After what many people would say is a good age Robert McNamara has died!
Remembered more for his tenure a USA Defence Secretary and his roll in raising his countries deployment of troops to Vietnam from 600 in the early 60’s to over 530,000 by February 1968 than other aspects of his life. Robert McNamara personally guided, some say set, the policies of both Kennedy and Johnson as they tried unsuccessfully to ‘win’ the Vietnam War.
However, after doubts set in about sending so many troops to Vietnam, he fell out with the Johnson administration and after serious disagreements in late 1967, he left to become the President of the World Bank.
Why my interest? I was in the Royal Navy during the latter stages of the Vietnam War and although the UK was not directly involved, we visited a number of the USA coastal bases dotted around the Far-East and saw the effect it was having on the various countries of that region.
Robert McNamara was indeed a controversial person during his time as US Defence Secretary, but later on in life begun to questions some of his decisions about that conflict.
If you don’t know much about him or what he did, here are some interesting resources:
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The Fog of War – The Official Site
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Times Online Obituary – Some interesting content
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Robert McNamara – The Wikipedia entry, this is bound to change in the coming weeks
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In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam – Good book to read
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A Grand Delusion: America’s Descent into Vietnam – Probably the most in-depth and accurate political analysis of the Vietnam Conflict.
Beasley's Place 