History 1005
Assignment: A Fog of War
Major Themes and Key Points:
Weapons can destroy society.
Missiles terribly close to destroying all of Cuba.
War and conflict.
Proportionality should be a guideline at war.
Without proportionality the world could be destroyed at war.
Many bombs dropped on Japan.
President Johnson needed McNamara to come up with a plan to kill the Vietnamese. We see what we want to believe.
Declared war on tyranny and aggression.
Vietnam thought America was trying to colonize them just as the French did.
America saw the Vietnam War as part of the Cold War.
McNamara believed one can achieve war objectives without massive killings.
Vietnamese were fighting for independence.
War is complex.
President is ultimately responsible for war decisions.
A lot of unnecessary killings happen during war.
The understanding of war is misconstrued by many.
Summary: The film Fog of War by Errol Morris is a documentary on former secretary of defense, Robert McNamara. He highlights lessons that he learned throughout his life in the film about war. The film begins with McNamara talking about the missile crisis in Cuba and the numerous bombings in Japan. He explains how proportionality needs to play a major role in times of war because without proportionality this world could be destroyed in seconds. McNamara describes the bombings that occurred in Japan as disproportional, leaving almost half of Japan in ruins. It occurred unnecessarily as with most deaths and destruction that happens during times of war. McNamara describes the Vietnam War as too complex to explain in detail. Many lives were lost during the Vietnam War which McNamara responded by saying war objectives can be achieved without all the killings that occur. McNamara throughout the documentary describes how he views each war that he was a part of.
Key Terms: unnecessary death and destruction, Vietnamese independence, America’s intervention, Japan bombings, complexity of war
Question: Are weapons of mass destruction necessary in times of war?

The film, Fog of War by Errol Morris is a documentary on secretary of defense, Robert McNamara and what he has witnessed throughout different wars in history. McNamara brings up major lessons that he has learned through war. The complexity and difficulty that comes with war is what McNamara tries to explain along with his input on war. He begins with the Cuban missile crisis that nearly destroyed all of Cuba. He stresses that the missiles were terribly close to destroying all of Cuba and how a small mistake can cause enormous destruction. McNamara goes in detail about the bombings of Japan next. America has dropped bomb