The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003)

The Fog of War is a film which is based on the life of a man who has, for a long time, been disliked by the American public. This man is former Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, who can be said to be one of the most controversial figures to hold that office. This film analyzes the course of his whole life, in the perspective of McNamara himself. Not only does it look at his childhood, it also looks at the way he was brought up and the education he received. Furthermore, it deals with McNamara’s experience in the service of the public, from the time when he was a strategist in World War Two, to his being appointed Secretary of Defense, and also his tenure as the president of the World Bank. McNamara’s public career is laid bare for all the people of the United States to see, featuring interviews of McNamara himself as he speaks of the motivation behind the controversial decisions he made. One of the major highlights of this film is when he gives reasons for the atrocious actions he took when working as a strategist during World War Two. He is among the people who took part in the planning, and carrying out, of bombings of Tokyo in 1945 which killed many thousands of people. To justify this, McNamara states that the Japanese would have done the same thing to Americans had they been given an opportunity to do so.

The film also analyzes, at length, the years during which McNamara served as the Secretary of Defense during the presidencies of John Kennedy and his successor, Lyndon Johnson. It is stated by McNamara that Kennedy once suggested that the United States should withdraw from the war in Vietnam, but McNamara, in his capacity as Defense Secretary, advised him against it. A first hand view of how the Cuban Missile Crisis was handled by McNamara, with some of the decisions taken at the time being expounded on by the subject of the film, that is, McNamara. This film is divided into eleven parts, each of which deals with a part of McNamara’s career as well as his personal comments on how he handled matters in those times. McNamara displays an immense deal of pride in what he accomplished during his career in the public service, and although it was, he does not make any apologies for the mistaken decisions which he made. On the contrary, he only displays some regrets concerning those decisions and states that perhaps things could have been handled better. According to McNamara, the whole reason for the film being made is to make clear the fact that even reason has limits. What one concludes from this statement is that there are some actions, even of done for good, which sometimes end up producing results which are opposite what was. In fact, this can be said to be true of McNamara’s continued support for the Vietnam War even when it was known by the public that it was a complete failure.

For many people today, Robert McNamara’s term as the country’s Secretary of Defense was a complete failure. It is believed that most of the decisions he made tended to have a negative impact on the United States. This film, however, works towards the clearing of such a negative image of the man who served two administrations. It attempts to show that, like any other person, McNamara was also human, with all faults and failings that are associated with the race. The image of McNamara that is brought about by the film is that of a person with many complexities. It partially burnishes the common public image of McNamara being a heartless individual who would stop at nothing, nor hesitate to use anyone to achieve his goals. It shows that although his actions seemed to be ruthless on the outside, the man still had a conscience, and he often reflected on these actions. Another image of McNamara that comes forth in the film is that of being a player in significant historical events, which ended up being disastrous for those people who were directly affected. McNamara shows some regret for some of the actions he took in his belief that he was serving the best interests of his country. Despite this, he is not apologetic, and it is quite possible that the regret he displays is the closest thing to an apology that he is going to make. The film gives a rare glimpse at a man who was both enormously feared and admired by many.