McNamara describes the event of Cuban Missile Crisis to demonstrate how opposing nations can come to an agreement without resorting to a war that could potentially destroy cities and nations. He asserts the importance of showing empathy towards an enemy and states, “ We must try to put ourselves inside their skin and look at us through their eyes, just to understand the thoughts that lie behind their decisions …show more content…
In this case, Proportionality of war, according to McNamara, refers to the comparison of level of damage that had been inflicted on a country and the how much of enemy’s goal has been achieved. He suggests that if the goal of the war has been accomplished, there is no need to further hurt the other nation and its people. In the film, McNamara strongly criticize LeMay’s decision of burning 100,000 people to death when it was evident that Japan was on the brink of defeat . What McNamara had learned from the cruelty of United States foreign policy matches with liberalists’ point of view that expansion of democracy can be achieved through use of military power , and long-term peace can be achieved if the states work cooperatively( 21). He had learned that stopping the bombing would have helped Japan and United States to work together even more effectively on further developing good relationship. His lesson is very useful because it teaches U.S to be more considerate about the cooperation for the future before adding even more unnecessary suffering to the …show more content…
According to him, what one sees is not always what is there, and certain beliefs he/she holds affect what is to be seen. He continues on to argue that the war with North Vietnam had been the one that is based on “ misunderstanding” between nations. United States saw it as a war against spreading Communism, but North Vietnam saw it as a civil war , and fought United States vigorously because North Vietnam feared United States was there to colonize both South and North Vietnam. As a result thousands of troops lost their lives and both countries suffered economically. McNamara’s lesson matches constructivist’s view that it is important to not only to see but to empathize with the enemy in order to feel and gain deeper understanding of the true driving force of the war, so in the future such was based misunderstanding doesn’t