![]() And he seeks now to persuade us, passionate as ever that each of us, mighty government officials or ordinary citizen, will be better if we remain skeptical of our certainties. In the winter of his life, McNamara-through the skillful and talented medium of Blight and Lang-reflects on his mistakes, the lessons he has drawn from them, his empathy for his enemies, and his willingness to reexamine his own reasoning. Robert McNamara is the single most important government official of our times. Nye Jr., University Distinguished Service Professor, Harvard University I hope that more of our leaders will pick it up. This fascinating book is rich with lessons for leaders, citizens and students. ![]() Wachtel, distinguished professor of psychology, City University of New York at City College This book should be read by anyone who wants to understand the perilous world we live in. The documentation, and their enormously helpful commentary, complements the film in an incredibly valuable way. Jim Blight and janet Lang's book is a novel achievement. Graham Allison, co-author of Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis and director, Belfer Center for Science and International This book should help teachers and students use Errol Morris's 'The Fog of War' as a launching pad for debating Robert McNamara's lessons about war and peace. Linenthal, author of The Unfinished Bombing: Oklahoma City in American Memory This book is certainly one of the surest guides through the fog, and we would be wise to pay attention. James Blight and janet Lang weave together a compelling narrative, important historical documents from the Cuban missile crisis and the Vietnam war, and gripping exchanges of old adversaries met in dialogue in order to offer readers Robert McNamara's darkly prophetic 'lessons.' In so doing, they brilliantly engage the turbulent, complex, endlessly fascinating life of this remarkable public figure. It is difficult to imagine a book more terribly relevant than The Fog of War. Brigham, Vassar College author of Guerrilla Diplomacy “”I think there always will be a fog of war, but I think network-enabled operations will really improve the situation.Essential reading for anyone interested in drawing lessons from the Vietnam war. “”Some people tend to get too enthusiastic and make statements like, ‘Network-enabled operations is going to completely lift the fog of war,'””complained Bovenkamp. Canada has also researched this area but only now is it integrating its approach, a key part of which will be to soon hold its first major international symposium on the topic.Īlthough money is being poured into developing the technology, Bovenkamp noted big roadblocks to its widespread implementation are concerns about “”the security, the robustness, the trustworthiness, the protection”” of networks, as well as information overload. Other players developing network-centric warfare include the UK, Australia and NATO. is spending billions of dollars to increase the bandwidth of the global information grid, an information system for war fighters, policy makers and support personnel, to achieve security and connectivity essential to both conflict and peacekeeping situations, Bovenkamp adds. “”The airplanes would then apply the force that they were looking for.”” “”They were able to communicate very closely. In Afghanistan, coalition special operating forces worked together using BlackBerries and global positioning systems. Rather than being exported to the private sector, he says, network-centric systems are already being used by companies like Wal-Mart to inform suppliers of customer purchases via a computer system.īut in the armed forces, says Paul Addy, an associate consultant with Ottawa-based government-relations firm CFN Consultants, the “”digitization of the battlefield”” will help solve a common problem of an allied troop’s inability to pass on information to other team members better positioned to act.Īlthough Bovenkamp says he believes it will be two decades before network-centric warfare is fully implemented in the military, other examples are showing up. It’s an example of network-centric warfare, or network-enabled operations, the application of the latest network technologies to the battlefield and peacekeeping operations that the Canadian military and others consider to be the cornerstone of the military’s transformation, Bovenkamp explains. ![]() So-called “”blue force tracking”” used in Iraq makes a huge difference in war operations,īecause the military can make faster decisions and reduce incidents of “”friendly fire,”” since allied forces are clearly in sight, according to John Bovenkamp, senior strategic planner for Defence R&D Canada-Ottawa. vehicles allowed troops entering the city by tank to monitor the invasion on their computer screens in a common operating picture. During last year’s attack on Baghdad, global positioning systems installed on U.S. ![]()
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