Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War

"Uncovered: The Truth Behind the War in Iraq" uses the same pundits who have appeared in the national media to make the argument that the Bush administration skewed intel, distorted facts, and rushed America into a war unrelated to WMD or terrorism with unrealistic expectations of outcome. In counterpoise are news snippets of administration officials seen making the case for war and subsequently recanting. Although there is a montage of still pics and video clips sprinkled throughout with some show & tell graphics, the bulk of the film is nonstop talk-to-the-camera dialogue and file footage which serves to compresses post 9/11 events into a digest and overview of the Iraq war issues. This film is long on information and short in entertainment and should be worth a look by anyone who never got a full accounting of why Americans are now fighting and dying in Iraq. (B-)

This DVD went to great lengths to convince viewers there was deception from many sources to convince the American congress and public of the need to invade Iraq.

Numerous, believable persons who held office in places to give them credibility gave testimony that indicated a deception or distortion on the truth had occurred.

And yet, no motive for the deception was ever hinted at. I find it notable that VP Cheney is depicted as the person who insisted it was important to send Joseph Wilson to Nigeria. There, he was to investigate the possibility of Iraq attempting to purchase yellow cake uranium. When Joseph Wilson came back and reported he did not find any credible evidence regarding the suspected sale he was verbally attacked and his wife was exposed as a CIA operative. This suggests that Mr. Cheney or someone he answers to wanted the report to verify the attempted purchase. It has been suggested by sources other than this movie that VP Cheney exerted much pressure on President Bush to invade Iraq. These two bits of info reflect suspiciously on him.

Again, the DVD offered speculation the deception was deliberate, but never served up a motive nor a hint at who would benefit from all this wizardry. It comes across as more a bit of anti-Bush rhetoric than as a fact finding mission, and on that point it falls short of my expectations based on the title.

I was totally opposed to the US going into Iraq without UN backing but now that our men and women are there, it is important we give THEM our support and find a sensible way to get them home without leaving a situation worse than what existed before we invaded.

This DVD could be very demoralizing to the troops presently serving in the military. I hope none of them see it.

Extremely well done...In the form that it was, after the event as it were...Quite startling.

Many names 'in the know', which added much credence.

I was particularly struck by David Kay's comments: Obviously a man of high principle-Presumably choosing David was one of White House's unexpected blunders...I cannot imagine Bush choosing a man of integrity by design! I sincerely hope David has not been singles out for his honesty.

I wholeheartedly recommend this documentary to those who wish to know the truth about this abhorrent war & the true reasons for it.

Running only 56 minutes, its too long for what it is.

Understand, I'm against the war and do think we were lied to, but I don't think that we need to see Bush and his administration shifting and shifting and shifting their stories for an hour. Its the same thing over and over, and after half an hour of this the point was made.

Granted the entire film is not just the shifting stories, there are interviews with experts, and they are the high points of the film. Why the more of these weren't put into the film is beyond me. Granted they are on the DVD as an extra, but as of right now I'm too unhappy with the film to continue onward.

6 out of 10, yes it makes the point but it goes on a bit too long.

This review regards the 55-minute version. It is not a good documentary. It has more substance and gravitas than Fahrenheit 9/11--which was pointless propaganda--but it is very amateurish-looking, poorly edited, and you can tell, as director Greenwald himself attests, that it was a rush job. After the run-through of all the interviewees at the beginning, some get only one line (Stansfield Turner, Clare Short), and some are forgotten altogether (Thomas White). There were only about five or six individuals that got the bulk of face-time, and you get the impression that Greenwald overreached a bit in trying to assemble an impressive number of credible people to support the anti-war position. From a political standpoint, whether you think that the Bush administration used WMD as a pretext to invade, or whether the President sincerely thought that the weapons existed is moot: with an all-volunteer army, the anti-war forces were never going to get traction. Had the draft been in place in 2003, Kerry would be President right now. But even if most Americans polled think Iraq wasn't worth it, they still support this administration. Without coercion to fight, the anti-war left is barking in the wind.