Analysis Of The Fog Of War By Robert Mcnamara

Robert McNamara served many roles throughout his life. From President of Ford Motor Company to Secretary of Defense to President of the World Bank, he had decades of experience and plenty of mistakes to speak on. Whether people despise him for being arrogant or respect him for his intelligence, one should certainly at least listen to the lessons he proposed in The Fog of War. His lessons can be applied in many situations past and present and could also be used to ensure the mistakes he made are not replicated. Unfortunately, people have already made some of the same mistakes he did, but these lessons have been applied in intelligence successes in the past decade as well. For years, people have criticized President Bush’s and Secretary of Defense …show more content…
While Lawrence was involved in the Arab Revolt, the British ensured the Arabs of self-government after the war with no real intention of going through with it (Neidell, I.). Although he was unable to do much about it, Lawrence felt guilty as he fought next to these people knowing what would happen after the war, and it made him realize the war was much more complicated and much bigger than just himself. Therefore, another lesson could be applied to his situation as well, In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil. Lawrence knew the revolt would be beneficial for his country, although they were certainly leading the Arabs on about having self-government after the war. Certainly, there are many historical examples similar to this situation, and we can even see similar examples in modern times in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For example, many interpreters are being used by the US with promises to be protected, but in reality, the Taliban have often got to them first (Wirtschafter, J). As noted before, history has a funny, and often unfortunate way, of repeating itself. In conclusion, Robert McNamara’s lessons from The Fog of War can be applied to many scenarios, both past and present, in the intelligence field. From the invasion of Iraq and the USA PATRIOT Act all the way back to the Lawrence of Arabia, these lessons were surely learned by other people, and unfortunately, will probably arise in the future again as well. Finally, whether one agrees with the decisions McNamara made or not, it is certainly worthwhile to look over the lessons he learned in his lifetime. Through these, perhaps we can avoid making the same mistakes he