Sean Green Block: 5 APHUGE The Fog of War Study Guide Summary: The documentary is about Robert McNamara, a World War II Veteran who was the ex-owner of Ford Motor Company and served as Secretary of Defense for President Kennedy and Johnson during the Vietnam War. This film gives Robert Mcnamara a chance to explain his life and actions before and during the Vietnam War and his eleven lessons of life. Intro: Robert Mcnamara begins the documentary explaining that military officers always make mistakes but they must try to learn and adapt from errors to be successful. He also mentions that during this nuclear weapon period, a single mistake can cause catastrophe in the world. Lesson #1: Empathize with your enemy. Mcnamara explains how close …show more content…
However, Mcnamara warns that the threat of nuclear war still prevails today. He warns that the combination of human error and nuclear weapons will destroy the world. Lesson #3: There’s something beyond one’s self. In this lesson, Robert Mcnamara explains influential events in his life that lead to him being appointed Secretary of Defense. He describes how much of a hard worker he was in school, how he graduated from UC Berkeley and went to business school at Harvard all during the Great Depression. He then recounts on how he went back to San Francisco where he got married and started a family and as the US entered World War II he was called up to be Statistical Control in the U.S. Air Force. Mcnamara explains that as he entered the war he desired to fight for something that was bigger than himself. Lesson #4: Maximize Efficiency. McNamara was reassigned to a bombing unit in the Pacific theater, where he helped “maximize efficiency.” McNamara was influential in making the decision to start firebombing populated Japanese cities. This led to massive destruction in Japan killing thousands of innocent civilians, but greatly increased the efficiency of U.S. bomber
R. McMaster is an American soldier and a career officer in the U.S army. The purpose of McMaster’s book is to analyze how and why the United States becomes involved in the Vietnam War. During this, the author also explains on what he thinks why the president decided to keep the war going instead and escalate it. McMaster came to a conclusion that Johnson made the mess himself and he chose to escalate the war. The author presents the war as a consequence of specific decisions made by specific men, Lyndon B. Johnson.
It is widely believed that there was a misunderstanding and that Medina’s words at the briefing were misinterpreted by the soldier’s “preexisting anger toward the Vietnamese.” [ Belknap, 58] According to the Peers Commission, who was in charge of the My Lai Massacre investigation, “part of the problem was bad intelligence” [ Belknap, 60] and the operation plan “was based on faulty assumptions” [ Belknap, 60] concerning the whereabouts of the enemy soldiers and their belief that the My Lai village was inhabited by innocent civilians for 4 years[ Bergthold interview, 1969].
This event not only shined a light on American History but also World History. Remembering the actions of the U.S. during World War II is important. It formed the geopolitical environment which lasted for half a century and ended in the Cold War. Wilcox not only exposes different personalities throughout the book, he also exposes intrigue, plots, and sub-plots. Wilcox gives us very detailed information, however, he never admits if Patton was murdered nor did he deny it.
Former U.S Congressman, Robert H. Clancy, in his article, An “Un-American Bill”, establishes his opinion on the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act of 1924. Clancy’s purpose is to persuade that the Immigration Act is racist and Un-American. He creates a passionate tone in order to show his readers the ugly truth behind what the Johnson-Reed Act is doing. Clancy supports his argument of the injustice and racial discrimination of the Johnson-Reed Act , by appealing to the readers emotions with his personal anecdotes and by providing facts of all the good things that immigrants do for society and America as a whole.
The bombing restrictions that were lifted and the shear force of the bombing raids of the operation put fear in the Vietcong that soon led to peace. Many things changed that made LINEBACKER II more effective. The use of “smart” bombs allowed aircraft to attack targets that were otherwise restricted for safety of allied forces, religious areas or civilians. The new bomb greatly increases permissible targets and allowed for air support from big bombers such as the B-52.
Book Review 2: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Cold War Crises by Richard Betts Summary: Betts starts off his book by recognizing the ambiguity around the advocacy of the use of force in a crisis by military leaders even though there is a prevalent assumption that military professionals are more aggressive than diplomats and politicians. He states he writes the book in order to provide a comprehensive survey of the postwar role of American military men in decisions on their most essential function, their use of force in combat. Betts acknowledges the vast availability of literature on military participation in decisions on defense budgets and weapons procurement, but feels there is a void when looking at decision-making from the perspective of military leadership versus civilian leadership.
It appears as if mankind’s most destructive war is coming to end. Victory has been won at a steep cost in lives and treasure. We would not be here, however, had it not been for the valiant efforts of everyone involved in the war effort. While President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb may seem controversial in the long run, its immediate effect is that it saved lives. Nobody can argue the fact that the war needed to end as soon as possible.
What about the Geneva Accords? What about SEATO and the Cold War? What about dominoes?” (O’Brien 38). By O’Brien questioning the entirety of the war, he is asking questions that are answered indefinitely to this day.
The lieutenant was charged with delivering an important message to a Cuban general. The book was seen as the perfect portrayal of loyalty and obedience. There are multiple tactical lessons that can be taken from this book/essay, not only to include how individual ethics can create an enormous impact.
Men went through so many tasks during the Vietnam War physically and mentally. The beginning chapters focus on training for war and being prepared for the worst. For example, when there is a sergeant in a room with the marines. The sergeant walks to the chalk board and writes “AMBUSHES ARE MURDER AND MURDER IS FUN” (36-37). The
Ever since Tim O’Brien received his letter to fight in the Vietnam War he was against it. If he had read the 1970 military hearing about the My Lai Massacre, it would have furthered supported his arguments. In a conversation between Captain Medina (a military leader) and Mr. Stratton (a congressmen), flares emerge about how the My Lai Massacre was handled. Captain Medina exclaims, “Mr. Congressmen, I told them to destroy the village of My Lai 4 by burning it, destroying the crops, destroying the livestock and closing the wells” (Medina 81). Mr. Stratton was very upset with how the process of the mission was carried out.
Admiral William H. Mcraven addressed the 2014 graduating class at the University of Austin, Texas with more than eight thousand students in attendance. The address given by Adm. Mcraven touched the hearts of millions from all around the world by his inspirational message of how one person can change the world if they simply helped change the lives of ten others in their lifetime. I chose this speech for my rhetorical analysis because of the simple message it portrays, how helping a few can eventually help many. Adm. Mcraven’s address was especially effective for his audience, much due to how he relates to the students by reminiscing of the day he graduated from UT while providing advice for young college graduates preparing to begin their adult lives.
Knowledge of course, is always imperfect, but it seemed to me that when a nation goes to war it must have reasonable confidence in the justice and imperative of its cause. You can 't fix your mistakes. Once people are dead, you can 't make them undead” (38-39). Because O’Brien had witnessed so much death and destruction he knew how important it was to have all the facts first.
The war of Vietnam was caused by men who didn’t really understand the impact their decisions would make. They were not strategic and they didn’t take any advice from the militaire that actually knew what they were doing. Kennedy didn’t trust the Eisenhower and JCS, and didn’t take advice from the Pentagon or the old guard. One of the men in command, Alain Enthoven, was very arrogant and hotheaded. In McMaster’s words, Enthoven, “held military experience in low regard and considered military men intellectually inferior.”
In Liam O’Flaherty’s The Sniper, the main character, a sniper, is in the middle of a civil war in Dublin, Ireland. It is his assigned duty to assassinate anyone on the the other side of the war, no matter who they are. This creates a huge conflict, considering that the sniper ends up killing his brother. This supports the central theme that war is cruel, and this can be supported by the craft elements of the dialogue used and the setting of the story.