Blizzard of memos

I remember watching Errol Morris' documentary, Fog of War and feeling that I haven't had a more immersive experience in what I would call a celluloid confessional.

Fog of War allows former Secretary of State Robert Mcnamara's to speak about himself in response to a few questions asked by the filmmaker (who is absent from the screen).

We see and hear Mcnamara journey through his life, first as executive of Ford Motor company, then as an architect of the Vietnam war, as the 8th Secretary of State serving both John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Mcnamara basically assumes responsibility for creating the war as a geopolitical strategy instead of as a necessity of defence. The "fog" of the cold war strategist descends as Mcnamara alternately tries to justify the war and recuse himself from the genocidal accusations.

Morris has now made a documentary on yet another strategist cum Secretary of State, Donald Rumsfeld, who migrated from business to politics, just as Mcnamara did. 

Rumsfeld, in many ways is known as one of the chief maker of the war against Iraq.

In place of the "fog" of cold war double-speak, Rumsfeld rained "memos" on his aides and juniors.

Had there been a Noble Prize for such a category of poetry, then rumsfeld would be the winner of the era's best "bureaucratic poet."