[.ca] Why We Fight (2005)

From Amazon.com:
Fans of Oliver Stone's J.F.K. will recognize the opening moments of writer-director Eugene Jarecki's Why We Fight, in which outgoing President Dwight Eisenhower warns of the pernicious and growing influence of what he called the "military-industrial complex." But Stone's movie, which uses the same footage, was a work of fiction. While those who disagree with the decidedly leftist point of view in this documentary will probably consider it the product of paranoid liberal fantasy as well, there's enough credible material, much of it supplied by the targets of Jarecki's criticisms, to make Eisenhower look like a prophet and everyone else uneasy about the dark confluence of politics, money, and war that controls the country's fortunes. The message here is that while there may be some who sincerely believe that America's various military engagements (in Iraq, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, and elsewhere) since World War II are the product of our God-given duty to spread freedom and halt the influence of evil ideologies around the world, the real reason we fight is that war is good business. This is hardly a bulletin; anyone who is surprised by allegations that politicians pander to defense contractors, or that Vice President Dick Cheney helped secure huge deals for Halliburton, the company he formerly headed, simply hasn't been paying attention (Politicians lie? How shocking!). In fact, the principal drawback to Jarecki's film is simply that there's nothing particularly revelatory or compelling about it. Only when he takes a personal approach does he go beyond the obvious; the story of a retired New York policeman and former Vietnam veteran whose son died in the World Trade Center, who wanted revenge, but who became seriously disillusioned when Bush admitted that the war in Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, adds some much needed human interest. Still, Why We Fight, which includes a director's audio commentary track and a few other bonus features, serves as a grim reminder that the world's most powerful nation has strayed far from the principles of our founding fathers, a development that does not bode well for America's future. --Sam Graham

informative and disturbing:
Although there were parts of this documentary that have already been well covered by such films as Farenheit 9/11 and the general news media, this is a great doc for getting back to the basics, reinforcing some disturbing points that we probably don't want to think about too much, and shedding a great deal of light on American foreign policy and the Military Industrial Complex. President Eisenhower is the prophetic hero of this movie, when he predicted that, left to continue as it was, the Military Industrial Complex would take over the country and rule every decision (that's my paraphrasing, anyway). The sections of the doc detailing the history of this Complex, and America's involvement in various wars, is chilling and highly educational. The film also follows the personal story of one retired cop whose son died in the Twin Towers. He talks about his anger, his thirst for revenge, and how he asked the US army to dedicate a bomb to be dropped on Irag to his son's memory - they sent him the photos and the details of where it landed. When President Bush finally, openly, said there was no connection whatsoever between Iraq and 9/11, the ex-cop's anger turns on the President, he can't believe he's been lied to. While it may have been obvious to the rest of the world (plenty of people I know predicted America would go after Iraq as soon as 9/11 happened, because it was the perfect time and a policy Bush senior had aimed for too), his story highlights how persuasive and censored the US news media is. The film makers had access to the Pentagon, and interviewed people from both sides of the argument, as well as the two men who dropped the first bombs on Iraq and a scientist who fled Vietnam because of America's war and who now builds missiles for the US. This film perfectly compliments others in the field. It is simply told (a kid in primary school could follow it) but this makes the whole sorry mess more accessible for understanding, and makes clear how confused the ordinary citizens of America really are, as the politicians take advantage of their grief after 9/11 and twist it to support their own agenda.