The Fog of War

Being a Secretary of Defense in any state doesn’t only mean being someone who sometimes consider as principal assistant to the President in all matters and has an authority, direction and control over the Department of Defense. It is not just a duty, but a mere obligation for the welfare of state. Being appointed in that particular position is being the person in charge in the chain of command, both for operational and administrative purposes.

War can be defined as a state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state, in the film, fog of war is considered as complex and it’s beyond the ability of the human mind to comprehend all the variables.

What does it feel to be the Secretary of Defense under John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson who were the two former president of United States of America?

Well, Robert S. McNamara, who is best known for helping lead the U.S. into the Vietnam War is the highlight of the film. The life of R.S. McNamara is not a typical life of a government servant, for him it is the period of moral consequences on how to defend the state where he belongs.

 Human Nature is a behavioral traits of humankind and it is regarded as shared by all humans. “Not being rational”, as McNamara said.

Nobody’s perfect, in this world full of circumstances, we all make decisions that are not acceptable by the people around us. We all make mistakes, and even the highest and most respected official makes it.

All things are possible, anything can happen within a day, an hour, minute or even in a smack of second. Giving your best toward difficulties is a good sign of perseverance which I learned in the portion of never say never.

Norman Morrison who is known as a Quaker, at first I had a glimpse of consciousness of why he is known for that term, as I listen further I was like “oh God!” am I hearing it right or maybe the sounds are cracked up. But then, what I heard was real.

Morrison doused himself in kerosene and set himself on fire below Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's Pentagon office which leads to his death. Morrison’s wife issued a statement or shall I say a moving statement that “Human beings must stop killing other human beings”, which McNamara shared as his belief for many times.

War is cruel. War is cruelty, and in order to do well, you have to engage in evil. In liberalist’s point of view war and aggression are inevitable but can be moderated.

International level of analysis is very close to this topic where McNamara and LeMay focus on their strategy for the goals of their state.

Responsibilities are vested to any officials like McNamara and LeMay who was then trying to save their nation and prepared to do whatever killing was necessary. For others, it is inhuman and difficult to understand. Omniscient or understanding is important in connection with neighboring countries. Preparation is needed for it changes every time.

Belief and seeing are both often wrong, sometimes we tend to believe on what we want see which is wrong which makes us blind that covers the reality.

International Relations lies near in the heart of many matters such as public concerns, as well as in the business world where competition is high.

Profit is an essential thing for marketers, it is the fruit of their labors. Getting the data are important for economic matters, in a study made by the manager of Ford Company,

it can be concluded that people who can afford more but spend their money on cheaper things are professionals such as doctors, professors and lawyers etc., they are wise enough when it comes to consumption. Many people won’t believe that Americans wanted cheaper cars.

Robert S. McNamara became the first president of Ford Company who is not part of the Ford family, unfortunately after five weeks he quit, not because he wasn’t capable of the field but because he has something to do which is a great responsibility after all.

Someone introduced himself named Robert Kennedy (brother-in-law of Jack Kennedy) who was authorized, offered to McNamara the position of Secretary of Treasury, out of surprise he said that he knows little about finance, after a while R. Kennedy asked him the position of Secretary of Defense. It was a great opportunity for McNamara as being one of the highest paid executives in the world. Many things will change. McNamara insisted that he was not qualified for that position but Kennedy asked McNamara to assume the responsibilities of Secretary of Defense right away.

The U.S. - Japanese War can be classified as the most brutal wars in human history, many cases of suicide were recorded.

Curtis LeMay who was the finest combat of any service for McNamara, but many thought that he was a brutal man. By LeMay’s command, two nuclear bomb was dropped in different cities of Japan. Proportionality should be a guideline in war, McNamara’s point is a critical concept that killing people should be proportional on objectives to achieve their goal.

McNamara said that LeMay was the only person that he knew in the senior command of Airforce who thinks on the loss of his crews per unit of target. LeMay was focused on one thing, which is to target destruction.

On the other hand, McNamara admitted that they had a problem in maximizing efficiency, he said that things must be done in a short period of time to eliminate non-important scenarios especially in times of war where time is something that could make anything.

A responsibility is something beyond one’s self, McNamara took philosophy classes such as logic and ethics which he is proud of. After graduating at University of California, he then went to Harvard Graduate School where he earned his Master’s Degree in business.

In his comeback to San Francisco, it was the period where he starts to build a family of his own.

Life of McNamara is something worth studying, for he was a man of Excellency. McNamara has sharp analytical skills in his work which he used on military situations. Another thing where McNamara is famous of being innovative manager of Ford Company in promoting safety for consumers or buyers.

For McNamara, it is important that the human race should be a wide-thinker of conflict. People must engage in understanding the real meaning of war and the killings behind it. Many officials of McNamara’s time was Rational, which came that close to total destruction of their societies that exists today, for McNamara, it was luck that save and prevented them from nuclear war.

Generals Maxwell Taylor and Curtis LeMay were the persons who advocated bombing in Cuba, for them they should strive hard when there was still time and advantage of missiles.- a rationalist one.

 “Rationality will not save us”, making mistakes is a situation where we lost our control over something we are not aware of effects.

When it comes to Individual level of analysis, I shall connect it to the people in charge of decision making. Decision makers are not just a group of people or individual who strive for something that can benefit their country, they are individuals who thinks of the nature and causes of their choice and perceptions.

 “Emphatize with your enemy”, which greatly affects the crisis. McNamara suggests that in order for them to understand the opinions of their enemy, they should look through the eyes. They were really close to that Cuban Missile Crisis that can result to a major problem of state.

First thing that stayed in my mind was the word empathy, what does it feel to be the oppressed? Or oppressor? It’s not because you are on the peak of something today means you won’t ever get down. We should be matured enough that life is but a dream, we are the controller of our life but each of us has destiny that no one knows.

“Coercion, after all, merely captures man. Freedom captivates him.”-Robert S. McNamara