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Monday, July 06, 2009

Posted 7/06/2009 07:10:00 PM by Douglas

Robert Strange McNamara: dead at 93. A very complicated figure, historically, but this will no doubt be what he's remembered for:

In a memo to Johnson on May 19 1967, he warned: "There may be a limit beyond which many Americans and much of the world will not permit the United States to go. The picture of the world's greatest superpower killing or seriously injuring 1,000 non-combatants a week, while trying to pound a tiny, backward nation into submission on an issue whose merits are hotly disputed, is not a pretty one. It could conceivably produce a costly distortion in the American national consciousness and in the world image of the United States."

He's been vilified for not coming out sooner about the troubles in Vietnam, and he's certainly not blameless, but there's something about being CEO of the biggest military in the world that ensures he knows things the rest of us don't know. His own portrayal of his life's service, in Vietnam and even in WWII under General Curtis "bombs away" LeMay were quite chilling in the Fog of War documentary.

In the end, I think he was a brilliant man with a huge responsibility that meant life or death for millions of people. Did he always do the right thing? Of course not (and he even mentions that in the film). But I'd rather have guys like McNamara on our side than trying to kill us.

Plus check out that hair! You could set your watch to that haircut!

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