Abstract
Through the process of critical oral history, Robert McNamara has re-evaluated his experience as the Secretary of Defense under the Kennedy and Johnson presidencies. Filmmaker Errol Morris shaped his documentary The Fog of War around eleven lessons from the life of McNamara. The first two lessons are "Empathize with your enemy? and "Rationality will not save us.? They are useful to think about the future foreign policy making. The contemporary issue of terrorism highlights the realistic nature of the lessons. In the documentary The Fog of War, Robert McNamara gives a clear definition of empathy: "We must try to put ourselves inside their [our enemies'] skin and look at us through their eyes, just to understand the thoughts that lie behind their decisions and their actions.? Empathy is different from sympathy; it does not imply having feelings, but rather implies understanding the thoughts and emotions of one's enemy (Ralph K. White).
