  I just watched (no really) the documentary Fog of War. The film (yeah, thats right, I said film, not movie) follows American foreign policy through the last sixty or so years through the eyes of Robert S. McNamara , former US Secretary of Defense, President of the Ford Motor Company, and President of the World Bank. It is one of the most intriguing and interesting documentaries I have ever seen and offers quite an insight into the nature of war, politics, and America's relation with the rest of the world. Not only does the film serve to educate and entertain, it served to influence my perspective in several ways. The film revolves mostly around World War II, The Cuban Missile Crisis, and primarily the Vietnam War, but its messages on arms building, war, imperialism, and pacification are strikingly relevant today. What makes his message more credible (obviously) is the fact that the man actually knows what he's talking about. The movie seems to be McNamara's way of preserving his legacy, of explaining his actions, and correcting any misconceptions people may have had about his actions and what went on during his period as Secretary of Defense. In any case, as I said, he does offer quite a perspective into modern politics and events. Coming from the man that many (seemingly wrongly) blame to be responsible for the Vietnam War, his views on the Iraq war and current American foreign policy are relevant and neccesary.
If you care at all about current events, politics, or history, or are just looking for an interesting perspective into American foreign policy, watch this film. Or at least urlLink watch the trailer . Or read the following. These are Mr. McNamara's 10 Lessons of War: 1.
The human race will not eliminate war in this century, but we can reduce the brutality of war--the level of killing--by adhering to the principles of a "Just War", in particular to the principle of "proportionality". 2. The indefinite combination of human fallibility and nuclear weapons will lead to the destruction of nations. 3. We are the most powerful nation in the world--economically, politically and militarily--and we are likely to remain so for decades ahead. But we are not omniscient. 4. Moral principles are often ambiguous guides to foreign policy and defense policy, but surely we can agree that we should establish as a major goal of U.S. foreign policy and, indeed, of foreign policy across the globe: the avoidance in this century of the carnage--160 million dead--caused by conflict in the 20th century.
5. We, the richest nation in the world, have failed in our responsibility to our own poor and to the disadvantaged across the world to help them advance their welfare in the most fundamental terms of nutrition, literacy, health, and employment. 6. Corporate executives must recognize there is no contradiction between a soft heart and a hard head. Of course, they have responsibities to their employees, their customers and to society as a whole. 7. President Kennedy believed a primary resonsibility of a president--indeed "the" primary responsibility of a president--is to keep the nation out of war, if at all possible. 8. War is a blunt instrument by which to settle disputes between or within nations, and economic sanctions are rarely effective. Therefore, we should build a system of jurisprudence based on the International Court--that the U.S. has refused to support--which would hold individuals responsible for crimes against humanity.
9. If we are to deal effectively with terrorists across the globe, we must develop a sense of empathy--I don't mean "sympathy" but rather "understanding" to counter their attacks on us and the Western World. 10. One of the greatest dangers we face today is the risk of mass destruction as a result of the breakdown of the Non-Proliferation Regime. We--the U.S. are contributing to that breakdown. According to Mr. McNamara, the Bush Administration has failed each and every one of these tests. 
