That's one of the major lessons: no president should ever take this nation to war without full public debate in the Congress and/or in the public.
Robert McNamaraNever answer the question that is asked of you. Answer the question that you wish had been asked of you.
Robert McNamaraIt was a perfectly beautiful night, as fall nights are in Washington. I walked out of the president's Oval Office, and as I walked out, I thought I might never live to see another Saturday night.
Robert McNamara...but highly placed sources within the Kennedy Administration disagreed: "[T]he assumption that the strategic nuclear balance mattered in any way was wrong... As far as I am concerned, it made no difference... If my memory serves me correctly, we had some five thousand strategic nuclear warheads as against t heir three hundred. Can anyone seriously tell me that their having three hundred and forty would have made any difference? The military balance wasn't changed. I didn't believe it then, and I don't believe it now..."
Robert McNamara