The Fog of War

[Turdacious]

Documentary about Robert McNamara, who was SecDef under JFK and LBJ, and later President of the World Bank. The 85 year old McNamara, love him or hate him, is the star of the film. Other period players were really not interviewed, maybe because McNamara outlived most of them.

It's a bit of a different documentary. The director participates in the interviews to a limited extent, but uses footage and period speeches from McNamara and others to maintain the documentary flavor as well. Morris (the director) uses archival footage and charts very well to keep it flowing.

If you're a student of the Cold War/Vietnam era, or lived through it, I recommend this documentary. It's a little slow in parts, because it follows McNamara's pace, but the director compensates for this very well. It's fascinating, although it probably won't change any of your existing ideas, it presents another perspective. McNamara is one hell of a salesman and is trying to spin his legacy. I didn't find his perspective compelling enough to change my opinion of him, but it did help me understand why he was such a major player for so long.

Netflix has it, but not streaming.

[lasalle]

I really enjoyed that one. What a flaming, unrepentant asshole. Even with the benefit of time doesn't see the wrongness of thinking and execution. Should be up on war crimes.

[DARTH]

Ditto, saw it a few years ago.

All my reading on that war and listening to my step dad and other vets frustrations about the war and the politicians who tied their hands made me HATE McNamara.

You almost feel for the old fuck, almost for a minute.

If he should be up for warcrimes, it's for being part of tying the hands of those guys, not for anything done to the Gooks. The Soviets were not going to launch WW3 of they invaded the North and turned Hanoi into a pebble pile. Should have done that or not gone in the first place.

Fuck the bitch or don't, don't just stick your finger in for a minute and leave.