Post by Ben Burgess on Jan 6, 2005 16:02:30 GMT -5
At the age of 85 Robert McNamara was revealed as never before in Errol Morris' Oscar winning documentary 'The Fog of War.'
Living a varied and full life, McNamara has been President of the Ford company, Secretary of Defense under both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and an influential figure at the World Bank for many years. Since his retirement he has continued to work on the problems of world hunger and economics through various organizations.
In the aforementioned documentary he lays down what he calls his 'Ten Lessons,' those being the various points he has drawn from years of experience. As I believed many users of the board would find these interesting I have listed them below. Please feel free to debate.
Lesson One
The human race will not eliminate war in this century, but we can reduce the brutality of war- the level of killing- by adhering to the principles of a "Just War," in particular to the principle of "proportionality."
Lesson Two
The indefinite combination of human fallibility and nuclear weapons will lead to the destruction of nations
Lesson Three
America is the most powerful nation on earth- economically, politically and militarily- and is likely to remain so for decades. But it IS NOT omniscient.
If it cannot persuade other nations with similar interests and values of the merits of its proposed use of that power, it should not proceed unilaterally except in the unlikely requirement to defend directly the continental US.
Lesson Four
MORAL priniciples are often ambiguous guides to foreign policy and defence policy, but surely it can be agreed that we should establish as a major goal of foreign policies across the globe: the avoidance in this century of the carnage - 160 MILLION dead- caused by conflict alone in the 20th century.
Lesson Five
America, the richest nation in the world, has failed in its responsibility to its own poor and the disadvantaged across the world to help them advance their welfare in the most fundamental terms of nutrition, literacy, health and employment.
Lesson Six
Corporate executive must recognize there is no contradiction between a soft heart and a hard head. Of course, they have responsibilities to stockholders, but they also have responsibilities to their employees, their customers and society as a whole.
Lesson Seven
President Kennedy believed a primary responsibility of a president - indeed THE primary responsibility of a president - is to keep the nation out of war, if at all possible.
Lesson Eight
War is a blunt instrument by which to settle disputes between or within nations, and economic sanctions are rarely effective. Therefore, we should build a system of jurisprudence based on the International court - that the US has REFUSED to support - which would hold individuals responsible for crimes against humanity.
Lesson Nine
If we are to deal effectively with terrorists across the globe we must develop a sense of empathy - I don't mean 'sympathy,' but rather 'understanding' - to counter their attacks on the western world.
Lesson Ten
One of the greatest dangers we face today is the risk that terrorists will obtain access to weapons of mass destruction as a result of the breakdown of the Non-Proliferation regime. We in the US are contributing to that breakdown.
-
Living a varied and full life, McNamara has been President of the Ford company, Secretary of Defense under both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and an influential figure at the World Bank for many years. Since his retirement he has continued to work on the problems of world hunger and economics through various organizations.
In the aforementioned documentary he lays down what he calls his 'Ten Lessons,' those being the various points he has drawn from years of experience. As I believed many users of the board would find these interesting I have listed them below. Please feel free to debate.
Lesson One
The human race will not eliminate war in this century, but we can reduce the brutality of war- the level of killing- by adhering to the principles of a "Just War," in particular to the principle of "proportionality."
Lesson Two
The indefinite combination of human fallibility and nuclear weapons will lead to the destruction of nations
Lesson Three
America is the most powerful nation on earth- economically, politically and militarily- and is likely to remain so for decades. But it IS NOT omniscient.
If it cannot persuade other nations with similar interests and values of the merits of its proposed use of that power, it should not proceed unilaterally except in the unlikely requirement to defend directly the continental US.
Lesson Four
MORAL priniciples are often ambiguous guides to foreign policy and defence policy, but surely it can be agreed that we should establish as a major goal of foreign policies across the globe: the avoidance in this century of the carnage - 160 MILLION dead- caused by conflict alone in the 20th century.
Lesson Five
America, the richest nation in the world, has failed in its responsibility to its own poor and the disadvantaged across the world to help them advance their welfare in the most fundamental terms of nutrition, literacy, health and employment.
Lesson Six
Corporate executive must recognize there is no contradiction between a soft heart and a hard head. Of course, they have responsibilities to stockholders, but they also have responsibilities to their employees, their customers and society as a whole.
Lesson Seven
President Kennedy believed a primary responsibility of a president - indeed THE primary responsibility of a president - is to keep the nation out of war, if at all possible.
Lesson Eight
War is a blunt instrument by which to settle disputes between or within nations, and economic sanctions are rarely effective. Therefore, we should build a system of jurisprudence based on the International court - that the US has REFUSED to support - which would hold individuals responsible for crimes against humanity.
Lesson Nine
If we are to deal effectively with terrorists across the globe we must develop a sense of empathy - I don't mean 'sympathy,' but rather 'understanding' - to counter their attacks on the western world.
Lesson Ten
One of the greatest dangers we face today is the risk that terrorists will obtain access to weapons of mass destruction as a result of the breakdown of the Non-Proliferation regime. We in the US are contributing to that breakdown.
-
