Robert McNamara, who died yesterday, July 6, served as Kennedy’s , then as Johnson’s defense secretary. He contributed more than most to the slaughter of 3.4 million Vietnamese (his own estimate). He went on to run the World Bank, where he presided over the impoverishment, eviction from their lands and death of many millions more... Read More

To no one's surprise, Errol Morris won an Oscar for his documentary on Robert McNamara, The Fog of War. In front of a world audience in the billions Morris thanked the mass murderer for his cooperation. Earlier this year I wrote some fierce criticisms of Morris's awful film, which will appear in CounterPunch's Book of... Read More

Apparently to McNamara's mortification, Errol Morris, whose film The Fog of War I recently discussed here, passes over his subject's thirteen-year stint running the World Bank, whither he was dispatched by LBJ, Medal of Freedom in hand. McNamara brandishes his bank years as his moral redemption, and all too often his claim is accepted by... Read More

My dear friend and late Nation colleague Andrew Kopkind liked to tell how, skiing in Aspen at the height of the Vietnam War, he came round a bend and saw another skier, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, alone near the edge of a precipice. This was during the period of Rolling Thunder, which ultimately saw three... Read More