Robert Strange McNamara...

...was a complex man. He had some mighty big regrets in his day, especially escalating the Vietnam war. A few years ago I watched this documentary "Fog of War" in which the former Secretary of Defense recalls some of the big events of his long life. For me, the above clip from the movie stood out the most. In it, McNamara explains how the U.S. backed down from the brink of nuclear war with the Soviets by understanding our 'enemy.' The Soviet leader at the time was Nikita Kruschev. As you listen to what they say about him, imagine if Kruschev was Saddam Hussein.

Sadly the same advice given to Pres. Kennedy was not given to Pres. (W)Bush. Or, maybe Bush wouldn't have followed it. Yeah, he probably wouldn't have.