Former defense secretary to talk on nuclear policy Nov. 11.
Robert S. McNamara, former secretary of defense, author of "In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam," with Brian Van DeMark, and subject of the 2003 documentary, "The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara," will present a lecture titled, "The Follies of Current U.S. and NATO Nuclear Policy," at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 11 at Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall on the Princeton University campus.
The talk is free and open to the public.
Mr. McNamara served as secretary of defense in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and was among the chief anticommunist and nuclear defense architects at the epicenter of some of the most wrenching and rancorous periods in American history.
Mr. McNamara did his undergraduate work at the University of California and received a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University, where he returned in 1940 as an instructor, and was later appointed assistant professor of business administration. In 1946, after serving three years in the Armed Forces, he joined the Ford Motor Co., and in 1960 became the first non-family member to be named president of the company.
In 1961, less than five months after being named president of Ford, Mr. McNamara was hand-picked by President-elect John F. Kennedy to serve as secretary of defense. President Kennedy’s inherited edict from the Eisenhower administration to prevent the spread of communism throughout the world was severely challenged by unprecedented changes in the machinations of warfare, nuclear proliferation and the presence in Vietnam.
After President Kennedy’s assassination, Mr. McNamara remained as secretary defense under President Lyndon B. Johnson, during which time the Vietnam War dominated his efforts and brought with it a massive escalation in troop deployment, intensity in bombing and increased casualties. Mr. McNamara became increasingly concerned about the extent of U.S. involvement and vociferous in his reluctance to approve larger increments in troops, ultimately driving a wedge between the secretary of defense and the president. In 1968, he resigned his position and became president of the World Bank Group of Institutions, where he remained until 1981.
In his most recent book, "In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam," which Mr. McNamara refers to as "the book I never planned to write," he speaks to the decisions made and the thought processes behind his decisions, in an effort to put Vietnam in its proper context.
In 2003, Mr. McNamara was the subject of the documentary, "The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara," directed by Errol Morris, which is a series of interviews with the former secretary of defense about the Vietnam War, the decisions made, lessons he learned, and their relevance to the world today.
This lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.