In Memoriam: Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara var Saddam Hussein, the anti-christ og Bobby Heenan svejset sammen i en ultimativt ond person. Robert McNamara myrdede egenhændigt millioner af japanere, og hver eneste vietnameser der nogensinde har levet. Robert McNamara var ansvarlig for…. GAB!
Robert McNamara var mange ting, men de fleste af de ting var han længe før denne Årgang 76-blogger fik øje på geo-politik. I min tid fungerede Robert McNamara mest som en skarpsinding geopolitisk kommentator jf. bl.a. den anbefalelsesværdige dokumentarfilm The Fog of War. Så det er som skarpsinding kommentator at jeg vil huske Robert McNamara
Eleven lessons from the Iraq War
Kort før hans død offentliggjorde Robert McNamara en liste over 11 ting vi har lært fra Irak-krigen:
- We misjudged then — and we have since — the geopolitical intentions of our adversaries … and we exaggerated the dangers to the United States of their actions.
- We viewed their people in terms of our own experience … We totally misjudged the political forces within the country.
- We underestimated the power of nationalism to motivate a people to fight and die for their beliefs and values.
- Our judgments of friend and foe, alike, reflected our profound ignorance of the history, culture, and politics of the people in the area, and the personalities and habits of their leaders.
- We failed to recognize the limitations of modern, high-technology military equipment, forces, and doctrine.
- We failed, as well, to adapt our military tactics to the task of winning the hearts and minds of people from a totally different culture.
- We failed to draw Congress and the American people into a full and frank discussion and debate of the pros and cons of a large-scale military involvement before we initiated the action.
- After the action got under way, and unanticipated events forced us off our planned course, we did not fully explain what was happening, and why we were doing what we did.
- We did not recognize that neither our people nor our leaders are omniscient. Our judgement of what is in another people’s or country’s best interest should be put to the test of open discussion in international forums. We do not have the God-given right to shape every nation in our image or as we choose.
- We did not hold to the principle that U.S. military action should be carried out only in conjunction with multinational forces supported fully (and not merely cosmetically) by the international community.
- We failed to recognize that in international affairs, as in other aspects of life, there may be problems for which there are no immediate solutions. At times, we may have to live with an imperfect, untidy world.
…øh, undskyld… …jeg får en besked i min høresnegl… …ja, okay…
Vi bringer en rettelse
Bloggen er desværre kommet i besiddelse af en falsk, manipuleret liste, og vi iler med at bringe en korrektion:
Listen er ikke fra kort før Robert McNamaras død, men snarere fra 1995.
Listen handler ikke om lektier lært fra Irak-krigen, men om lektier lært fra Irak-krigen.
Listen stammer fra McNamaras bog ‘In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam‘, og den er bl.a. citeret her og her.
Det bog burde George W. Bush have læst…
Det er synd at George W. Bush ikke læste den bog inden invasionen af Irak.
Det er totalt vildt over-meget synd at George W. Bush ikke læste den bog inden invasionen af Irak.
Det er fuldstændigt freakin’ fuckin’ SUPER-SYND at George W. Bush ikke læste den bog inden invasionen af Irak.
Det er…. …you get the point!
Konklusion:
Det kan godt være at det var ondskaben selv som gik i graven for nyligt. Men så var det en selvransagende og reflekterende ondskab som gik i graven. Lad denne selvransagelse og reflektion være Robert McNamaras eftermæle.
Det kan godt være at Robert McNamara ikke har fortjent så positivt et eftermæle, men vi (læs: menneskeheden i al almindelighed) har brug for det eftermæle.
Vi har ikke brug for fordømmelse af de ting som Robert McNamara gjorde galt. Vi har brug for skarpsindig indsigt i denne galt-gørenhed, så vi kan lære af indsigten og undgå at gentage galt-gørenheden.
Se også:
Timothy Howard said,
Wrote on July 9, 2009 @ 08:26
McNamara was an evil man who was at least partially responsible for the deaths of millions–first as Secretary then as head of the world bank. He never had to answer for his crimes.
bohemianrhapsody said,
Wrote on July 9, 2009 @ 08:46
Was McNamara evil?
That may be so, but for every bit of evil in him, there will eventually be an equal or greater amount of maggots in his soon to be decaying body. Therefore the time for giving a crap about his impact on the past has passed, and the time for giving 2 craps about his potential future impact has arrived.
And I think that acknowledging his reflections are a more beneficial approach for all of mankind, than condemning his actions of the past.
AagePK said,
Wrote on July 9, 2009 @ 10:09
MacNamarra had the courage to make experiences, and the ability to learn from them. His reflections prove it.
So we won’t have to make the same experiences. That’s the lesson, Bush should have made. We all should, if we want to be considered intelligent beings.