Which US official's Southeast Asia research contributed to the creation of the Pentagon Papers and later became president of the World Bank?

• A. Dean Rusk
• B. John F. Kennedy
• C. Lyndon B. Johnson
• D. Robert McNamara

Answer: (D)

This question is about a single figure whose work on Southeast Asia connected a major government study to a later international leadership role. Robert McNamara, as Secretary of Defense in the 1960s, ordered and oversaw the Southeast Asia research that became the Pentagon Papers—the internal history of U.S. decision making on Vietnam. He then went on to serve as president of the World Bank from 1968 to 1981. So his role spans both the Pentagon Papers material and the World Bank presidency, making him the best answer. The other figures listed did not become World Bank president.