The Fog Of War - 2003 - 8/10
Ex-President of Ford Motor Corp, ex-USA Secretary of Defense (JFK and LBJ).
At 85, Robert McNamara converses with Errol Morris, detailing insights, blunders, successes, failures.
What he had learned from the troubled Vietnam War, as well as dealing with ordinary frictions.
Morris distills over 24 hours of interviews into 11 Lessons (learned).
#1: Empathize with your enemy.
#2: Rationality alone will not save us.
#5: Proportionality should be a guideline in war.
#6: Get the data.
#7: Belief and seeing are both often wrong.
#8: Be prepared to reexamine your reasoning.
#9: In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil.
#10: Never say never.
#11: You can't change human nature.
Sadly, global leaders never learn a damn thing. Reference #11.
