Dirty Wars

First off - this is not "fiction". I don't know where IMDb picked it up, but as far as what i've read about this documentary - it is all real. If you want to watch this documentary, make sure you open your minds just a little bit.

People across the world shouted cheers when G Bush said "We're going to fight Iraq because there are WMD there". All the big reporters and media outlets shouted in chorus - Yeah, let's bomb Iraq! A lot of American soldiers died there. A lot of Iraqi people died in that assault. There were sons, husbands and friends. For nothing. There were no WMD there. And the country is in a worse state than what it was during Saddam's rule. Is this the "freedom" that we gave people of Iraq?

Did bush issue an apology? To the hundreds of innocent people killed in Iraq? To the families of American soldiers who died? Why didn't this "freedom and justice loving country" raise it's voice?

Take a look at this documentary. It's NOT fiction. Then, sit down and think about it. Is it really possible? Most of you will want to think twice before being able to say to yourself - no.

Add "Dirty Wars" to the list of movies that make me depressed to be an American.

Investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill plunges into the shadowy world of American strategic ops initiatives around the world, and the results, while not exactly surprising, are certainly chilling. What he finds are instances of American forces randomly going into obscure parts of the world and carrying out attacks that are as likely to kill innocent women and children as they are any people actively trying to do America any harm. At the center of these operations is a mysterious military unit about which virtually nothing used to be known, until this same unit carried out the assassination of Osama Bin Laden and elevated itself to hero status in the eyes of the American people.

Movies like "Dirty Wars" seem like a necessary evil to me. They bring to light topics that need to be addressed, but at the same time leave me impotently frustrated at my inability to do anything about it.

Grade: A-

Dirty Wars is a startling documentary that would most likely have (most) Americans up in arms in disgust over the senseless victims depicted in the film weren't they Muslims half a world away.

The Nation journalist Jeremy Scahill dives into the murky waters of American counter-terrorism efforts after 9/11 and discovers that drone attacks and targeted kills might actually be turning the tide in a war we believe ourselves to be winning ... as each new death creates tens to hundreds of new anti-American citizens in the world who view us as the new axis of evil as most of the deaths are collateral damage of innocent women and children. Scahill doesn't highlight the fact that we have enemies in the world that have caused us to increase these attacks; but he is simply making note/drawing attention to how "dirty" this "war" has become (war in nations we have never declared war upon). In places that once embraced Americans and our way of life, our continued use of drones and brutal attacks makes the survivors question who we are and wonder what our goals have become.

Some Americans and former military question this same thing -- what are we doing?!? When answers no longer make sense and lack logic, it is time to step back and re-evaluate what we are doing ... but the powers-that-be don't and won't. Began under President George W. Bush and continued heavily under our current President Obama, Dirty Wars exposes the acts of a super-secret branch of the military (JSOC - Joint Special Operations Command) who answers solely to our president. Their covert villainy (not always bad and villainous I must point out) can be easily re-written and members can become heroes at the drop of a hat -- or the execution of a major power player in the world of terror (Osama).

The doc is eye-opening and it actually made my eyes tear up a time or two over the deaths of innocent people (it isn't for the faint of heart as we see many graphic photos of the dead -- many of whom are children)... who happened to be Muslim. Oh ... the horror of THAT (my tears)! No ... oh the horror, period.

Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill is pulled into an unexpected journey as he chases down the hidden truth behind America's expanding covert wars.

Regarding Scahill, I may be a little biased. His work with exposing Blackwater impressed me, I was able to briefly meet him and found him a charming person, and he happens to be from Milwaukee. As a fellow Wisconsinite, I cannot help but root for the guy.

Here, he investigates the United States military and government cover-up of the deaths of five civilians, including two pregnant women killed by US soldiers from the Joint Special Operations Command. Interestingly, he focuses on this one case when this is probably not an uncommon thing (what we call collateral damage). This puts a human face on the dead rather just make them one of a multitude.

We see the refusal of Congress to listen, particularly Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (another Wisconsin native). Why does no one care about what our forces do overseas? Also interesting, we see that there appears to be a coordinated effort for the harassing of journalists, both American and in the Middle East. Scahill himself was apparently hacked and threatened, and another journalist is shown imprisoned for speaking out.

Trevor Johnston of Time Out London found the film to be a "gripping investigative doc, which plays out like a classic conspiracy thriller as it follows a trail of clues to the heart of darkness behind President Obama's good-guy facade." I think this is fairly spot on, though to use a phrase like "heart of darkness" or to single out Obama seems off. The real message is here is not that this happens, but that it is standard operating procedure regardless of who is in power.

One of the negative reviewers, Douglas Valentine of Dissident Voice, complained that "the film is so devoid of historical context, and so contrived, as to render it a work of art, rather than political commentary. And as art, it is pure self-indulgence." The second point I wholeheartedly disagree with. While of a higher quality than the average documentary, that should not be a strike against it. The first point is quite valid -- those who do not have a solid background regarding the war on terror may not understand the situations presented. As the film is short (roughly 90 minutes), a few minutes of context would not have bogged it down.

Although not expressed by either of these two gentlemen, I expect the biggest criticism would come from those who want to label Scahill an America-hating liberal for his negative outlook on our military. That is a fair criticism, and I do not know what his motivations are. But to not question power -- especially the powers that we pay for and are subject too -- is to blindly accept it.

None other than former president Teddy Roosevelt said, "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president and to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonous to the American public." Well said, and it is people like Scahill who prove the value of this criticism.

The documentary covers the story of Jeremy Scahill's discovery of a secret war, without bounds, which the US government has been waging in the name of fighting terrorism.

We see Scahill travel the world interviewing families in Iraq, Jordan, Yemin and Samalia who have had family members killed when they were declared to be suspected terrorists.

I left the theatre feeling that it is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen.

I was lucky enough to catch a screening of this at the Seattle International Film Festival, where Scahill did a Q+A afterwards. He was extremely eloquent answering every question.