Film Analysis: The Fog Of War

“Whatever the motives for conflict, they are incorporated in individual attitudes and expressed in popular opinion.” (Albig 1939, 139) It has often been argued that Defence Secretary Robert McNamara “has done more to shape that conflict than anyone outside the Viet Cong” (Kennedy 1993, 93). This is an important illustration of the power of the media; through the media, “The domino theory [was] the dominant interpretation of events in Indochina” (Schulzinger 1998, 88).

The Vietnam War lasted longer, bloodier, and more hostile than any U.S. President or American citizen imagined. Lyndon Johnson faced many other enemies during the war such as the duration, the immense number of deaths, and for the first time in most American’s history, failure. Through deep evaluation of Lyndon B. Johnson’s foreign policies as President during the Vietnam war, failure was a recurring outcome, as he faced military and political difficulties over having complete authority over political decisions made leading to the misuse of his respective power, receiving split support through torn Americans at home, and his accord to deport so many troops into combat in Vietnam.

This quote in the first chapter of the book sets the overall tone. The author Tim O’Brien uses his language through out the book in an extremely straightforward manner. He does not sugar coat the way going to war and being in a war is. He does not use stories of heroes,

McNamara’s lesson seven belief and seeing are often wrong, that can be applied to the information of “Buying the War,” there was not enough evidence to demonstrate the culpability of Saddam Hussain in relation with the terrorist attacks of 9/11, or that in reality he had or was building weapons of mass destruction. According to Bush and his delegates, they had a source who confirmed that Saddam had in his power aluminum tubes, which were need it to build centrifuge needed to build nuclear weapons. They began to manipulate information through the newspapers and T.V. news to make everyone believed that it was a fact that Saddam was link to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and that in fact he had weapons of mass destruction. Also The New York Times was the first newspaper informing to the public about this evidence and a day after Cheney used the same information to convince the people that in fact this fact and Saddam need to be stop. They went to war without following all the protocols of inspections in order to corroborate their speculations. We all believe it, until the damage was done.

In the Fog of War, Former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara recounted his experiences when serving for both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Throughout the film he shared eleven lessons that he learned as a result of the war and politics. The lessons range from empathizing with one 's enemy to the fact we cannot change human nature. This essay will discuss some of McNamara’s lessons and how they illustrated institutions, bargaining, cooperation, power and sovereignty.

The preference for “clarity over nuance” which means American people prefer simplicity over complexity when American people access significant declarations and military activities. American people vote their presidents so that American people like politicians announce the statement with the easily accessible idea, even though politicians lie to them, or the statement is wrong. Politicians deceive American people with the easily accessible idea that “...American people in their pursuit of happiness...” (38) according to Andrew J Bacevich’s “The Real World War IV”. Politicians simply state its purpose that the elimination of terror instead of the founding purpose that grab the accessible oil in the Middle East because American people prefer to hear the statement of simply understanding from their politicians who they vote. Also, American people prefer to see a simplicity in the military school in order to pursue their happiness. However, in “The Naked Citadel”, Susan Faludi exposed that there was no admission for women, sex-discrimination, and violence, and etc. many bad news in the military school. But the ugly and relentlessly truth deeply hurt American people’s feeling. Even if the reality is around American people, and we are familiar with it, the reality is too horrible to accept it. Same as soldiers, Tim O’Brien attempts to emphasize the war story is all about human’s love and memory, it is not about war in the “How to Tell a True War Story”. He is trying to explain that

President John F. Kennedy once said “The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are. The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission” . Whether this statement was meant to describe the circumstances of the Cold War, or to display reasons for the use of the atomic bomb, these simple words brought understanding to the American people. That is, until the assassination of President JFK, himself. His death brought a widespread cloud of confusion to the nation. As people sought justice for this crime, many critical things were overlooked. The investigation of Kennedy’s assassination was riddled with mistakes

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This George Santayana quote speaks volumes about what should be taken into consideration when making a decision with a lot riding on it. If nothing else, this quote serves as the proper bridge, or connection, between Robert McNamara’s Eleven Lessons in “The Fog of War” and the ongoing conflict in Libya. In “The Fog of War”, Robert McNamara breaks down 11 vital lessons he learned about war from the Vietnam War. When looking at the current Libyan situation, these lessons can be similarly applied, and thus avoid any potentially costly mistakes like the ones made in Vietnam. McNamara himself has stated that those particular 11 lessons were intended to be applied to war in its

From primarily focusing on political issues with direct messages to the audience, the film industry ran from the early 1900s to the 1950s, where films were oriented around an individual or a group of individuals and their progression throughout the film. For example, the film All About Eve is about how a young woman named Eve rises up to fame by associating herself with an actress and attempting to take her place. As the film progresses, the director Joseph L. Mankiewitz slowly reveals Eve’s secrets about her identity and her true agenda with associating with A list celebrities for her own gain. At the end of the film, Eve receives a prestigious award and goes home to find a fan waiting for her and willing to help Eve pack her things to go

The Vietnam War is an event in history that resonates through time way past the period of its actual occurrence. Aside from being the only war that the United States has ever lost, the Vietnam War resulted in around 58,000 American deaths, 3 to 4 million Vietnamese deaths, hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars spent, and a nation divided over its purpose and worth. Although the effects of the Vietnam War may not be a common or pressing topic in current times, the Americans who were involved in the war effort are still constantly reminded of its impact. Joseph Orsini, a retired veteran who served in the Air Force during the time of Vietnam, is one of these Americans. Through discussing his experiences in Vietnam, Joseph expressed the challenges that he faced both while abroad and after returning home to the U.S. Although it is not possible to generalize all Vietnam veterans’ encounters of the war with those of Joseph’s, his narrative not only breathes life into the typical facts seen in history books, but also provides tremendous insight into how the war was shaped by the daily danger presented by the Viet Cong, the surprise attacks of the Tet offensive, and the opposition raised by Americans back home.

Men in leadership positions have the enormous power to affect the lives of countless individuals around the world. When this power is abused, it can not only destroy lives but also have huge consequences that can affect several future generations. It is important that everyday citizens not only hold politicians accountable but also are knowledgeable about their actions. We must understand that like all humans government leaders are fallible and susceptible to the curse of greed and power. The documentaries The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara and The Trial of Henry Kissinger tells the tale of two men’s’ role in influencing politics in the Cold War and the repercussions of their decisions.

Nearly 160 million people were killed during the 20th century, and film maker Errol Morris wished to show the reason for this in documentary form. He interviewed former US secretary of Defense Arnold McNamara and the two discussed and analyzed some defining moments in US history, thus "The Fog of War" was made. The movie was set up in 11 lessons. However, I only found three to be completely reasonable.

Over the years history is marked with death and destruction in many forms. The 1960’s marked

The Fog of War Eleven Lessons by Robert S. McNamara was in so much as a great representation of the life of Robert S. McNamara. It showed his life to be dramatic and traumatic in many different ways. The lessons he learned and shared during the documentary movie were truly astounding to me. I personally thought the movie was a tad bit on the boring side, but it was a documentary after all. The Fog of War was a very informative piece of work.

The main ideological battle that the film discuses is split between living by Sharia law versus the typical Islam law. The extremist group wants Sharia to dominate Pakistan, having its supporters willing to sacrifice their wealth, freedom, and lives for the sake of Allah. The religious laws of Islam indicate that when these laws cannot be implemented peacefully, then force must be used, which leads to destruction of property that goes against what Islam believes. This group uses madrassah to train children to memorize the Quran as it is believed that when the entire Quran is memorized, they will go to Heaven, wear a special crown, and be able to bring ten of their relatives