Robert Strange McNamara
I had a Birthday the other week. Once, the things were just another day, the year another number. Well, today, it's still just another number, but, I appreciate my day. That's not my subject, just the rambling of my mind. My own reflections. But, as I marked my 41st year, I found it marked by death. The year before, I had an Aunt die the night before. I spent the day hating to look into my Cousins eyes with their Mother just dieing.
Then, this year, death was all over the news. It's been a media frenzy. So, in this post, I offer a reflection. No lamenting, no, no judgment. Any of those are not my intent.
Robert S. McNamara, former Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, has died. He was highly intelligent, somewhat reluctant to the Posts that he served in and, he was a unique individual. His life was not without controversy and as he will be laid to rest, we will be reminded of this. Much like Michael Jackson, his life will not go without heckling and defending statements.
He was a "Technocrat" and statistics were his business. Which reminds me of the Army saying, "Figures don't lie, but lairs figure". But, he obviously made differences with his findings in statistics. Both for the Army Air Corps and Ford Motor Company. In reality, I believe the man was a truth seeker. I don't believe he was as bad and blind of a person as many with certain agendas will say. He was not the righteous man some may defend him as. I believe he was honest.
McNamara was convinced that it was luck...Just luck...That kept us out of a Nuclear War during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He admitted technology was not as effective as we make it to be. He, as well, admitted that "neither our people nor our leaders are omniscient"..."You can't change human nature".
Robert S McNamara's Eleven Lessons.
1. Empathize with your enemy
2. Rationality will not save us
3. There's 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 often both 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 Fog of War
I hope he finds Peace on he Other Side...
The Appalachianist
Then, this year, death was all over the news. It's been a media frenzy. So, in this post, I offer a reflection. No lamenting, no, no judgment. Any of those are not my intent.
Robert S. McNamara, former Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, has died. He was highly intelligent, somewhat reluctant to the Posts that he served in and, he was a unique individual. His life was not without controversy and as he will be laid to rest, we will be reminded of this. Much like Michael Jackson, his life will not go without heckling and defending statements.
He was a "Technocrat" and statistics were his business. Which reminds me of the Army saying, "Figures don't lie, but lairs figure". But, he obviously made differences with his findings in statistics. Both for the Army Air Corps and Ford Motor Company. In reality, I believe the man was a truth seeker. I don't believe he was as bad and blind of a person as many with certain agendas will say. He was not the righteous man some may defend him as. I believe he was honest.
McNamara was convinced that it was luck...Just luck...That kept us out of a Nuclear War during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He admitted technology was not as effective as we make it to be. He, as well, admitted that "neither our people nor our leaders are omniscient"..."You can't change human nature".
Robert S McNamara's Eleven Lessons.
1. Empathize with your enemy
2. Rationality will not save us
3. There's 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 often both 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 Fog of War
I hope he finds Peace on he Other Side...
The Appalachianist
posted by Hill Billy Rave | Monday, July 06, 2009
6 Comments:
McNamara was so tortured by his involvement in the war that I don't think that he is talking about the war so much as he is talking about himself. Going on fifty years later, McNamara, as well as the rest of us, didn't seem to know what happened . . . the fog of war . . . as to be able to talk about it. I will say that my first cousin, Richard Ladd, served with honor in Vietnam as a combat medic only to lose his immune system to agent orange and to father a hydro-encephlic son who must now live in an assisted living facility. The cost of the stupidity of that war goes on and on. My beloved cousin whose picture in uniform hangs above me as I compose this was a victim of that war as much as those whose names are on the "Wall." I think that way because in many ways he and others like him took my place. We just have to do better and made my on life possible. I look at my children and think of him. In the end, McNamara could not find a way. At any rate, his war with himself is over now. Bill
Bill, in some ways you may be right. He seemed very reflective, and from what I heard in the released recordings, I don't believe that he was crazy about the whole affair. There was allot more than Vietnam, but, it's his legacy and Johnson's too.
I had an Uncle that died of bone cancer, Agent Orange.
Well, not to over-simplify it but the feeling afterwards was that the politicians lost that war, not the military.
Course, it was a different ballgame then what with the draft and all.
But, still, it produced men like this.
I liked the Army saying about liars.
But I really liked the idea that beliefs and seeing are often both wrong. C'mon, that's just heavy.
I am 5 km down the road from Fort Henry Ontario, and apparently across the water (St. Lawerence Seaway? Lake Ontario?) from Fort Drum New York. You know, in case you're in a where's Waldo sort of mood.
Gunner, the Ia Drang was a hell of a battle. When all said, either side could claim some sort of victory. Allot of damage was inflicted by either side. The Vietnamese say the place is haunted now.
In the end, we can say the politicians did lose it, they had the wrong focus. Some in the Military got it, but no one would listen to them. Military or civilian.
I'm down river from you BTW.
Ed, I'm down river from Gunner, in a where's waldo sort of way. I walked the banks of the Ohio on the east side of the mouth of the Salt River(next to West Point) the other day. Darn it was nasty. West Point is clean, cute little town.
"Beliefs and seeing are often both wrong".It is pretty heavy...And, pretty true.
I thought I was being a "little" heavy. I wish I had edited my paragraph, but you cannot talk about Vietnam without being like the nine or was it ten blind men talking about the elephant . . . one feeing its tail and thinking it was snake like and another feeling his ear thinking it must be like a fan and so on until no one knows what it is. Sometimes I think of McNamara's face as a dynamic young man and his face as and old man as metaphor for our country . . . we lost something . . . something that Reagan like him or not tried to give us back. My cousin was at Au Shau Valley. It was just a small piece of the puzzle that was Vietnam. As an aside go up to French Lick, Indiana, and visit the hometown of Larry Bird. It is about 50 miles from the Ohio River and Louisville. Bill
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