McNamara to speak on Vietnam war's lingering questions and answers

Posted 10/13/00

Robert S. McNamara, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, will give a presentation titled "Argument Without End: In Search of Answers About the Vietnam War" at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16 in Cook Auditorium.

Joining McNamara will be James Blight, Brown University's Professor of International Relations and Director of the Watson Institute of International Studies, and Robert Brigham, Associate Professor of History at Vassar College.

McNamara, Brigham and Blight participated in seven meetings with Vietnamese counterparts spanning four years in Vietnam and Italy in the 1990s with the end goal of understanding the war, the reasons it occurred, why it did not end earlier and what policy changes should occur to avoid this type of tragedy in the new millennium.

The three were co-authors, among others, of the book Argument Without End: In Search of Answers to the Vietnam Trajedy, published in 1999.

By examining the facts, misunderstandings, missed opportunities, and failed objectives that highlighted the war in Vietnam, they hope to deter further conflicts, such as the one in Kosovo, from progressing down the same path. McNamara, Brigham and Blight will share the lessons learned from their experiences in, and study of, the war in Vietnam as well its implications on foreign policy.

While on campus, McNamara plans to speak with a number of students through discussions in government classes, a first-year seminar and a lunch with members of the Rockefeller Public Issues Forum and the World Affairs Council and another with the War and Peace Fellows.

The lecture is sponsored by the Rockefeller Center and is free and open to the public. For more information call Roxanne Waldner at 646-3874.