Sociology 3701: Worksheet--"The Fog of War"

In 1995, Robert McNamara, secretary of defense for presidents Kennedy and Johnson, wrote a book called: In Retrospect: the Tragedies and Lessons of Vietnam. In the last chapter, he pulls together what he calls "The Lessons of Vietnam." He writes about the high costs of the Vietnam war for the United States: 58,000 men and women killed, severe damage to our economy, political unity of our country shattered for decades. "Were such high costs justified?" he asks. Then he quotes some geopoliticians who "to this day answer yes," and says: "I seriously question such judgments." He goes on to list a series of lessons, some of which I will share with you before the video. I see this as a prime (and admirable) example of what Tavris and Aronson call in their last chapter "letting go and owning up." In other words, he seems to be blocking that self-justifying dynamic that is such a central part of cognitive dissonance, so that one can learn from mistakes. But then in 2004 a video about McNamara, "The Fog of War," won an academy award, and as I watched it, I saw a lot more of the "mistakes were made (but not by me) dynamic. I thought I'd share part of that video as fitting pretty well with the both of the last two chapter in T and A.

1. How does McNamara support Lesson 7: "Beliefs and seeing are both often wrong."

2. Why did it prove impossible for McNamara and Johnson to obey lesson number 1: "Empathize with your enemy?"

3. McNamara introduces lesson 8, "Be prepared to re-examine your thinking," in relation to a meeting he held with North Vietnam leaders after the war. What did he learn in that meeting? Does he seem to be applying it to himself or to them?

4. What made the war so extremely destructive of civilian life in Vietnam? What was the estimated death toll?

5. Why did McNamara eventually leave his post as Secretary of Defense? Who does he say was ultimately responsible for the U,.S. role in that war?

6. Lesson 9 states: "In order to good, you may have to engage in evil." What is the good that McNamara thinks was accomplished by the Vietnam War?

Sociology3701: Groups--"The Haze of War"

1. Why do you suppose McNamara's 1995 book, In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam, had so little impact on the decisions leading to the American war in Iraq? It seems like the final lessons would have probably kept us out of what I see as a tragic involvement in Iraq.

2. By the late 1960s a majority of Americans believed we should end our involvement in that war, but it didn't happen for several more years. Why do you suppose even widespread dissent seems to have so little effect on U.S. war policy, whether then in Vietnam or now in Iraq? What is the strong cognitive dissonance effect that is probably influencing our political leaders?

3. Why do you suppose the "lessons" of the war have changed so much over the years between these two books? What indications do you see hear that McNamara himself is under the influence of that self-justifying cognitive dissonance dynamic again?