Reader comments
McNamara, defense chief during Vietnam War, dies

Anonymous | 8:43 a.m. July 6, 2009

This good man was a scape goat for JFK.

Bob2 | 9:28 a.m. July 6, 2009

Good article! Thank you.
If you really want to see a completely objective, yet terrifying view of a good, smart man caught up in the throes of power and blind to the real costs of war, I strongly urge you to Netflix, Errol Morris' The Fog of War. This is a brilliant doc and you see every side of McNamara.
Thanks again!

C.W. | 9:28 a.m. July 6, 2009

If you ever want to figure out how to "botch up" a war, read about Vietnam and especially Mcnamara's role in it!

He's the BIGGEST reason we lost Vietnam!

Comments continue below

Earl | 10:37 a.m. July 6, 2009

McNamara wasn't so much the reason we lost in Vietnam. The war was unwinnable, no matter who was in charge. Johnson, Bundy, McNamara and others were fools for believing we could win in the first place. The same mentality existed in the Bush administration, and now in the Obama administration. These foreign adventures are simply exercises in futility.

BLOOD | 10:55 a.m. July 6, 2009

Mac's one dude the boys are going to visit with upstairs.

RE:Earl | 11:20 a.m. July 6, 2009

where do you get Obama in all of this he's just trying to clean up the mess GWB has got us in.

Brother Chuck Schroeder | 11:30 a.m. July 6, 2009

Funny here, JFK and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson never got along, JFK started the Viet Nam war, where we could of won in, but the bomb bomb bomb everything in sight after spraying it with agent orange was Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, that caused us to lose that war, in the first place. At that time JFK got shot and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, President Lyndon B. Johnson screwed things up for us troops. You won't see their names on The Viet Nam Wall either.

war of necessity | 2:15 p.m. July 6, 2009

to RE:Earl | 11:20 a.m.

"Afghanistan was and still is a war of necessity." Obama's words. This is not about "clean[ing] up the mess GWB has got us in." I believe Earl's point was that Obama has made the war in Afghanistan (which has spilled over into Pakistan) his own. I think it's a fair question: how is Afghanistan different from Vietnam? How are our tactics in Afghanistan different than the Soviets' tactics back in the 80's?

Don't get me wrong, I sincerely hope that violence in Afghanistan will decline soon, and permanently.

Alpine Observer | 3:15 p.m. July 6, 2009

Read the book, "In Retrospect." Then read Barbara Tuchman's, "The March of Folly." Finally, quit voting the same people to the House and Senate. Find a good man or woman who is a non-incumbent (who knows what these books are about) and vote for them - and get your friends to augment your vote.

Voice of Reason | 4:43 p.m. July 6, 2009

Next to LBJ, McNamera is quite possibly the single individual most responsible for our losing the very winnable Viet Nam War. He repeatedly vetoed the Pentagon's military advice. He, and LBJ, repeatedly second-guessed the generals in the field for political reasons, hamstringing the military with ultimately unwinnable conditions, such as the 17th parallel & Cambodian non-encroachment rules which essentially created safe harbors for the enemy.

There's talk about Obama "cleaning up" after the mess Bush left behind. Yes, Bush messed up Iraq, but Bush also largely cleaned that up himself by finally listening to his generals with the surge. Obama inherited a much quieter, much safer and more stable Iraq when he was sworn in.

My question is: who will clean up after the historically unprecedented debt-ridden mess Obama is leaving us with?

take a bite | 5:45 p.m. July 6, 2009

Vice Pres Joe Biden just today told Israel,
'Its ok with us if you attack Iran.'

WHY?

Obama knows that Afghanistan and Pakistan are not winnable but if Israel attacks Iran it will cause a diversion and finger pointing away from his disaster economy and the deaths of more American troops in Afghanistan.

These leaders are full of Bait and Switch.

Anon 808 | 6:05 p.m. July 6, 2009

The Leader Of The Band Has Died.

I am so glad he did not Die on July the 4th.

War unwinnable | 6:35 p.m. July 6, 2009

The reason we lost in Vietnam is because the Vietnamese just wanted it more.

ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST | 9:42 p.m. July 6, 2009

WATCH THE FOG OF WAR IT EXPLAINS IT ALL!

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2 photos

Henry Burroughs, Associated Press

In a March 16, 1961 file photo, U.S. President John F. Kennedy sits in his favorite rocking chair in his office during a meeting with Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, right, at the White House in Washington. Former Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara died Monday.

Gallery (2 photos)