Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers

The war dribbles on, hundreds of billions of dollars dumped into the Iraqi sand, over a hundred thousand people dead, millions made homeless, Halliburton stock triples, Bush has his hair styled, Cheney shoots caged birds thrown from the bed of a pickup truck, heroically I guess or ain't it fun to watch the bird bodies splatter? Meanwhile, somebody somewhere has that "Mission Accomplished" banner. It should go for some serious bucks on Ebay someday. Karl Rove is writing his memoirs: "There's a new reality, the reality of power. Power makes its own reality. (And I--I!--was at the pinnacle: indeed I was the Power and the Glory. Myself. Me.)" Rumsfeld ditto. But Rummy writes of "shock and awe" and how the generals in the field bungled his best laid plans. And soon George W. himself will be writing his memoirs. The advance will be several million. The lies will probably not exceed that number.

Of course there is no way that I at my computer can find the words to really make clear the stupefying waste and the horrific immorality of what the Bush administration has done in the name that was once America. Robert Greenwald's documentary does it better, much better by focusing on the profiteering by KBR, Halliburton, Blackwater et al. He uses the camera to show the images of human carnage, of the weighty mass of trucks and equipment, of Bush administration officials lying through their teeth on TV, of Bush himself strutting, waving, smiling. There are graphs of profits going up, up, up, street level shots of the stately office buildings of the profiteering companies, silver and glass, sunlight on well-tended lawns. Condi and Rummy, and Dick and Bush lying, lying, and lying some more. And for what? Cheney will be dead soon himself. Bush will be bored (perhaps to drink), their ill-gotten millions of no value to their dying souls.

I liked the way Greenwald predicted the Blackwater scandal, more or less with his focus. (You should check it out.) All those macho guys with their military pensions in their back pockets finding Soldier of Fortune jobs at Blackwater, toting their guns, shooting the enemy in self-defense, making an additional six figures a year. Pallets of hundred dollar bills forklifted off of military transport planes...

Well, Greenwald didn't get THAT shot (too bad), but he did show EMPTY trucks, a convoy, on an Iraqi highway (paid for as LOADED according to the contract). The contract of America with Halliburton. Halliburton with America. What's good for Halliburton is good for America. He shows the hundred dollar a meal meals contracted for those inside the Green Zone. It's surreal and then some. We airlift the PX, the movie theaters, the gym equipment, the computers, the TVs, the Pepsi Cola--well, actually Halliburton was able to substitute some local Iraqi cola at a fraction of the cost. We create a virtual reality army base inside Bagdad where our forces can hang out in safety. Who gains? Those doing the transporting.

More than any war in history, this documentary shows the influence of privatization. With no-bid contracts, of course. Bush hates big government. The way to reduce government is to make it go broke. How do you do that? You create a useless war and sell the contracts to your buds at inflated prices. It's amazing but this is what has happened. And Greenwald documents it.

Problem is, this fine documentary will be lost in the vast sea of information that we ourselves are lost in. Hide in plain site is what the profiteers have been able to do. Your stock triples, it's reported on the five o'clock news and in the pages of the New York Times ("our paper, man") but who can see it amid the myriad details of other stock prices or of the endless parade of other numbers, and words, words, words. A billion dollars lost here and there. Pentagon accountants clueless. Just another story on CNN, spun out of sight by Fox News.

You can watch this without the sound. The images tell the story.

This is another fine piece of work by Greenwald. He also directed Uncovered: The Whole Truth about the Iraq War (2003) and Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (2004). He does a great job with the visuals, the interviews, and the narrative.

I have one tiny criticism. No captions. No English subtitles. Every film and documentary on DVD should have subtitles. That way we can be sure of the exact phrasing of the lies.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)

If you are a Liberal go see this movie... If you are a Conservative go see this movie...

Everyone needs to see this movie. This like Greenwalds Wal-Mart movie can only be seen at private screenings hosted by families, churches, and in community centers all over the country. Screening films like this Greenwald refers to gorilla distribution. Forgoing all distribution companies to leave it up to the people to get the movie out there. With doing this Greenwald wants people to talk and discuss the movie instead of walking out and going home to never bring it up again. Which you will want to do with this film Iraq for Sale.

In his newest film Iraq for Sale: The war Profiteers. Greenwald goes after the giant corporations that are making money off the War in Iraq. Exposing their illegal actions and immoral attitude to this war. Discovering how much money the corporations are making when soldiers are making far less and living a lot worse. It will make you sad and sick that our government would be allowed to do this to our men overseas. This movie crosses party lines and I once you watch this movie you will change your mind on what is happening in Iraq.

The math is very simple. Contribute a couple of million dollars to key congressional figures and the Republican party and get $19 BILLION dollars worth of contracts in Iraq. You figure out the profit percentage. It's far more that your bank is paying you for your savings. How about a $4.5 million dollar investment by Halliburton resulting in so many billions of dollars in contracts that the CEO makes over $40 million. Do you really believe that the Vice-president, the former head of Halliburton, is not actively involved? Military that were involved in abuse of Abu Gahrib were court-martial-ed and jailed, while civilian contractors, after killing Iraqis were simply sent home to come back later with another contractor. At this the President dances and jokes and grins like a monkey.

The billions of dollars that we are spending in Iraq is going to companies that are major Republican contributers and they are not accountable for the fraud, waste, and abuse they are perpetrating on the American people.

It should be the obligation of every American to see this film before they cast another vote.

Iraq For Sale is a truly horrifying documentary about the state of war profiteering in Iraq as allowed or encouraged by Washington in the United States. Not to be misunderstood or understated, it is terrifying how reckless the companies mentioned in the film (Halliburton et al) act towards their customers (US Military) and their employees in pursuit of the mighty dollar. Sending out trucks on delivery missions empty because they can charge the government for sending them to the bases. Providing dubious contaminated water to the troops from their water treatment plants, and charging $100 to wash a bag of laundry to mention a few. What is even more terrifying is that the Pentagon just ignores the abuse or gives the companies a slap on the wrist for their trouble, all the while continuing to funnel billions or more dollars into their pockets. I used to accept that war was about ideology and defense, this documentary proved me wrong. War is about the pursuit of wealth and power!

No doubt this will automatically be labeled as "liberal propaganda" by some but the issues tackled in this film should be of concern to everyone, Republican or Democrat.

I must admit that I didn't know much about contracting before this film came along, though I had heard bits and pieces before in the news about Dick Cheney's shady Halliburton dealings. "Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers" truly opened my eyes to the horrendous waste and fraud that is going on in Iraq and the risks that contractors and our troops have been exposed to by companies who were found in some cases to value money more than human life. People might possess the misconception that this film takes a stance against the war and against private contracting in general, but that is absolutely not the case; rather it takes a stand against war PROFITEERING and tells the stories of those who have been personally affected by it. The interviews with family members whose loved ones died needlessly are truly heartbreaking, as is the moving testimony of a former Halliburton employee, Ben Carter, who discovered the company was providing contaminated water to soldiers.

I recommend that everyone show the film to friends, family and co-workers since Brave New Films counts on people and not theaters to distribute their movies. A definite must-see.