Robert McNamara
8th United States Secretary of Defense
In office January 21, 1961 – February 29, 1968
President	John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson
Deputy	Roswell Gilpatric, Cyrus Vance, Paul Nitze
Preceded by	Thomas S. Gates
Succeeded by	Clark M. Clifford
5th President of the World Bank Group
In office April 1968 – June 1981
Preceded by	George D. Woods
Succeeded by	Alden W. Clausen
Born	June 9, 1916 (1916-06-09) (age 92) Oakland, California
Spouse	Margaret Craig (1. The United States Secretary of Defense ( SECDEF) is the head of the U Events 1189 - Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Leap years Although the modern calendar counts a year as 365 days a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of Roswell Leavitt Gilpatric ( November 4, 1906 &ndash March 15, 1996) Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1961-1964 Chairman Task Force Cyrus Roberts Vance ( Clarksburg West Virginia, March 27, 1917 &ndash January 12, 2002) was the United States Secretary of State Paul Henry Nitze ( January 16 1907 &ndash October 19 2004) was a high-ranking United States government official who helped shape Thomas Sovereign Gates Jr ( 10 April 1906 - 25 March 1983) was United States Secretary of Defense from 1959 to 1961 under Clark McAdams Clifford ( December 25, 1906 – October 10, 1998) was a highly influential American Lawyer who served Presidents The World Bank Group (WBG is a family of five International organizations responsible for providing Finance and advice to countries for the purposes of economic Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 George David Woods (1901 &ndash 1982 was a US banker He served as President of World Bank from January 1963 to March 1968 Alden Winship Clausen (born February 17[[ 923]] is a former President of the World Bank. Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Oakland (ˈoʊklənd founded in 1852 is the eighth-largest city in the U deceased) Diana Masieri Byfield (2. present)
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley
Religion	Presbyterian

Robert Strange McNamara (born June 9, 1916) is an American business executive and a former United States Secretary of Defense. Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United States Secretary of Defense ( SECDEF) is the head of the U McNamara served as U. S. Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1968, during the Vietnam War. The United States Secretary of Defense ( SECDEF) is the head of the U Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia After holding that position he became President of the World Bank (1968-1981). The World Bank is an internationally supported Bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs (e Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 McNamara was responsible for the institution of systems analysis in public policy, which developed into the discipline known today as policy analysis. Systems analysis is the Interdisciplinary part of Science, dealing with analysis of sets of interacting or entities the Systems often prior to their automation Policy analysis can be defined as "determining which of various alternative policies will most achieve a given set of goals in light of the relations between the policies and the goals" ^[1]

Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Secretary of Defense 2.1 Anti-communism 2.2 Other steps 2.3 ABM 2.4 Cost reductions 2.4.1 Program consolidation 2.5 Vietnam War 2.6 Social Equity 2.7 Departure from SoD 3 Involvement in USS Liberty Incident 4 World Bank 5 Post-World Bank activities 6 Promise and Power 7 The Fog of War 8 Personal information 9 Other affiliations 10 See also 11 Books by Robert S. McNamara 12 References 13 External links

Early life and career

Robert Strange McNamara was born in Oakland, California, where his father was the sales manager of a wholesale shoe company; he got his middle name "Strange" from his mother's maiden name. Oakland (ˈoʊklənd founded in 1852 is the eighth-largest city in the U California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. He attended Piedmont High School in Piedmont, California where he was president of the Rigma Lions boys club in 1933. He became an Eagle Scout, and graduated in 1937 from the University of California, Berkeley, with a Bachelor of Arts in economics with minors in mathematics and philosophy, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in his sophomore year, and earned a varsity letter in crew. Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The University of California Berkeley (also referred to as Cal, Berkeley and UC Berkeley) is a major research university located in Berkeley Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic Honor society with the mission of "fostering and recognizing excellence" in the Undergraduate Liberal arts He was a member of the UC Berkeley Golden Bear Battalion, Army ROTC. He then earned a master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1939. Harvard Business School ( HBS) is a renowned Business school in the United States Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

After earning his MBA, McNamara worked a year for the accounting firm Price Waterhouse in San Francisco. The Master of Business Administration ( MBA) is a Master's degree in Business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines Accountancy or accounting is the measurement statement or provision of assurance about financial information primarily used by Lenders managers, PricewaterhouseCoopers (or PwC is one of the world's largest Professional services firms The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city In August 1940 he returned to Harvard to teach in the Business School and became the highest paid and youngest Assistant Professor at the time. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Harvard Business School ( HBS) is a renowned Business school in the United States Following his involvement there in a program to teach the analytical approaches used in business to officers of the Army Air Forces (AAF), he entered the Army as a captain in early 1943, serving most of the war with the AAF's Office of Statistical Control. The United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF) was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II. See " Captain " for other versions of this rank In the uniformed services of the United States, captain is a federal One major responsibility was the analysis of U. S. bombers' efficiency and effectiveness, especially the B-29 forces commanded by Major General Curtis LeMay in China and the Mariana Islands. Curtis Emerson LeMay (15 November 1906–3 October 1990 was a General in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National The Mariana Islands (also the Marianas; up to the early 20th century sometimes called Ladrones Islands, from Spanish Islas de los Ladrones meaning ^[2] He left active duty in 1946 with the rank of lieutenant colonel and with a Legion of Merit. Lieutenant Colonel ( Lieutenant-Colonel in English from the French grade 's spelling is a rank of Commissioned officer in the armies The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding

In 1946 McNamara joined Ford Motor Company, due to the influence of a Colonel he worked under named Charles "Tex" Thornton. Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following Charles Bates "Tex" Thornton (1913-1981 was an American business executive who was the founder of Litton Industries. Thornton had read an article in Life magazine which reported that the company was in dire need of reform. He was one of ten former WW II officers known as the "Whiz Kids", who helped the company to stop its losses and administrative chaos by implementing modern planning, organization, and management control systems. Starting as manager of planning and financial analysis, he advanced rapidly through a series of top-level management positions. Planning in Organizations and Public policy is both the organizational process of creating and maintaining a Plan; and the psychological process of McNamara opposed Ford's planned Edsel automobile and worked to stop the program even before the first car rolled off the assembly line. The Edsel was a marquee division of Ford Motor Company during the 1958 1959 and 1960 model years He eventually succeeded in ending the program in November 1960. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. During his role as an executive, McNamara placed a high emphasis on safety standards, introducing in the Lifeguard package both the seat belt, and a collapsible steering column. Lifeguard was the name of a 1956 safety package marketed by the Ford Motor Company. ^[3] McNamara also came close to terminating the Lincoln, forcing product planners to reinvent the car for 1961. Lincoln is an American Luxury car manufacturer operated under the Ford Motor Company. On November 9, 1960, McNamara became the first president of Ford from outside the family of Henry Ford. Events 694 - Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims sentencing all Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following Henry Ford ( July 30, 1863 &ndash April 7, 1947) was the American founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of McNamara received substantial credit for Ford's expansion and success in the postwar period. Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following

Secretary of Defense

President-elect John F. Kennedy first offered the post of secretary of defense to former secretary Robert A. Lovett. John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of See also Civil defense United States civil defense refers to the use of Civil defense in the History of the United States, which is the organized Fallout Protection What To Know And Do About Nuclear Attack, was an official United States federal government booklet released in December 1961 by the United A President-elect is a Political candidate who has been elected President but who has not yet taken office as it is still occupied by the Outgoing John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of Robert Abercrombie Lovett ( 14 September 1895 - 7 May 1986) was the fourth United States Secretary of Defense, serving in Lovett declined but recommended McNamara; Kennedy had him approached by Sargent Shriver regarding either the Treasury or the Defense cabinet post less than five weeks after McNamara had become president at Ford. Robert Sargent Shriver Jr (born November 9 1915 is an American Democratic Politician and Activist. Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following At first McNamara turned down the Treasury position; but eventually, after discussions with his family, McNamara accepted Kennedy's invitation to serve as Secretary of Defense. The United States Secretary of Defense ( SECDEF) is the head of the U

Although not especially knowledgeable about defense matters, McNamara immersed himself in the subject, learned quickly, and soon began to apply an "active role" management philosophy, in his own words "providing aggressive leadership questioning, suggesting alternatives, proposing objectives and stimulating progress. " He rejected radical organizational changes, such as those proposed by a group Kennedy had appointed, headed by Sen. W. Stuart Symington, which would have abolished the military departments, replaced the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) with a single chief of staff, and established three functional unified commands. William Stuart Symington ( June 26, 1901 – December 14, 1988) was a businessman and Political figure from Missouri. The Joint Chiefs of Staff ( JCS) is a group comprising the Chiefs of service of each major branch of the Armed services in the United States armed forces McNamara accepted the need for separate services but argued that "at the end we must have one defense policy, not three conflicting defense policies. And it is the job of the Secretary and his staff to make sure that this is the case. "

Initially, the basic policies outlined by President Kennedy in a message to Congress on March 28, 1961 guided McNamara in the reorientation of the defense program. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses Events 37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Kennedy rejected the concept of first-strike attack and emphasized the need for adequate strategic arms and defense to deter nuclear attack on the United States and its allies. In Nuclear strategy, a first strike is a preemptive surprise attack employing overwhelming force U. S. arms, he maintained, must constantly be under civilian command and control, and the nation's defense posture had to be "designed to reduce the danger of irrational or unpremeditated general war. Civilian control of the military is a doctrine in military and Political science that places ultimate responsibility for a country's " The primary mission of U. S. overseas forces, in cooperation with allies, was "to prevent the steady erosion of the Free World through limited wars. " Kennedy and McNamara rejected massive retaliation for a posture of flexible response. Flexible response was a defense Strategy implemented by John F The United States wanted choices in an emergency other than "inglorious retreat or unlimited retaliation," as the president put it. Out of a major review of the military challenges confronting the United States initiated by McNamara in 1961 came a decision to increase the nation's "limited warfare" capabilities. These moves were significant because McNamara was abandoning President Dwight D. Eisenhower's policy of massive retaliation in favor of a flexible response strategy that relied on increased U. Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general S. capacity to conduct limited, non-nuclear warfare.

He also created the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Defense Supply Agency. The Defense Logistics Agency ( DLA) is an agency in the United States Department of Defense, with about 22000 civilian and Military personnel throughout

Anti-communism

The Kennedy administration placed particular emphasis on improving ability to counter communist "wars of national liberation," in which the enemy avoided head-on military confrontation and resorted to political subversion and guerrilla tactics. Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based Guerrilla warfare is the unconventional warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile tactics (ambushes raids etc As McNamara said in his 1962 annual report, "The military tactics are those of the sniper, the ambush, and the raid. The political tactics are terror, extortion, and assassination. " In practical terms, this meant training and equipping U. S. military personnel, as well as such allies as South Vietnam, for counterinsurgency operations. "RVN" redirects here RVN is also the former callsign of a TV station in Wagga Wagga New South Wales Australia See also Insurgency In the context of an occupation or a Civil war, counter-insurgency (abbreviated COIN is a military term for the combat

Increased attention to conventional strength complemented these special forces preparations. In this instance he called up reserves and also proceeded to expand the regular armed forces. Whereas active duty strength had declined from approximately 3,555,000 to 2,483,000 between 1953 (the end of the Korean conflict) and 1961, it increased to nearly 2,808,000 by 30 June 1962. The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Then the forces leveled off at around 2,700,000 until the Vietnam military buildup began in 1965, reaching a peak of nearly 3,550,000 by mid-1968, just after McNamara left office.

Other steps

McNamara took other steps to improve U. S. deterrence posture and military capabilities. He raised the proportion of Strategic Air Command (SAC) strategic bombers on 15-minute ground alert from 25 percent to 50 percent, thus lessening their vulnerability to missile attack. The Strategic Air Command (SAC was both a major command and a "specified command" in the U In December 1961 he established the Strike Command (STRICOM). The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom 's combat aircraft from 1968 until Authorized to draw forces when needed from the Strategic Army Corps (STRAC), the Tactical Air Command, and the airlift units of the Military Air Transport Service and the military services, Strike Command had the mission "to respond swiftly and with whatever force necessary to threats against the peace in any part of the world, reinforcing unified commands or… carrying out separate contingency operations. The Strategic Army Corps (STRAC was a command of the United States Army, with a mission of high readiness active in the 1960s but later inactivated Tactical Air Command (TAC it an inactive United States Air Force organization Military Air Transport Service (MATS was a command of the US Air Force from 1948-65 which superseded the Army Air Force's Air Transport Command, its " McNamara also increased long-range airlift and sealift capabilities and funds for space research and development. An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies primarily via Aircraft. Sealift is a term used predominantly in Military logistics and refers to the use of Cargo ships for the deployment of military assets such as After reviewing the separate and often uncoordinated service efforts in intelligence and communications, McNamara in 1961 consolidated these functions in the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Defense Communications Agency (the latter originally established by Secretary Gates in 1960), having both report to the secretary of defense through the JCS. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA formerly known as the Defense Communications Agency) is a combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense The end effect was to remove the Intelligence function from the control of the military and to put it under the control of the Secretary of Defense. In the same year, he set up the Defense Supply Agency to work toward unified supply procurement, distribution, and inventory management under the control of the Secretary of Defense rather than the uniformed military. The Defense Logistics Agency ( DLA) is an agency in the United States Department of Defense, with about 22000 civilian and Military personnel throughout

McNamara's institution of systems analysis as a basis for making key decisions on force requirements, weapon systems, and other matters occasioned much debate. Systems analysis is the Interdisciplinary part of Science, dealing with analysis of sets of interacting or entities the Systems often prior to their automation Two of its main practitioners during the McNamara era, Alain C. Enthoven and K. Alain C Enthoven (born September 10 1930) was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1965 Wayne Smith, described the concept as follows: "First, the word 'systems' indicates that every decision should be considered in as broad a context as necessary… The word 'analysis' emphasizes the need to reduce a complex problem to its component parts for better understanding. Systems analysis takes a complex problem and sorts out the tangle of significant factors so that each can be studied by the method most appropriate to it. " Enthoven and Smith said they used mainly civilians as systems analysts because they could apply independent points of view to force planning. McNamara's tendency to take military advice into account less than had previous secretaries and to override military opinions contributed to his unpopularity with service leaders. It was also generally thought that Systems Analysis, rather than being objective, was tailored by the civilians to support decisions that McNamara had already made.

The most notable example of systems analysis was the Planning, Programming and Budgeting System (PPBS) instituted by United States Department of Defense Comptroller Charles J. Hitch. Output budgeting is a wide ranging management technique introduced into the United States in the mid 1960s by Robert S The United States Department of Defense ( DOD or DoD) is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government A comptroller or controller (kənˈtroʊlər ˈkɑmˌtroʊ- also financial controller, abrv Charles J Hitch ( January 9 1910 &ndash September 11 1995) was Assistant Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1965 McNamara directed Hitch to analyze defense requirements systematically and produce a long-term, program-oriented Defense budget. PPBS evolved to become the heart of the McNamara management program. According to Enthoven and Smith, the basic ideas of PPBS were: "the attempt to put defense program issues into a broader context and to search for explicit measures of national need and adequacy"; "consideration of military needs and costs together"; "explicit consideration of alternatives at the top decision level"; "the active use of an analytical staff at the top policymaking levels"; "a plan combining both forces and costs which projected into the future the foreseeable implications of current decisions"; and "open and explicit analysis, that is, each analysis should be made available to all interested parties, so that they can examine the calculations, data, and assumptions and retrace the steps leading to the conclusions. " In practice, the data produced by the analysis was so large and so complex that while it was available to all interested parties, none of them could challenge the conclusions.

Among the management tools developed to implement PPBS were the Five Year Defense Plan (FYDP), the Draft Presidential Memorandum (DPM), the Readiness, Information and Control Tables, and the Development Concept Paper (DCP). The annual FYDP was a series of tables projecting forces for eight years and costs and manpower for five years in mission-oriented, rather than individual service, programs. By 1968, the FYDP covered ten military areas: strategic forces, general purpose forces, intelligence and communications, airlift and sealift, guard and reserve forces, research and development, central supply and maintenance, training and medical services, administration and related activities, and support of other nations.

The DPM, intended for the White House and usually prepared by the systems analysis office, was a method to study and analyze major defense issues. Sixteen DPMs appeared between 1961 and 1968 on such topics as strategic offensive and defensive forces, NATO strategy and force structure, military assistance, and tactical air forces. The North Atlantic Treaty OSD sent the DPMs to the services and the JCS for comment; in making decisions, McNamara included in the DPM a statement of alternative approaches, force levels, and other factors. The DPM in its final form became a decision document. The DPM was hated by the JCS and uniformed military in that it cut their ability to communicate directly to the White House. The DPMs were also disliked because the systems analysis process was so heavyweight that it was impossible for any service to effectively challenge its conclusions.

The Development Concept Paper examined performance, schedule, cost estimates, and technical risks to provide a basis for determining whether to begin or continue a research and development program. But in practice, what it proved to be was a cost burden that became a barrier to entry for companies attempting to deal with the military. It aided the trend toward a few large non-competitive defense contractors serving the military. Rather than serving any useful purpose, the overhead necessary to generate information that was often in practice ignored resulted in increased costs throughout the system.

The Readiness, Information, and Control Tables provided data on specific projects, more detailed than in the FYDP, such as the tables for the Southeast Asia Deployment Plan, which recorded by month and quarter the schedule for deployment, consumption rates, and future projections of U. S. forces in Southeast Asia.

ABM

Toward the end of his term McNamara also opposed an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system proposed for installation in the United States, arguing that it would be too expensive (at least $40 billion) and ultimately ineffective, because the Soviets would increase their offensive capability to offset the defensive advantage of the United States. An anti-ballistic missile (ABM is a Missile designed to counter Ballistic missiles (a missile for Missile defense) Under pressure to proceed with the ABM program after it became clear that the Soviets had begun a similar project, McNamara finally agreed to a "thin" system, but he never believed it wise for the United States to move in that direction.

He always believed that the best defense strategy for the US was a parity of mutually assured destruction with the Soviet Union. Mutual assured destruction ( MAD; sometimes written as mutually assured destruction) is a Doctrine of military Strategy in which a full-scale An ABM system would be an ineffective weapon as compared to an increase in deployed nuclear missile capacity.

Cost reductions

McNamara's staff stressed systems analysis as an aid in decision making on weapon development and many other budget issues. The secretary believed that the United States could afford any amount needed for national security, but that "this ability does not excuse us from applying strict standards of effectiveness and efficiency to the way we spend our defense dollars…. You have to make a judgment on how much is enough. " Acting on these principles, McNamara instituted a much-publicized cost reduction program, which, he reported, saved $14 billion in the five-year period beginning in 1961. Although he had to withstand a storm of criticism from senators and representatives from affected congressional districts, he closed many military bases and installations that he judged unnecessary to national security. He was equally determined about other cost-saving measures. But in the end, most of the cost savings were illusionary. Every base he closed resulted in a new construction project elsewhere to expand another base, relocation of forces projects and other related spending. The actual cost savings through consolidation of installations was often minimal or in some cases negative.

Due to the nuclear arms race, the Vietnam War buildup and other projects, total obligational authority increased greatly during the McNamara years. Fiscal year TOA increased from $48. 4 billion in 1962 to $49. 5 billion in 1965 (before the major Vietnam increases) to $74. 9 billion in 1968, McNamara's last year in office. Not until FY 1984 did DoD's total obligational authority surpass that of FY 1968 in constant dollars. The term Constant dollars refers to a metric for valuing the price of something over time without that metric changing due to Inflation or Deflation.

Program consolidation

One major hallmark of McNamara's cost reductions was the consolidation of programs from different services, most visibly in fighter acquisition, believing that the redundancy created waste and unnecessary spending. McNamara directed the Air Force to adopt the Navy's F-4 Phantom and A-7 fighters, a consolidation that was quite successful. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Conversely, his actions in mandating a premature across-the-board adoption of the untested M16 rifle proved catastrophic when the weapons began to fail in combat. M16 (more formally United States Rifle II Caliber 556 mm M16) is the U McNamara tried to extend his success by merging development programs as well, resulting in the TFX dual service F-111 project. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout It was to combine Air Force requirements for an air superiority fighter and tactical bomber. An air superiority fighter is a type of Fighter aircraft intended to enter and seize control of enemy airspace His experience in the corporate world led him to believe that adopting a single type for different missions and service would save money. He insisted on the General Dynamics entry over the DOD's preference for Boeing because of commonality issues. Though heralded as a fighter that could do everything — fast supersonic dash, slow carrier and short airfield landings, tactical strike, and even close air support, in the end it involved too many compromises to succeed at any of them. The Navy version was drastically overweight and difficult to land, and eventually killed after a Grumman study showed it was incapable of matching the abilities of the newly revealed Mig-23 and Mig-25. The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a leading 20th century U WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The F-111 would eventually find its niche as a tactical bomber and electronic warfare aircraft with the Air Force.

However, many analysts believe that even though the TFX project itself was a failure, McNamara was ahead of his time as the trend in fighter design has continued toward consolidation — the F-16 and F/A-18 were developed as multi-role fighters, and most modern designs combine many of the roles the TFX would have had. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout In many ways, the JSF is seen as a rebirth of the TFX project, in that it purports to satisfy the needs of three American Air arms (as well as several foreign customers), fulfilling the roles of strike fighter, carrier-launched fighter, VSTOL, and CAS (and drawing many criticisms similar to those leveled against the TFX). WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

Vietnam War

The Vietnam conflict came to claim most of McNamara's time and energy. The Truman and Eisenhower administrations had committed the United States to support the French and native anti-Communist forces in Vietnam in resisting efforts by the Communists in the North to control the country, though neither administration established actual combat forces in the conflict. Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general The U. S. role, initially limited to financial support, military advice and covert intelligence gathering, expanded after 1954 when the French withdrew. During the Kennedy administration, the U. S. military advisory group in South Vietnam steadily increased, with McNamara's concurrence, from just a few hundred to about 17,000. U. S. involvement escalated after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August 1964 when North Vietnamese naval vessels were reported as firing on two U. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident is the name given to two separate incidents involving naval forces of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam and the United States S. destroyers. McNamara was instrumental in selling this event to Congress and the public as a pretext for escalation.

President Johnson ordered retaliatory air strikes on North Vietnamese naval bases and Congress approved almost unanimously the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing the president "to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the U. S. and to prevent further aggression. "

As the war expanded in Southeast Asia in 1964, the Johnson Administration was increasingly focused on the November presidential election, seeking to minimize America's growing and often covert involvement in Vietnam. Consequently, McNamara frequently failed to pass along the Joint Chiefs' comments or objections to administration policy, or misrepresented those views to the president. Following the retirement of Admiral George W. Anderson, Army General George Decker, and Air Force chief Curtis LeMay, the JCS became increasingly compliant to Johnson and McNamara's wishes. George Whelan Anderson Jr ( December 15, 1906 – March 20, 1992) was an Admiral in the United States Navy. General George Henry Decker ( February 16, 1902 &ndash February 6, 1980) was Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1960 to 1962 Curtis Emerson LeMay (15 November 1906–3 October 1990 was a General in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent (H. R. McMaster, Dereliction of Duty, Harper Perennial, 1997. Colonel HR McMaster, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, wrote Dereliction of Duty Lyndon Johnson Robert McNamara The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies that Led to )

In 1965, in response to stepped up military activity by the nationalist Viet Cong in South Vietnam and their North Vietnamese allies, the United States began bombing North Vietnam, deployed large military forces, and entered into combat in South Vietnam. The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation McNamara's plan, supported by requests from top U. S. military commanders in Vietnam led to the commitment of 485,000 troops by the end of 1967 and almost 535,000 by 30 June 1968. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The casualty lists mounted as the number of troops and the intensity of fighting escalated. McNamara put in place a statistical strategy for victory in Vietnam. He concluded that there were a limited number of Viet Cong fighters in Vietnam and that a war of attrition would destroy them. He applied metrics (body counts) to determine how close to success his plan was.

Although he was a prime architect of the Vietnam War and repeatedly overruled the JCS on strategic matters, McNamara gradually became skeptical about whether the war could be won by deploying more troops to South Vietnam and intensifying the bombing of North Vietnam, a claim he would publish in a book years later. He also stated later that his support of the Vietnam war was given out of loyalty to administration policy. He traveled to Vietnam many times to study the situation firsthand and became increasingly reluctant to approve the large force increments requested by the military commanders.

During President John F. Kennedy's term, while McNamara was Secretary of Defense, America's troops in Vietnam increased from 500 to 16,000.

Some argue that McNamara knew about the potential deadly effects of Dow Chemical’s Agent Orange even as it was being used in Vietnam, and long before veterans came home to die or waste away from the herbicide's after effects. The Dow Chemical Company () is an American Multinational corporation headquartered in Midland Michigan. Agent Orange is the code name for a powerful Herbicide and Defoliant used by the U McNamara denies that he was aware of these dangers, and does not recall whether he was involved in the decision to use Agent Orange.

McNamara has said that the Domino Theory was the main reason for entering the Vietnam War. The domino theory was a Foreign policy theory promoted by the government of the United States, that speculated that if one land in a region came under the influence The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia In the same interview he states, "Kennedy hadn't said before he died whether, faced with the loss of Vietnam, he would [completely] withdraw; but I believe today that had he faced that choice, he would have withdrawn. " [1]

Social Equity

To commemorate President Harry S Truman's signing an order to end segregation in the military on July 26, 1948, McNamara issued Directive 5120.36 on July 26, 1963. Executive Order 9981 is an executive order issued on July 26, 1948 by U Department of Defense Directive 512036 was issued in July 1963 by Robert S This directive, Equal Opportunity in the Armed Forces, dealt directly with the issue of racial and gender discrimination in areas surrounding military communities. The directive declared, “Every military commander has the responsibility to oppose discriminatory practices affecting his men and their dependents and to foster equal opportunity for them, not only in areas under his immediate control, but also in nearby communities where they may live or gather in off-duty hours. ” (para. II. C. )^[4] Under the directive commanding officers were obligated to use the economic power of the military to influence local businesses in their treatment of minorities and women. With the approval of the Secretary of Defense, the commanding officer could declare areas off-limits to military personnel for discriminatory practices. ^[5]

Departure from SoD

As McNamara grew more and more controversial after 1966 and his differences with the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff over Vietnam strategy became the subject of public speculation, frequent rumors surfaced that he would leave office. David Dean Rusk ( February 9, 1909 &ndash December 20, 1994) was the United States Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969 under presidents The Joint Chiefs of Staff ( JCS) is a group comprising the Chiefs of service of each major branch of the Armed services in the United States armed forces Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially In early November 1967, McNamara's recommendation to freeze troop levels, stop bombing North Vietnam and for the US to hand over ground fighting to South Vietnam was rejected outright by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN or less commonly Vietnamese Democratic Republic (Việt Nam Dân Chủ Cộng Hòa was a Country on the northern half of Vietnam "RVN" redirects here RVN is also the former callsign of a TV station in Wagga Wagga New South Wales Australia McNamara's recommendations amounted to his saying that the strategy of the United States in Vietnam which had been pursued to date had failed. Largely as a result, on November 29 of that year, McNamara announced his pending resignation and that he would become President of the World Bank. Events 1777 - San Jose California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe The World Bank is an internationally supported Bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs (e Other factors were the increasing intensity of the anti-war movement in the United States, the approaching presidential campaign in which Johnson was expected to seek re-election, and McNamara's support--over the opposition by the Joint Chiefs of Staff--of construction along the 17th parallel separating South and North Vietnam of a line of fortifications running from the coast of Vietnam into Laos. The Joint Chiefs of Staff ( JCS) is a group comprising the Chiefs of service of each major branch of the Armed services in the United States armed forces The President's announcement of McNamara's move to the World Bank stressed his stated interest in the job and that he deserved a change after seven years as Secretary of Defense, much longer than any of his predecessors (and longer than any of his successors, to date).

Other sources give a different view of McNamara's departure from office. For example, Stanley Karnow in his book "Vietnam: A History" strongly suggests that McNamara was asked to leave by the President. Stanley Karnow (born 1925 in New York City) is a Pulitzer Prize -winning author who covered Asia from 1959 as chief correspondent for Time and McNamara himself has expressed lack of certainty about the question. ^[6]

McNamara left office on 29 February 1968; for his efforts, the President awarded him both the Medal of Freedom and the Distinguished Service Medal. Leap years Although the modern calendar counts a year as 365 days a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is a decoration bestowed by the President of the United States and is along with the equivalent Congressional Gold Medal bestowed The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a United States military award which is presented for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to national security

Shortly after McNamara departed the Pentagon, he published "The Essence of Security," discussing various aspects of his tenure and position on basic national security issues. He did not speak out again on defense issues or Vietnam until after he left the World Bank. The World Bank is an internationally supported Bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs (e

Involvement in USS Liberty Incident

McNamara and President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered Admiral Isaac B. Kidd, the President of the Navy Court of Inquiry into the attack on June 8, 1967 of the USS Liberty, to conclude that "the attack was a case of 'mistaken identity' despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The USS Liberty incident was an Attack on a neutral US Navy Technical research ship, USS ''Liberty'', by Israeli " ^[7] Capt. Ward Boston USN, JAG (retired), states that "it is important for the American people to know that it is clear that Israel is responsible for deliberately attacking an American ship and murdering American sailors. . . ". ^[8]

World Bank

McNamara served as head of the World Bank from April 1968 to June 1981, when he turned 65. The World Bank is an internationally supported Bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs (e ^[9] In his thirteen years at the Bank, he introduced key changes. He negotiated, with the conflicting countries represented on the Board, a spectacular growth in funds to channel credits for development, in the form of health, food, and education projects. He also instituted new methods of evaluating the effectiveness of funded projects. One notable project started during McNamara's tenure was the effort to prevent river blindness. Onchocerciasis ( or /ˈɒnkoʊsɝːˈkaɪəsɨs/ also known as river blindness, is the world's second leading infectious cause of Blindness. ^[9]

The World Bank currently has a scholarship program under his name. The World Bank Scholarship programme began in 1982 Students are able to undertake Graduate studies in subjects related to Economic development ^[10]

Post-World Bank activities

In 1982 McNamara joined several other former national security officials in urging that the United States pledge not to use nuclear weapons first in Europe in the event of hostilities; subsequently he proposed the elimination of nuclear weapons as an element of NATO's defense posture. His memoir, In Retrospect, published in 1995, presented an account and analysis of the Vietnam War from his point of view. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia Reviews were very mixed. The book was viewed as McNamara's attempt to apologize for his role in the war, but it also has been seen as shifting blame to other people and as an attempt to transform his image from an architect of the war into a virtual opponent.

McNamara has maintained his involvement in politics during recent years, delivering statements critical of the Bush administration's 2003 invasion of Iraq. George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia [1] On January 5, 2006, McNamara and most living former Secretaries of Defense and Secretaries of State met briefly at the White House with President Bush to discuss the War in Iraq. Events 1477 - Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is killed and Burgundy becomes part of France. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Secretary of State is a commonly used title for a Government Official.

Promise and Power

In 1993, the respected Washington journalist Deborah Shapley published a 615-page biography of Robert McNamara, called Promise and Power: the Life and Times of Robert McNamara. The last pages of her book made clear that while Ms. Shapley deeply admired certain aspects of McNamara the man, and the public servant, she had seen first-hand his need to manipulate the truth, as well as to tell it.

Shapley concluded her book with these words: "For better and worse McNamara shaped much in today's world -- and imprisoned himself. A little-known nineteenth century writer, P. W. Bornum, offers a summation: `We make our decisions. And then our decisions turn around and make us. '"

The Fog of War

The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara is a 2003 Errol Morris documentary consisting mostly of interviews with Robert McNamara and archival footage. The Fog of War Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S McNamara (2003 directed by Errol Morris, is an American Documentary film about the life Errol Morris (born February 5, 1948) is an American Academy Award winning Documentary film director Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt in one fashion or another to " Document " reality It received an Academy Award for Documentary Feature. The Academy Award for Documentary Feature is among the most prestigious awards for Documentary films Controversies The particular structure of this personal account is accomplished with the characteristics of an intimate dialogue. As McNamara explains, it is a process of examining the experiences of his long and controversial period as the United States Secretary of Defense, as well as other periods of his personal and public life. The United States Secretary of Defense ( SECDEF) is the head of the U

Personal information

McNamara married Margaret Craig, his teenage sweetheart, in 1940. The couple had two daughters and a son. Margaret McNamara, a former teacher, used her position as a Cabinet spouse to launch a reading program for young children, Reading Is Fundamental, which became the largest literacy program in the country. Margaret McNamara attended University of California Berkeley where she was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority Reading is Fundamental is a Literacy Organization based in the United States, with affiliated programs in the United Kingdom and Argentina She died of cancer in 1981.

In the Erol Morris documentary, McNamara reports that both he and his wife were stricken with polio shortly after the end of WWII. Although McNamara had a relatively short stay in the hospital, his wife's case was more serious and it was concern over meeting her medical bills that led to his decision to not return to Harvard but to enter private industry as a consultant at Ford Motor Company.

When working at Ford Motor Company, McNamara resided in Ann Arbor rather than the usual auto executive domains of Grosse Pointe, Birmingham, Michigan, and Bloomfield Hills. Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following Ann Arbor is a city in the US state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. Grosse Pointe refers to an area of Metro Detroit, Michigan, United States that comprises five adjacent individual communities Birmingham is an upscale city in Oakland County of the US state of Michigan. Bloomfield Hills is a City in Oakland County of the US state of Michigan, northwest of Detroit (18 miles from downtown Detroit He and his wife sought to remain connected with a university town after their hopes of returning to Harvard after the war were put on hold.

On September 29, 1972, a passenger on the ferry to Martha's Vineyard recognized McNamara on board and attempted to throw him into the ocean. Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Martha's Vineyard (adjoining the smaller Chappaquiddick Island) is an Island off the US east coast to the south of Cape Cod, both McNamara declined to press charges. The man remained anonymous, but was interviewed years later by author Paul Hendrickson,^[11] who quoted the attacker as saying, "I just wanted to confront (McNamara) on Vietnam. "

After his wife's death, McNamara dated Katharine Graham, with whom he had been friends since the early 1960s. Katharine Meyer Graham ( June 16, 1917 &ndash July 17, 2001) was an American publisher According to Graham's autobiography, she and McNamara had planned to be traveling in California with two other friends (a married couple) on her 70th birthday, in 1987, so she could avoid any birthday celebration in Washington. Graham died in 2001.

In September 2004, McNamara wed Diana Masieri Byfield, an Italian-born widow who had lived in the United States for more than 40 years. It was her second marriage. [2]

As of May 2008, Robert McNamara is one of only three surviving members of the John F. Kennedy Administration. The others are former Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz and former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall. "Secretary of Labor" redirects here See also Secretary of Labor (Mexico. William Willard Wirtz (born March 14, 1912) is a former US administrator, cabinet officer, attorney and law professor Stewart Lee Udall (born January 31, 1920) is a former American politician

McNamara's book In Retrospect was seen by many as ironic for the quantitative approach the author took to explaining the mistakes of the Vietnam War. McNamara is still seen as largely the chief architect for the failed policies of Vietnam.

Other affiliations

• McNamara is a life trustee on the Board of Trustees of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The list of California Institute of Technology trustees includes notable trustees of the California Institute of Technology. The California Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Caltech) is a private, Coeducational research university located in Pasadena

• McNamara is a trustee of the Economists for Peace and Security.

• McNamara is an honorary trustee for the Brookings Institution. The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington D

See also

• F-111 TFX fighter
• Operation Northwoods

Books by Robert S. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Operation Northwoods, or Northwoods, was a False flag Conspiracy plan proposed within the United States government in 1962 McNamara

• (1968) The Essence of Security: Reflections in Office. New York, Harper & Row, 1968; London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1968. ISBN 0-340-10950-5.
• (1973) One hundred countries, two billion people: the dimensions of development. New York, Praeger Publishers, 1973.
• (1981) The McNamara years at the World Bank: major policy addresses of Robert S. McNamara, 1968-1981; with forewords by Helmut Schmidt and Léopold Senghor. Baltimore: Published for the World Bank by the Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981. ISBN 0-8018-2685-3.
• (1985) The challenges for sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, DC: 1985.
• (1986) Blundering into disaster: surviving the first century of the nuclear age. New York: Pantheon Books, 1986. ISBN 0-394-55850-2 (hardcover); ISBN 0-394-74987-1 (pbk. ).
• (1989) Out of the cold: new thinking for American foreign and defense policy in the 21st century. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989. ISBN 0-671-68983-5.
• (1992) The changing nature of global security and its impact on South Asia. Washington, DC: Washington Council on Non-Proliferation, 1992.
• (1995) In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam. (with Brian VanDeMark. ) New York: Times Books, 1995. ISBN 0-8129-2523-8; New York: Vintage Books, 1996. ISBN 0-679-76749-5.
• (1999) Argument without end: in search of answers to the Vietnam tragedy. (Robert S. McNamara, James G. Blight, and Robert K. Brigham. ) New York: Public Affairs, 1999. ISBN 1-891620-22-3 (hc).
• (2001) Wilson’s ghost: reducing the risk of conflict, killing, and catastrophe in the 21st century. (Robert S. McNamara and James G. Blight. ) New York: Public Affairs, 2001. ISBN 1-891620-89-4.

References

External links

• McNamara and Agent Orange
• Biography of Robert Strange McNamara (website)
• US Department of Defense
• Interview about the Cuban Missile Crisis for the WGBH series, War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
• Interview about nuclear strategy for War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
• Noam Chomsky on Robert McNamara
• Annotated bibliography for Robert McNamara from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
• Works by or about Robert McNamara in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Preceded by Thomas S. Gates	United States Secretary of Defense Served Under: John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson 1961–1968	Succeeded by Clark Clifford
Preceded by George D. Woods	President of the World Bank 1968–1981	Succeeded by Alden W. Clausen

• Works by or about Robert McNamara in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

Persondata
NAME	McNamara, Robert Strange
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	United States Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War
DATE OF BIRTH	June 19, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH	San Francisco, California
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

War and Peace in the Nuclear Age is a 1989 PBS Television series focusing on the effect of Nuclear weapons development on International relations War and Peace in the Nuclear Age is a 1989 PBS Television series focusing on the effect of Nuclear weapons development on International relations WorldCat is a Union catalog which itemizes the collections of more than 10000 libraries which participate in the OCLC global cooperative Thomas Sovereign Gates Jr ( 10 April 1906 - 25 March 1983) was United States Secretary of Defense from 1959 to 1961 under The United States Secretary of Defense ( SECDEF) is the head of the U John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of Clark McAdams Clifford ( December 25, 1906 – October 10, 1998) was a highly influential American Lawyer who served Presidents George David Woods (1901 &ndash 1982 was a US banker He served as President of World Bank from January 1963 to March 1968 The World Bank is an internationally supported Bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs (e Alden Winship Clausen (born February 17[[ 923]] is a former President of the World Bank. WorldCat is a Union catalog which itemizes the collections of more than 10000 libraries which participate in the OCLC global cooperative The United States Secretary of Defense ( SECDEF) is the head of the U The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia Events 1179 - The Norwegian Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The City and County of San Francisco is the fourth most populous city California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean.

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