In addition to these illuminations in retrospect makes of policymaking, mcnamara s book is of particular interest to the degree that it discusses the role intelligence playedor did not playin vietnam decisionmaking. Isaacs on the day in 1967 when hamilton gregory reported to a tennessee induction center to begin his service in the u. Mcnamara s infamous body count, was about domestic politics and. Robert mcnamara, who died on monday at 93, will be remembered for the war in vietnam. The body count was a measurement of adversarys manpower losses. A quote from her personal interviews of mcnamara corroborates eirs. Eventually, he raised such concerns with president lyndon b. While i have always considered this one of the best novels on the vietnam war i suppose i should read it again.
He was the longestserving defense secretary in the u. Oddly, in a memoir almost entirely critical of his own performance, mcnamara defends the body count, the militarys oftenridiculed attempt to measure progress in the. Thats one of the more grisly aspects of the vietnam war that the u. Army, a sergeant presented him to another young man who was also headed to fort benning, georgia, to. Mcnamara states that the purpose of his book is to explore, and explain to the. It would be hard to think of a more controversial figure from the vietnam war era than defense secretary robert s. Review of the tyranny of metrics by jerry muller tim harford.
The mcnamara fallacy learn to spot it and to avoid it. Mcnamara resigned as secretary of defense in 1968 following his failed attempt to both negotiate a settlement in the vietnam war and convince johnson to freeze. The fallacy refers to mcnamara s belief as to what led the united states to defeat in the vietnam warspecifically, his quantification of success in the war e. Mcnamara and his new book, in retrospect, is largely based on a false premise, one that can be best demonstrated by the new york times of over twenty years ago. There were 10 million americans under arms during the war. Mcnamara was the preeminent policymaker behind the massive buildup of american forces in vietnam between 1964 and 1968. Is your subtitle the general who lost vietnam fair. Smart news keeping you current how robert mcnamara came to regret the war he escalated the architect of the vietnam war never formally apologized, but struggled with its consequences for the.
If this second read of body count is any indication a return to webbs book. This was always a dubious idea, but the body count quickly became an informal metric for ranking units. Mcnamara, in his book, still defended the effort to count vietcong and north vietnamese casualties, a bodycount process closely identified with the numbersoriented defense chief and former head. Westmoreland and mcnamara needed body counts, and the higher the better. Defense secretary robert mcnamara briefing the press on vietnam at the pentagon in 1965. The tragedy and lessons of vietnam and millions of other books are available for instant access. Not only is sorley a thirdgeneration graduate of west point a vietnam veteran and a historian, but he worked for westmoreland as well. General westmoreland had complete freedom of action in deciding how to prosecute the war within south vietnam. The more of the enemy you kill, reasoned mcnamara, the closer you are to winning. The new forms of quantification became the body count and the number of us troops. The leader of the american campaign in vietnam, general william westmoreland and secretary mcnamara decided to start measuring the progress of the war based on the number of enemy forces killed. Only by applying statistical rigor, he believed, could decision.
The vitriolic and protracted campaign in the new york times against former secretary of defense robert s. Mcnamara writes vietnam mea culpa the washington post. Body counts are terrible way for the public to assess us. Their goal was to reach the tipping point where they had eliminated more bodies than the north could replace. Robert strange mcnamara june 9, 1916 july 6, 2009 was an american business executive and the eighth united states secretary of defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under presidents john f. The mcnamara fallacy originates from the vietnam war, in which enemy body counts were taken to be a precise and objective measure of. The vietnam war body count controversy centers on the counting of enemy dead by the united.
Thoughts engendered by robert mcnamaras in retrospect. Body counts and success in the vietnam and korean wars jstor. The vietnam center and sam johnson vietnam archive. Vo nguyen giap, the vietnamese communist army commander during the war. Mcnamara s other body count by james bovard former defense secretary robert mcnamara, who died on july 6, was best known for dishonestly ratcheting up the vietnam war. The body count metric, ear collections and the vietnam war. Mcnamaras controversial book tells the inside and personal story of americas descent into vietnam from a unique point of view, and is one of the most enlightening books about government ever written. Biography of robert mcnamara, vietnam war architect. The vietnam war body count controversy centers on the counting of enemy dead by the united states armed forces during the vietnam war 19551975. Mcnamara made his name during his time at ford by choosing data points to measure, and then ruthlessly optimizing the processes that produced those data points to improve efficiency, costs, and quality. Enthoven one of robert mcnamara s famed whiz kids called body counts the measure of success. Mcnamaras strong reluctance to discuss the war at all and his. Of the casualties listed on the wall approximatley 1,300 remain missing in action still. He is less recalled as the father of the ford falcon compact, introduced 50 years ago this fall.
There are issues around killing and counting unarmed civilians noncombatants as enemy combatants, as well as inflating the number of actual enemy who were killed in action kia. Body counts and success in the vietnam and korean wars. Robert strange mcnamara, one of the most recognizable and controversial figures of the vietnam war, served as the secretary of defense under both john f. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Robert mcnamara 1916 during the late 60s, many americans change their opinion of the vietnam war, gradually becoming opposed to the policies they once supported. Mcnamaras other body count debacle by james bovard, july 9, 2009 former defense secretary robert mcnamara, who died on july 6, was best known for ratcheting up the vietnam war thanks to the false claims he provided to president johnson, congress, and the american people. Mcnamara, in his book, still defended the effort to count vietcong and north vietnamese casualties, a body count process closely identified with the numbersoriented defense chief and former head. Readers weighed in on the best books about the vietnam war. He played a major role in escalating the united states involvement in. Mcnamara s and the whiz kids focus was on kill ratios which was one american or vietnamese soldier for every 2. In one of the most gruesome chapters of the vietnam war, defense secretary robert mcnamara had soldiers report enemy body count. William westmoreland played a key role as general in expanding u. Mcnamara said he ceased to believe that the vietnam war could be won not long after american.
From 1965 to 1967, he was instrumental in raising the level of u. Mcnamara, in full robert strange mcnamara, born june 9, 1916, san francisco, california, u. How robert mcnamara came to regret the war he escalated. Im glad for the memory loss since it was a very fine read. If more enemies died than american soldiers, the americans search and destroy mission was considered a success. The most willful vietnam warrior in the kennedy and johnson. In short, as outlined below, secretary mcnamara largely ignored cias judgments for some years, but by 196667 had come to. This story is part of our julyaugust 20 issue see the rest of the issue. Military people now realize that quantifying victory is far more complex.
Historian lewis sorley author of 1999s wellregarded a better war. Body count in americas ground war in vietnam, success was measured by body count. The body count was a measurement of the adversarys manpower losses. Hamilton gregory has written a superb account of the debacle that. The unexamined victories and final tragedy of americans last years in vietnam now zeroes in on general william westmoreland. After we posted this article, times readers weighed in with their favorite books on the vietnam war. These 10 books, in addition to the ones below, were recommended multiple times. The core of the book and the heart of the matter is mcnamara s involvement in the quagmire of the vietnam war. In private, mcnamara s doubts about the mission grew along with the body count, and he questioned whether the war was actually winnable. His book, in retrospect, published in 1995, presented an account and analysis of the vietnam war that dwelt heavily on the mistakes to which he was a prime party and conveyed his strong sense of guilt and regret. But what may have worked at harvard and later at ford ran famously aground in the infamous body counts of vietnam, which mcnamara describes in characteristically technocratic terms. He brought this same approach to the vietnam war, where the main metric he used to determine success was body count.