Editing Robert McNamara (section)

===1995 Vietnam visit===
In November 1995, McNamara returned to Vietnam, this time visiting Hanoi.{{sfn|Neu|1997|p=739}}   Despite his role as one of the architects of Operation Rolling Thunder, McNamara met with a surprisingly warm reception, even from those who survived the bombing raids, and was often asked to autograph pirate editions of ''In Retrospect'' which had been illegally translated and published in Vietnam.{{sfn|Neu|1997|p=730}}  During his visit, McNamara met his opposite number during the war, General [[Võ Nguyên Giáp]] who served as North Vietnam's Defense Minister.{{sfn|Neu|1997|p=730}} During his conversation, McNamara brought up the [[Gulf of Tonkin incident]] and asked Giáp what happened on August 4, 1964. "Absolutely nothing", Giáp replied. Giáp confirmed that the [[Gulf of Tonkin incident|attack on 4 August 1964]] had been imaginary while also confirming that the [[Gulf of Tonkin incident#First attack|attack on August 2]] happened.<ref>{{cite news| url = http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/11/interviews/mcnamara/ | title = CNN Cold War – Interviews: Robert McNamara | access-date = June 25, 2010 | publisher = CNN | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080614065921/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/11/interviews/mcnamara/ | archive-date = June 14, 2008}}</ref>

The American historian Charles Neu who was present at the McNamara-Giáp meeting observed the differences in the style of the two men with McNamara repeatedly interrupting Giáp to ask questions, usually related to something numerical, while Giáp gave a long leisurely monologue, quoting various Vietnamese cultural figures such as poets, that began with Vietnamese revolts against China during the years 111 BC–938 AD when Vietnam was a Chinese province.  Neu wrote his impression was that McNamara was a figure who thought in the short term while Giáp thought in the long term.{{sfn|Neu|1997|p=730}}