advisors, including his brother bobby and chairman of joint chiefs of staff, maxwell taylor and robert mcnamarahiefs felt as if a full scale invasion was the most likely option and >> the chiefs felt as if a full scale invasion was the most likely option and secretary mcnamara felt that we had to gradually increase the level of force in cuba. >> kennedy sided with mcnamara and a blockade of cuba pushed the soviets and americans to the brink of nuclear war. on 28 october, nikita khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles if the united states promised not to invade cuba and secretly kennedy promised to withdraw jupiter missiles from turkey. >> mcnamara came out of the cuban missile crisis emboldened, he was write the chiefs were wrong, what he didn't recognize the deal to trade u.s. missiles for turkey and cuba was what was decisive. >> he began applying increase in force to another looming crisis, vietnam. a little over two months after the missile crisis, three american advisors were killed at the battle, 30 miles south of saigon. in february 1963, 40-year-old advisor robert net from new haven co

image of the pacifist who doused his clothing in kerosene and burned himself to death beneath robert mcnamara's pentagon window in 1965, soon after i'd had a meeting in that very office. some said he was delusional, but his wife said he was expressing, "his concern over the great loss of life and human suffering caused by the war in vietnam." over the years, i came to better understand the deeply moral grounding of his anguished martyrdom. >> no more obamacare. just say no! just say no! >> moyers: so you can see, perhaps, why it's hard even to describe as protests what's happening today-- the raucous disruption of town meetings that deny others their right to free speech. the cries of tyranny, the analogies to hitler on the signs and in postings on the internet. that's not conscience at work; it's the product of colicky, cranky unconscionable anger, fueled by lies. here's newt gingrich dissembling on health care. yes, the same newt gingrich, once disgraced, now back on the sunday talk shows like napoleon returning from elba. >> you're asking us to trust turning power over to the government when

. >> yes, in the past week, robert mcnamara died and if anything he was antispecial forces guy, more bombs, more tanks, more men. has the united states done anything to win the hearts and minds of the afghan people beyond this simpler that he just described? or are we spending more material, men, and other resources to prop up a society whose only contribution over last 2 1/2 millenia has been to exact a to between the empires of persian shaand cathay by controlling the silk road? >> i don't know if that is their only contribution. >> [inaudible]. >> yeah, which only, didn't become the huge cash crop it is today until after soviets completely destroyed agriculture in that country. opium is something we haven't talked about and here's what i think about that or here's what the people involved in addressing this problem think about it. particularly sf guys. you know, major general lambert, jeffrey lambert, who ran special operations, special forces command at the time of this whole deployment, said to me recently, he said, if you go in and kick out the opium economy, which is like one

. >> you talk about your partner, tom britain, about his wife and her relationship with robert mcnamaras the same -- saying? >> he was let go without notice. >> but we are in a different business now. you are in a commercial business. how did they treat you? >> they fired me after my argument with james carville. but i was ready to quit. i did not want to work for them, and they did not want to, so they let me go. but really, i did not have any programs left. the programs i had, "crossfire," "inside politics," they were all cancelled, so i was making a lot of money and doing very little i knew my days were numbered there before james carville. >> what age were you when you jump from an airplane? why did you do? >> 72, 73, something like that. "the novak his own -- zone" was a program where i would interview someone every week and i would do things that were supernumerary. i drove of boat up the river to the naval academy. i wanted to interview the army parachute jumping team, and they sent back a letter saying we could do the interview, but why would mr. novak like to jump? i was scared

you talk about his wife and her relationship with robert mcnamara. >> guest: well, she talked about it. c-span: i know she did. but what was the tom breeden thing? and he was -- eventually they let him go when he was 71. >> guest: 71. they let him go without notice. his contract is expiring and he was out the door. they could be -- television could be very rough. of course c-span's, then benefits and toward its employees. c-span: what we are a different business. you were a commercial business at cnn. how did they treat you do you think over the years and when you left after your argument with james carville? >> guest: they fired me after my argument with james carville. i was on for 25 years but i was ready to quit. so i didn't want to work for them, and they didn't want me to work for them, so they let me go. but really, brought in, they had killed all of my programs. i didn't have any programs left. so, they were looking for a reason to let me go. the program's i had -- crossfire, capital gang, inside politics, and the novak zone -- for all cancelled. so, i was just kind of -- was m

mcnamara of bay shore, new york. 100 years old. former fbi agent for 15 years. always the first one on the dance floor. emmett. my father-in-law, robertng in california. 102. secret do longevity, doing everything in moderation, including moderation. number six, vernon nichols. eyota, minnesota. 100 years old. lives independently and attends church every single week. that's just about it. i didn't say it last week but i just want to recognize les paul, too, a giant in the industry of music. god bless him. he passed away. now back to ann in new york city. >> willard, thank you so much. >>> coming up next, important information for women when it comes to postpartum depression. but first, this is "today" on nbc. when morning comes in the middle of the night... rooster crow. ...it affects your entire day. to get a good night's sleep, try 2-layer ambien cr. the first layer dissolves quickly to help you fall asleep. and unlike other sleep aids, a second dissolves slowly to help you stay asleep. when taking ambien cr, don't drive or operate machinery. sleepwalking, and eating or driving while not fully awake with memory loss for the event as

. >> yes, in the past week robert mcnamara mara -- dyga and if anything was the special forces by, morebombs, tanks, man. has the united states done anything to win the hearts and minds of the afghan people beyond the simple matter you just described or are we spending more material men and other resources to prop up a society whose only contribution of the last two and a half millennia has been to exact a toll between the empires of persia and cafe by controlling the road. >> well, i don't know if that is the only contribution, but -- [inaudible] >> yeah, which really didn't become the huge cash crop is today until after the soviets completely destroyed the agriculture in that country. the opium is something that actually we haven't talked about and here is what i think about that or here is what the people involved in addressing this problem think about a particularly the sf guys. major general jeffrey lambert retired, who ran special forces command of the time of this whole deployment, he said to me recently, he said if you go in and kick out the opium economy which is like one of th