Fog of War

James G. Blight and Janet M. Lang served as academic advisors for Errol Morris's film. Pioneers in the field of critical oral history, they teach at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Relations. James Blight is the author of more than a dozen books on the recent history of U.S. foreign policy, most recently Sad and Luminous Days: CubaOs Struggle with the Superpowers after the Missile Crisis (with Philip Brenner); Cuba on the Brink: Castro, the Missile Crisis, and the Soviet Collapse (with David A. Welch); WilsonOs Ghost: Reducing the Risk of Conflict, Killing and Catastrophe in the 21st Century (with Robert S. McNamara); and Argument Without End: In Search of Answers to the Vietnam Tragedy (with Robert S. McNamara and Robert K. Brigham).

Essential reading for anyone interested in drawing lessons from the Vietnam war.

• 1 Acknowledgements2 Authors' Note3 Prologue: Critical Oral History: Robert McNamara's Road to "The Fog of War"4 Lesson One: "Empathize with your enemy"5 Lesson Two: "Rationality will not save us"6 Lesson Three: "Belief and seeing are both often wrong"7 Lesson Four: "Proportionality should be a guideline in war"8 Lesson Five: "Be prepared to reexamine your reasoning"9 Critical Essays: "I'd rather be damned if I don't"10 Epilogue: Wilson's Ghost11 Appendix A: Chronology of the Life and Times of Robert S. McNamara12 Appendix B: Further Reading and Exploration13 Credits14 Acronyms15 Notes16 Index17 About the Authors