What is Secretary McNamara’s legacy regarding Vietnam?
Bob McNamara had the courage and the character and the intelligence to admit that he was wrong about Vietnam. We’re still waiting for some of the other Vietnam actors to say that they were wrong. I think he’ll be remembered as a top figure that way. That’s a great legacy. He also did remarkably effective work as president of the World Bank [where he served as president from 1968-1981]. Even though he was a wealthy man and a former CEO of one of the biggest corporations, he geared the work of the World Bank to the benefit of the poorest people around the world. Why did Secretary McNamara continue to voice support for the war long after it was apparent to you and others that the U.S. could not win a military victory in Vietnam? He was accepting the tenets of the Cold War — that we had to combat communism anywhere. Even as early as 1963, I spoke out against the war in Vietnam, but I did so knowing that the entire establishment was in favor of the war. When he saw the folly of the whole wa
