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comment by mk
mk  ·  3262 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The Fog of War - Discussion Thread

It's been a while since I've watched it, but these are some thoughts I related some time ago:

    IMO the tough part about watching McNamara in The Fog of War, was that he was trying to speak across a chasm. It was as if he was trying to make the public understand why we kill young kids over political maneuvers and diplomatic misunderstandings. As if he just told it how it is, some sense might be made of it. The public is not going to understand that. They really don't need understand it either. It made little to no sense. Generals rationally wage irrational wars, and I think they sometimes confuse strategy with the rationale.

I highly recommend Barbara Tuchman's The March of Folly. At least her treatment of the Vietnam War. It's astounding. As the son of a Vietnam vet, I have viewed the war in a cynical light since an early age. Nothing I have read has improved my view upon it.