December 12, 2006
QOD: Lessons 1,2,3 Empathize with your enemy; rationality will not save us; There’s something beyond one’s self.” Robert Strange Mcnamara

TPNS: Conference in Iran on Holocaust begins… Attendees mostly deny Nazis Killed 6 million Jews.. The President of Iran endorses the conference… A new low for the Iranian Govt...

December 13, 2006
QOD: To introduce into the philosophy of war a principle of moderation would be an absurdity- War is an act of violence pushed to its utmost bounds.” Clausewitz on War

TPNS: High intensity, yet low stability = a breeding ground for uncertainty.. last week experts called for troop reactions, while this week experts call for increases in troops levels.

December 14, 2006
QOD: Lessons 4,5,6, and 7: Maximize efficiency; Proportionality should be a guideline in War (Just War Doctrine); Get the Data; Belief and seeing are both often wrong” Robert Strange Mcnamara

TPNS: S.D. Senator Johnson is in Critical condition. Could throw off the Democrats slim majority in the Senate...US Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota was critically ill but stable on Thursday after brain surgery for a potentially deadly bleeding that could deprive his fellow Democrats of their razor-thin hold on the new Senate.

McNamara's Eleven Lessons [know these and the examples that he uses to make his points]
 Lesson 1—Empathize with your enemy [Cuban missile crisis]
 Lesson 2—Rationality will not save us [Castro, Kruschev, Kennedy]
 Lesson 3—There’s something beyond one’s self [leaving Ford, to serve in the JFK Administration]
 Lesson 4—Maximize efficiency [Bombing in WWII]
 Lesson 5—Proportionality should be a guideline in war [the fire bombing of Tokyo, etc.]
 Lesson 6—Get the data [seatbelts at Ford]
 Lesson 7—Belief and seeing are both often wrong [the Gulf of Tonkin "incident"]
 Lesson 8—Be prepared to reexamine your reasoning [Metacognition--the mistakes made in Vietnam]
 Lesson 9—In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil [the destruction of Japan and Germany]
 Lesson 10—Never say never [that is just plain old wisdom]
 Lesson 11—You can’t change human nature [Is War just part of the game? Part of the human experience?]