A Finer Focus: Robert McNamara - The Face of Contrition

It was amidst the highest of expectations that a young Bob McNamara came out of Cal-Berkeley and Harvard. During the Second World War, he did not carry a rifle, summon stretchers or drive Higgins boats. He was given the charge of making daylight bombing more efficient - numbers applied to bombs, being dropped from 20,000 feet, and a chillingly impersonal way to contribute to the effort.

After World War II, he became President of Ford Motors. He would be credited with a applying an innovative number of approaches to production. His prescience, especially with the Edsel, earned him a position that had only previously been held by Ford family members. He was a McNamara, a so called "Whiz Kid," and Midas with every touch, so off to Washington he would soon go.

JFK tabbed him as Secretary of War. LBJ kept him on. If Ford made his name, Vietnam sullied it. Heretofore, his life would never be the same. Some argue that despite its preceived failure, the Vietnam War - along with several other proxy conflicts - was enough keep the Soviet Union off balance and more than contribute to its eventual bankruptcy. Most will agree that war-making during Vietnam was as dated as the use of Napoleonic tactics during the First World War. McNamara concedes this - he knew that he and his colleagues were trapped in a wicked trend of 'group think.' All of this is fully explained in McNamara's electronic letter to America - 'The Fog of War.'

Yesterday, McNamara died at the age of 93, sealing a long life and a lot of time to think about mistakes that were made between 1961 to 1968. However, rather than crawling into a cave, he became an advocate for the liquidation of nuclear arsenals and channeled the World Bank in a more activist stance, especially when it came to fighting poverty.

In a May/June 2005 article called "Apocolypse Soon" in Foreign Policy, McNamara wrote:

It is time—well past time, in my view—for the United States to cease its Cold War-style reliance on nuclear weapons as a foreign-policy tool. At the risk of appearing simplistic and provocative, I would characterize current U.S. nuclear weapons policy as immoral, illegal, militarily unnecessary, and dreadfully dangerous. The risk of an accidental or inadvertent nuclear launch is unacceptably high. Far from reducing these risks, the Bush administration has signaled that it is committed to keeping the U.S. nuclear arsenal as a mainstay of its military power—a commitment that is simultaneously eroding the international norms that have limited the spread of nuclear weapons and fissile materials for 50 years. Much of the current U.S. nuclear policy has been in place since before I was secretary of defense, and it has only grown more dangerous and diplomatically destructive in the intervening years.

To delve deeper into the life of one the more scorned public figures in American history, take a look at the following list of offerings from the Sacramento Public Library:

The fog of war [videorecording] : eleven lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara /cSony Pictures Classics presents @radical.media & SenArt Films production in association with the Globe Department Store ; producers, Michael Williams, Julie Ahlberg ; produced & directed by Errol Morris. (DVD 973.92 FOG 2004)

The living and the dead : Robert McNamara and five lives of a lost war /cPaul Hendrickson. (959.70433 M1692zh 1996)

McNamara /cHenry L. Trewhitt. (355.033 M169zt 1971)

Promise and power : the life and times of Robert McNamara /cby Deborah Shapley. (973.92092 M169zs 1993)

Argument without end : in search of answers to the Vietnam tragedy /cRobert S. McNamara, James G. Blight, and Robert K. Brigham ; with Thomas J. Biersteker and
Herbert Y. Schandler. (959.70433 M169a 1999)

The essence of security: reflections in officec[by] Robert S. McNamara. (353.6 M169)

In retrospect : the tragedy and lessons of Vietnam /cRobert S. McNamara with Brian VanDeMark. (959.70433 M1692 1996)

Out of the cold : new thinking for American foreign and defense policy in the 21st century /cRobert S. McNamara. (327.73047 M169 1989)

Wilson's ghost : reducing the risk of conflict, killing, and catastrophe in the 21st century /cRobert S. McNamara and James G. Blight. (327.17 M169 2001)

A Finer Focus: The Sum of All Fears...and I'm Not Talking About the Book

Forty years ago this month, a landmark treaty was signed. The United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and 58 other nations signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. With decades passing, India, North Korea, Israel and Pakistan have all "joined the club" - so to speak - in that, although not having signed the NNPT, but they've acquired (albeit dubious with North Korea) the ability to blow things up with nuclear means.

So, where does this leave us? Well, since the thaw of the Cold War, the balance of power that held things together since WWII has shifted into asymetrics. We sit back, watching a few conventional wars, but there are several - like nine - countries that have the ability to cause mass tragedy with the push of a button, few of them checking the other, save a faint application of Mutually Assured Destruction or MAD in mind. This doesn't even consider the prospect of terrorism. The issue is real and may not affect us as much as it may affect our children. Religion, the environment, the grab for natural resources, and plain human error are have to be considered variables.

The library holds a solid collection of books relating to the topic of Nuclear Non-Proliferation. The subject heading that will gather relevent titles is "Nuclear nonproliferation." You might also consider taking a look at what our periodical indexes/databases have to say about the topic by going - with library card number and PIN - to EBSCO.

A Finer Focus: April 30, 1975: The Last Chopper out of Town...

Vietnam. Vietnam. Vietnam. What comes to mind when you read...Vietnam? The pearl of Southeast of Asia? The tiered rice patties of the lush Mekong Delta? The limestone isles of Halong Bay? While not any of these features cling (I'm sure they don't for many of us), we invariably think of War. That War. The War.

Thirty-three years ago, April was indeed the cruelest of months for Vietnam and an American expedition that was coming to a crashing end. North Vietnamese Army units were cutting through an overmatched and demoralized Army of the Vietnamese Republic (more popularly known as the ARVN), and bearing down on the capital city of Saigon. Panic, terror, a sense of betrayal, heartbreak, fear. All were felt. Plain clothed Marines - playing God - pulled desperate dependents, government officials, American nationals over the high fences of the Embassy. Explosions could be heard near Tan Son Nhat Airport and the enemy had long breached the city's gates. Chaos.

Check out this embed of a BBC report on Saigon's "Eleventh Hour."



For a list of books on this tragic epilogue, click on the following link: Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) -- History OR Vietnam War 1961 1975 Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City.

The Central Library also holds numerous magazines from that era, along with articles covering the evacuation of Saigon:

Jenkins, L. (May 5, 1975). City at the Edge of Doom. Newsweek, vol. 85.

U.S. News. (May 12, 1975). Communist Takeover: Russian-Made Tanks, Barefoot Guerillas Roll into Saigon. U.S. News, vol. 79.

Benjamin, M., et al. (May 5, 1975). Last Exit from Saigon. Newsweek, vol. 85.

Time. (May 12, 1975). Memories of a Fallen City. Time, vol. 105.

Time. (May 12, 1975). Saigon Under Siege. Time, vol. 105.

Time. (May 12, 1975). Saigon: A Dreamlike, Twilight Mood. Time, vol. 105.

Chrysler, K.M. (April 28, 1975). Saigon's Fate: Quick Kill. Slow Death--Or a Deal. U.S. News, vol. 78.

A Finer Focus: DMITRY 'The Bear' Takes the Plunge...

If Russia elects (loosely put) a President during an election year in the United States, does anyone hear it??? Dmitry Medvedev, the handpicked heir to Vladimir Putin's old post is now the guy at the other end of the 'red phone.' A 1987 graduate of LSU (No! Not that one...Leningrad State University), Medvedev has a PhD in Private Law: In short, an impressive dude, great political pedigree.

Chess savant Gary Kasparov might, however, have something to say about that. Odd that Kasparov wasn't able to rent a meeting hall where at least 500 supporters could congregate to witness his announcement for office, as is required by law for one to be able to run for President. What? Seems that not many hall owners were willing to rent Kasparov a place to stump. Hmmm.

So, it's now Medvedev. Before him is the task of riding the wave of Russia's new found oil might and mending dachas with NATO. A great way to keep up with the world, getting quality news from quality sources like the Economist, Foreign Affairs, transcripts from National Public Radio programs like "All Things Considered." You may access all of these publications - and many more- by going to "EBSCOHost," accessible through the Find Articles/Databases link on the Sacramento Public Library homepage (http://www.saclibrary.org/), then by going to General Articles on the next page. At this point, you may enter your library card number and PIN to access this great content.

The other day when Medvedev was offered tea during a meeting, he said 'da,' but it would have to be with honey because he is, as he put it...the Bear; in actuality, the meaning of his name in Russian.

To grab further biographical information on 'the Bear,' you may explore the "Biography Resource Center," a great place to grab current bio-data on lots of interesting people. You may get there, by following the same path as above, yet our Biography options are located near the bottom of the database page.