U.S. History
1) From the movie or any source, write down who Robert “Bob” McNamara was.
2) Write down the eleven (11) “lessons” that organize the narrative as they appear. (It’s easy–they pop
right up).
3) Describe what McNamara MEANS by each “lesson.” To what is he referring? (Your answer will be
longer than a single sentence and reference both his meaning and the history he cites.)
5) Lessons Learned: Bay of Pigs Invasion
www.youtube.com/watch
a) How did Castro view the US and what worried the US about Castro?
b) Which president first approved the CIA plot to overthrow Castro?
c) The plan was that Cuban elites abroad would invade and trigger what?
d) JFK inherits the plan, and he doubts it; but, if he chose not to support the so-called Operation Bumpy
Road, what would he probably have been accused of being?
e) Partly, it failed because JFK refused to authorize what?
f) Also, who failed to rise up?
U.S. HISTORY 2
U.S. History
watch the film THE FOG OF WAR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwXF6UdkeI4
1) From the movie or any source, write down who Robert “Bob” McNamara was.
Secretary of Defense during Kennedy/Johnson administration
2) Write down the eleven (11) “lessons” that organize the narrative as they appear. (It’s easy–
they pop right up).
- Empathize with your enemy.
- Rationality will not save us.
- There’s something beyond one’s self.
- Maximize efficiency.
- Proportionality should be a guideline in war.
- Get the data.
- Belief and seeing are both often wrong.
- Be prepared to reexamine your reasoning.
- In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil.
- Never say never.
- You can’t change human nature.
3) Describe what McNamara MEANS by each “lesson.” To what is he referring? (Your answer
will be longer than a single sentence and reference both his meaning and the history he cites.)
U.S. HISTORY 3
- Empathize with your enemy: It is important to loot more at the world through the
eyes of our enemies so as to appreciate their opinions and thoughts processes. - Rationality alone will not save us: It was luck that saved the US from the Cuban
Missile crisis. There is potential for nuclear war up to date. This might result from a
combination of nuclear weapons and human error. - There’s something beyond one’s self: McManara’s important events in his life
greatly influenced his policy decisions as Defense Secretary. - Maximize efficiency: McManara helped maximize efficiency after being brought
back from the 8 th Air Force and assigned to the 58 th Bomb Wing flying planes to the
Pacific theatre. He was majorly responsible for the decision to begin firebombing
Japanese cities. - Proportionality should be a guideline in war: Accoding to McManara, if the US had
lost the war, they would all have been subjected to criminal proceedings. His belief
is that they indeed acted as war criminals. - Get the data: While working as an executive member at Ford, MacManara
commissioned several studies with the purpose of getting information on everything
from buyer demographics for vehicles to accident reports in order to make cars
safer. This information was used for designing care that great successes. McManara
believes that in order to improve the deteriorating conditions, it was important for
American people to be educated on the dire conditions of the country. - Belief and seeing are both often wrong: Despite the US putting themselves in the
“skin of the Soviets” during the Crisis, the US still failed to do so with Vietnam
because of a lack of understanding of the Vietnamese position. In the eyes of the
U.S. HISTORY 4
people, the Vietnamese conflict was a civil war and not a Cold War battle that the
US thought it was.
- Be prepared to reexamine your reasoning: Despite being the most powerful nation
in the world today, it is not good to use power unilaterally. Failure to convince allies
about the correctness of our actions means that there is need to reexamine the US’s
reasoning. - In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil: Despite having to engage in evil
at times, it is important to do the best to minimize it. McManara sympathized with
the anti-war protestors during his time as Defense Secretary. - Never say never: McManara believes that the president was solely responsible fir
the Vietnam War. He also feels apologetic for his errors. - You can’t change human nature. According to McManara, ‘the fog of war’ implies
to the complexities of war and the inability of human mind to fully comprehend
them at one time. Human nature complicates war and it makes it difficult to end it.
Though we are rational individuals, rationality is limited.
5) Lessons Learned: Bay of Pigs Invasion
www.youtube.com/watch
a) How did Castro view the US and what worried the US about Castro?
Castro viewed US as an enemy to Cuba, while US were worried about Castro’s anti-
American rhetoric. In addition, they were worried about the bearded revolutionary of
Cuba.
b) Which president first approved the CIA plot to overthrow Castro?
U.S. HISTORY 5
President Eisenhower.
c) The plan was that Cuban elites abroad would invade and trigger what?
To overthrow Fidel Castro’s government in Cuba.
d) JFK inherits the plan, and he doubts it; but, if he chose not to support the so-called Operation
Bumpy Road, what would he probably have been accused of being?
He would have been accused of being a failure both at home and abroad.
e) Partly, it failed because JFK refused to authorize what?
The American troops.
f) Also, who failed to rise up?
Jack.
6) Cuban Missile Crisis (from Fog of War with Robert McNamara)
a) What did the Soviet Union do “under the cloak of deceit”?
They introduced nuclear missiles into Cuba that besieged 90 million Americans.
b) What does McNamara tell JFK on an audio tape are the two things that needed to be done?
1) Develop a specific strike plan.
2) Consider the consequences.
c) What was General Lamay’s recommendation?
He recommended that President Kennedy to go to war in the Bay of Pigs and later in the
Cuban missile crisis.
U.S. HISTORY 6
d) On “that critical Saturday,” how many messages did they have from Khrushchev [the head of
the Soviet Union]?
Two messages.
e) The first messages said if the US promised not to do WHAT, that the Soviets would take the
missiles out of Cuba?
Promised not to invade Cuba.
f) What did former ambassador to Russia, Tommy Thompson, tell JFK to do?
He is the one who revealed the scheme of Khrushchev that he had ordered his ambassadors
in Washington to resist temptation when provoked.
a) The ship Maddox reports what?
There were two attacks that were going to take place.
b) Though nothing blew up, the US ordered air bombing attacks where?
North Vietnam.
c) With the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, Congress gave the president what power?
They gave President Lyndon B. Johnson unlimited powers that he was to go up against the
communist aggression in Southeast Asia.
d) As it turned out, the error was allegedly by the sonar men. Why?
Because it was concluded that the motive was not political. NSA deliberately distorted
intelligence reports to cover up honest intelligence error.
8) Vietnam: Road to War (3 mins)
U.S. HISTORY 7
[Please be aware this video states that N. Vietnam attacked US ships, but remember that no boat
was hit and the “attack” amounted to alleged blips on a radar screen.]
a) If Americans knew about Vietnam at all, they knew it as a….what?
They knew it as a communist group
b) Americans feared that if Vietnam fell to communism that what would then happen?
That the surrounding territories would have fallen.
c) What president was going to pull US military advisors and money out of a failing situation in
Vietnam?
President Lyndon Johnson.
d) Who was president (the former’s v.p.) during the Tonkin Incident and who really started the
actual war?
Richard Nixon.
e) Did the “resolution” declar war officially?
No.
f) In five years, how many US troops were in Vietnam?
500,000 US troops were in Vietnam.
g) How many Americans total served?
522500 Americans.
h) In what year did the US lose this war and Vietnam “fall” to communists?
U.S. HISTORY 8
This was in 1975.
9) Tet Offensive (5 mins)
a) What was “Tet”?
This was a revolving point in the war when the enemy seemed to rebel against the
attackers.
b) The North Vietnamese declared a seven-day what?
It was declared a world heritage site.
c) So the “Tet Offensive” was what? (It’s posted in a words/titles frame)
This was the time when the South Vietnamese army was able to repel the assault from the
U.S forces.
d) How many cities get attacked at the same time?
These were about a hundred cities.
e) How many Americans were killed that one year?
9000 Americans.
f) Although the US technically win against the Tet Offensive, the N Vietnamese see it as a long-
term victory because what happened? That is, why was this a turning point?
Because President Johnson was faced with the public, that were unhappy Americans.
However, he also dismissed Tet Offensive as complete failure. He even faced opposition in
his party.
10) AGENT ORANGE (5 mins)
U.S. HISTORY 9
a) Agent Orange was a herbicide. What is that?
It was used in by the military in the Vietnamese war.
b) The first man to speak (to be interviewed) said he saw what?
He saw Agent Orange pouring from the skies.
c) How many gallons were sprayed by the US on Vietnam?
20 million gallons.
d) How long does it take Agent Orange to “degrade”?
It takes decades to degrade.
e) What disease did the American soldier who spoke have?
Throat cancer.
11) Nixon
Nixon was writing a special speech in response to what?
The Vietnam War.
He called the “forgotten Americans,” his supporters, what??
The ‘great silent majority’
Did his overall ratings rise or fall after the speech?
The rating soared very high.
12) Nixon Speaks on Vietnam in 1969
U.S. HISTORY 10
a) How long had the war gone on when he was inaugurated?
The war had gone on for four years.
b) How many Americans were in Vietnam at the time?
540,000 Americans.
c) In what city were failed negotiations going on?
Paris
d) What would have been “the popular and easy course to follow”?
The popular and easy course to follow was to order the immediate withdrawal of all
American forces.
e) Nixon says the real question at hand is how to win America’s WHAT?
Peace.
f) He says Eisenhower sent what? Kennedy sent what? And Johnson sent what?
Nixon says Eisenhower sent economic aid and military equipment to help the South
Vietnamese in their attempts to prevent the takeover by Communists. Kennedy sent 16,000
military personnel to Vietnam to act as combat advisers. Lastly, Johnson sent U.S. combat
forces to South Vietnam.
