This Academy Award-winning documentary of Errol Morris' intimate interviews with Robert S. McNamara as he looks back on his days as Secretary of Defense under Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson from 1961-1968, provides fodder for consideration of the ramifications of decisions the current administration makes in the fog of war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
McNamara's statement that “...war is so complex it’s beyond the ability of the human mind to comprehend all of the variables. Our judgment, our understanding, are not adequate. And we kill people unnecessarily.” is one of many insights made by the former U.S. Secretary of Defense as he comes to terms with decisions made in time of war.
According to the companion book, The Fog of War: Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara, by James G. Blight and janet M. Lang, the documentary was begun in 2001 with 24 hours of dialogue between Morris and McNamara distilled into 107 minutes of film.
Can Lessons Learned be Applied to Afghanistan & Iraq
McNamara had been a key component in two Critical Oral History Projects Blight and Lang worked on over two decades:
- Cuban missile crisis conference in Havana Cuba in June 1992
- Vietnam War conference in Hanoi Vietnam in January 1997
The critical oral history method of study, developed by Blight and Lang, brings together the decision-makers at the time of the events, noted scholars, and declassified government documents in order to create a platform for dialogue at "structured conferences" set up by Blight and Lang.
According to Blight and Lang, with fewer of the critical decision-makers still alive, they and Morris wanted to create as much of a “vicarious experience as possible…that conveys the horror any rational human being ought to feel when confronted with the carnage of the 20th century.” Just six years after the release of The Fog of War, McNamara died at age 93.
The Fog of War is an Important Social Studies Lesson
Now that President Barak Obama has announced an increase of American troops in Afghanistan, there is no better time to view this haunting film and discuss the complexities and inter-relatedness of U.S. foreign policy – how it affects the U.S. and its ramifications on the world.
McNamara posed this question in the documentary when discussing what a country chooses to do when fighting a war, "...what makes it immoral if you lose and not immoral if you win?"
In addition to Morris' film now on DVD, and the book written by Blight and Lang, there is also a comprehensive teacher’s guide developed by the Choices Education Program at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University that breaks down McNamara’s “lessons learned” into eight lessons appropriate for high school or college-aged students.
Related article with additional social studies lessons:
Capital Forum Lessons for Social Studies Classes
Sources:
Blight, James G. and Lang, janet M. The Fog of War: Lessons From the Life of Robert S. McNamara. MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005.
Morris, Errol. The Fog of War. CA: Sony Pictures Classics Inc. 2004.
Barbara Shema - Barbara Shema is a freelance writer and artist from the USA currently living in Europe to teach English as a foreign language.
