destruction as a result of the fall of the Non-Proliferation Regime. We in the US contributed to the damage.

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Lesson 11 Robert McNamara from Vietnam

From Robert McNamara's 1995 book " In Retrospection: Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam ".

1. We misjudged - and ever since - the geopolitical intentions of our enemies... and we exaggerate the danger to the United States for their actions.
2. We look at people and leaders of South Vietnam in terms of our own experience... We really misjudge the political power in this country.
3. We underestimate the power of nationalism to motivate people to fight and die for their beliefs and values.
4. Our misconceptions about friends and enemies, the same, reflect our deep ignorance about the history, culture, and politics of the people in the area, as well as the personalities and habits of their leaders.
5. We failed then - and from then on - to recognize the limitations of modern military equipment, high technology, and doctrine. We failed, too, to adapt our military tactics with the task of winning the hearts and minds of people from completely different cultures.
6. We failed to attract Congress and the American people into a full and honest discussion and debate about the pros and cons of large-scale military engagement... before we started the action.
7. After the action took place, and unexpected events forced us out of the planned course... we did not fully explain what happened, and why we did what we did.
8. We do not recognize that neither our people nor our leaders are omniscient. Our opinion of what is in the best interests of others or the state should be tested in open discussions in international forums. We have no God-given right to form every nation in our image or as we choose.
9. We do not adhere to the principle that US military action... should be carried out only with multinational forces fully supported (and not just cosmetically) by the international community.
10. We fail to recognize that in international affairs, as in other aspects of life, there may be problems with no immediate solutions... Sometimes, we may have to live with an imperfect and untidy world.
11. Underlying many of these errors is our failure to set the upper echelons of the executive branch to effectively deal with very complex political and military issues.

This is a slightly shortened text version from page 321 to page 323 of his book.

Charity

Sony Pictures Classics allows the results of limited play of War Fog to utilize the work of Clear Path International with war victims in Vietnam.

See also

• Gatekeepers
• Gridel
• Evil Brutality

References

External links

• Official site from Sony Classics
• War Fog on IMDb
• Making History: Errol Morris, Robert McNamara, and the Fog of War from sensesofcinema.com
• Transcript the movie from errolmorris.com
• Robert McNamara - Daily Telegraph Obituary

Source of the article : Wikipedia