1. Why did Robert S. McNamara “see no reasonable way to bring the Vietnam war to an end soon”? What was the difference, if any, between ending the war and winning the war?
2. To what extent could McNamara's assessment be said to reflect the success of the North Vietnamese “strategy of attriting our national will”?
3. What goals did McNamara hope to achieve? What actions did he recommend? To what extent were those actions within the capability of American military forces?
4. What assumptions did McNamara make about the support for the war among the South Vietnamese, American military personnel, and Americans at home?