The Fog of War (2003)

Errol Morris: Interviewer

Quotes 

• Robert McNamara : I was on the island of Guam in his

  [General Curtis LeMays'] 

  Robert McNamara : command in March 1945. In that single night, we burned to death one hundred thousand Japanese civilians in Tokyo. Men, women and children.

  Interviewer : Were you aware this was going to happen?

  Robert McNamara : Well, I was part of a mechanism that, in a sense, recommended it.

• [last lines] 

  Interviewer : Is it the feeling that you're damned if you do, and if you don't, no matter what?

  Robert McNamara : Yeah, yeah, that's right. And I'd rather be damned if I don't.

• [from the Epilogue] 

  Interviewer : After you left the Johnson administration, why didn't you speak out against the Vietnam War?

  Robert McNamara : I'm not going to say any more than I have. These are the kinds of questions that get me into trouble. You don't know what I know about how inflammatory my words can appear. A lot of people misunderstand the war, misunderstand me. A lot of people think I'm a son of a bitch.