Guide Note

Robert McNamara served as the U.S. Secretary of Defense under President's John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968 during the Vietnam War.

Fast Facts

Full name: Robert Strange McNamara
Born: June 9, 1916
Birthplace: San Francisco, California
Wife: Diana Masieri Byfield
Responsible for the institution of systems analysis
The documentary Fog of War explains the difficult times of his career
"Strange" was his mother's maiden name

Career

In addition to his time as Secretary of Defense, McNamara has been a very successful businessman has written books, and spoken on a variety of humanitarian subjects. He was President of the World Bank from 1968 to 1981 and became President of Ford Motor Company in 1960.

Secretary of Defense

President-elect John F. Kennedy first offered the post of secretary of defense to former secretary Robert A. Lovett. Lovett declined but recommended McNamara. McNamara immediately began to reorganize and streamline the nation's defense force and bureaucracy. He was central to the Kennedy administration's drive to change U.S. military strategy from reliance on nuclear massive retaliation to one of flexible response. McNamara emphasized cost control, the phasing out "obsolete weapons systems," and greater overall efficiency.

Categories

U.S. History | Political Issues and Controversies | U.S. Government

View Note History

Robert McNamara

The Mahalo Top 7

Wikipedia: Robert McNamara
Cold War Files: Robert S. McNamara
U.S. Department of Defense: Robert McNamara
The World Bank: Robert Strange McNamara: 5th President of the World Bank Group, 1968 - 1981
CNN Cold War: Interviews: Robert McNamara (June 1996)
SourceWatch: Robert Strange McNamara
YouTube: Fog of War Exerpt (Time: 6:04)

Robert McNamara Background and Profiles

CNN.com: Robert Strange McNamara
JFK Library: Biographies & Profiles of Robert McNamara
Medal of Freedom: Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Robert S. McNamara
National Reconnaissance Office: NRO Honors Former SECDEF Robert McNamara (May 12, 2000)
IMDb: The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003)

Cuban Missile Crisis

Foreign Policy: Apocalypse Soon (May/June 2005)
Guardian Unlimited: Interview: "Robert McNamara on Vietnam and the Cuban Missile Crisis" (May 19, 2002)
AmericanHeritage.com: The Cuban Missile Crisis: A Lesson for Today? (October 22, 2005)

The Ford Motor Company

AmericanHeritage.com: The Outsider (Summer 2007)
UC Berkeley: Conversation with Robert McNamara
TIME: "New President at Ford" (April 21, 1961)

Vietnam War Era

Times Online: "What is forgiveness?" (December 12, 2007)
The New York Times: "Don't Dumb Down the Army" (February 17, 2006)
BusinessWeek: Robert McNamara, Vietnam, and Iraq (April 7, 2004)
The New York Times: "Robert McNamara and the Ghosts of Vietnam" (August 10, 1997)
The New York Times: "Visit To Vietnam" (September 22, 1995)
Foreign Affairs: "The Stain of Vietnam: Robert McNamara, Redemption Denied" (Summer 1993)

World Bank

Foreign Affairs: Reconsiderations: Robert McNamara at the World Bank (Fall 1981)
Mail & Guardian Online: World Bank shake-up (February 28, 1997)
The World Bank: Archives | McNamara at the World Bank Group (23.5 KB)

Robert McNamara Media

Google Image Search: Robert McNamara
Live Search Images: Robert McNamara
Sony Classics: Robert McNamara Fog Of War Presentation
Flickr Photos: Robert McNamara
YouTube Video Search: Robert McNamara
YouTube: Robert S. McNamara (Time: 4:10)
YouTube: Robert McNamara - The Hand that Signed the Paper (Time: 1:16)
YouTube: Robert McNamara commentary on the Cuban missile crisis (Time: 5:03)

Robert McNamara Blogs and Commentary

The Huffington Post: Robert McNamara
Jon Swift: Donald Rumsfeld - Best Defense Secretary Since Robert McNamara (November 9, 2006)
National Review Online: McNamara, Kerry, and Ghosts (January 24, 2004)
Truthout: Robert McNamara: 'It's Just Wrong What We're Doing' (January 24, 2004)
The New York Times Opinion: Mr. McNamara's War (April 12, 1995)

Robert McNamara Criticism and Controversy

Central Intelligence Agency: Thoughts Engendered by Robert McNamara's In Retrospect
The New York Times: War and Never Having to Say You're Sorry" (December 14, 2003)
Slate Magazine: The lies of The Fog of War (December. 19, 2003)
Time: The Particular Tragedy of Robert McNamara (July 5, 1971)

Robert McNamara Timeline

1916: Born on the 9th of June in San Francisco, California
1937: Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Philosophy from University of California at Berkeley
1939: Masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration
1940-1943: Taught at Harvard University
1943-1946: In the Army Air Force
1946: Awarded the Legion of Merit and was promoted to lieutenant colonel before going on inactive status
1946-1961: Worked at the Ford Motor Company
1957: The director of the Ford Motor Company
1960: The president of the Ford Motor Company
1961: President John F. Kennedy appointed him as Secretary of Defense
1962: He was one of the key officials in the Cuban Missile Crisis
1968: Resigned as Secretary of Defense, awarded Medal of Freedom and Distinguished Service Medal
1968-1981: The president of the World Bank Group of Institutions
2001: His latest book Wilson's Ghost is published
2003: The The Fog of War movie about McNamara is made
2004: Marries Diana Masieri Byfield

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Cuban Missile Crisis | Donald Rumsfeld | Ford | Lyndon Johnson | John F. Kennedy | Harvard University | Robert Gates | The Fog of War | University of California, Berkeley | United States | Vietnam War | World Bank

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