RobertMcNamara to Fidel Castro (1992)
lesson 1: emphasize with your enemy
lesson 2: rationality will not save us
Robert McNamara
"I have three questions for you
1. Did you know the missiles were there?
2. Would you have recommended Kruschev to use them?
3. What would have happened to Cuba?"
Fidel Castro answered:
"1. yes
2. I not only would, I did recommend using them
3. Cuba would have been destroyed."
lesson 3: there's more beyond one self.
lesson 4: maximize efficiency
about the nuclear bombing of Tokyo:
interviewer: you knew this was going to happen?
Robert McNamara: well I was part of a mechanism that recommended it
lesson 5: proportionality should be an issue in war
(Errol Morris certainly has his own style. Keep wondering about the many cuts in the middle of sentences though. Sometimes it seems a strange kind of MTV clip, switching every couple of seconds, while the gracious sentences keep rolling on.
lesson 6: get the data
lesson 7: belief and seeing are both often wrong
Errol Morris (is it him?) is sometimes heard, and he's very very eager, angry almost. Far from the objective journalist.
lesson 8: be prepared to reexamine your reasonings
lesson 9: in order to do good, you may have to engage in evil
Definitely do not agree with him. He's sometimes too quicksilver about the moral highground. "When I was secretary of state, Agent Orange was used. After the war, some said this was a toxic chemical. But let's look at the law for a moment. We don't have a clear law stating which chemicals are illegal. I would never allow the use of an illegal chemical. Did I sanction its use? I cannot remember."
Quite intriguing though.
lesson 10: never say never
McNamara: never answer the question that's been asked. Answer the question you wish had been asked.
lesson 11: you can't change human nature
"The fog of war means, it's so complex it's beyond the human mind to comprehend. Our judgement, our understanding, are not adequate. And we kill people."
And again Philip Glass did the score.
