When a person thinks about Robert McNamara, US Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson from 1961-1968, it is hard not to feel strong emotions.
Excellent sumation of the American and Vietnam war.
I remember when Deim's wife came to America and visited Harvard University with her bueatiful daughter in 63 and ,she said , please stay out of our country,,you are only making things worse. At the time I was a student and had a staff job at Boston University and one of my highly connected political friends said Jack K was moved by her plea and thought it was time to get out of Vietnam ,somehow ? unfortunately Jack was killed shortly there after .My friend also said Jack thought Max was a blow hart , a real do nothing selfserving car guy ,and was very much over his head in Washington and was influenced by the war- money people ,,That's probably why Max probably got that job later at the World Bank. The American -Vietnam war was a sad turn in human history for all sides. Let's not let that happen again.
Thank you for your comment. I agree with your final statement, which is probably why I continued to dwell on this issue a bit longer than I would have prefered.
Great info and analysis. There was a segment about McNamara including his (less than happy about his Dad) son in the Ken Burns Vietnam Doc. Very hard watch the whole episode. Westmoreland (uggggghhhh)convinced McN to accept bodycount as sign of success (on both sides). Made me quite sick.
It has been a while since I have seen that documentary. I need to watch it again.
I can't remember if it was the Burns documentary or another, but I seem to recall an interview which explained why body count didn't matter. Many of the cannon fodder troops were not Vietnamese, but Chinese. The US were using body count as a metric to prove they were winning the war, but from what I understand, this was a bad metric because Chinese troops seemed inexhaustible. This fact was only revealed to the US less than a decade ago in a Washington Post article.
Fascinating.
Excellent sumation of the American and Vietnam war.
I remember when Deim's wife came to America and visited Harvard University with her bueatiful daughter in 63 and ,she said , please stay out of our country,,you are only making things worse. At the time I was a student and had a staff job at Boston University and one of my highly connected political friends said Jack K was moved by her plea and thought it was time to get out of Vietnam ,somehow ? unfortunately Jack was killed shortly there after .My friend also said Jack thought Max was a blow hart , a real do nothing selfserving car guy ,and was very much over his head in Washington and was influenced by the war- money people ,,That's probably why Max probably got that job later at the World Bank. The American -Vietnam war was a sad turn in human history for all sides. Let's not let that happen again.
U.S.Vietnam Veteran 1966-69
Thank you for your comment. I agree with your final statement, which is probably why I continued to dwell on this issue a bit longer than I would have prefered.
Magnificent journalist. A copy online was $2.5 + ($5 delivery !).
Just ordered IF Stone’s Polemics and Prophecies, and will get back to you in a few days with what he wrote about Tonkin.
I didn't know who that was, but after looking at his biography, I want to read that book too.
I really like Morris’ work and think this is his best film. I have also been enjoying your blog with your many insightful articles.
Thank you. That is very kind.
Great info and analysis. There was a segment about McNamara including his (less than happy about his Dad) son in the Ken Burns Vietnam Doc. Very hard watch the whole episode. Westmoreland (uggggghhhh)convinced McN to accept bodycount as sign of success (on both sides). Made me quite sick.
It has been a while since I have seen that documentary. I need to watch it again.
I can't remember if it was the Burns documentary or another, but I seem to recall an interview which explained why body count didn't matter. Many of the cannon fodder troops were not Vietnamese, but Chinese. The US were using body count as a metric to prove they were winning the war, but from what I understand, this was a bad metric because Chinese troops seemed inexhaustible. This fact was only revealed to the US less than a decade ago in a Washington Post article.
wow....shocking! Hope you are all OK after the typhoon...
Yeah, that mostly hit the north around Ha Noi. The weather has actually been quite nice this weekend.
I guess I misremember the documentary if that was shocking news. Like I said, it has been a while since I have seen it.
What a fantastic, highly informative read…definitely one of your best….keep up the great work, my friend!
Thank you very much for your kind words. They mean so much more to me that you may realize.