First time writer/director Charles H. Ferguson‘s documentary concerns the post-2003 US occupation of Iraq. It covers the toppling of the Saddam-led Ba’ath government, the rise of a Muslim fundamentalist civil war in the country, and the violent insurgencies against coalition forces. Most specifically No End In Sight tells the story of an ill-prepared American-led occupation that was fueled by incompetence, misinformation and lies.
Ferguson’s approach is to utilize talking head interviews with military personal, local journalists, and (in most cases refreshingly frank) occupation coordinators interspersed with newsreel footage of the increasingly chaotic breakdown of Iraqi society, post-Saddam. While this could have made for a dry, uninvolving piece, it is a cleverly structured story with sharp editing that is truly exceptional. By letting the facts speak for themselves, Ferguson and his collaborators have made a compelling indictment of the Bush administration's treatment of Iraq; a nation it claims has been delivered from tyranny and bloodshed.
The evidence of US blunders presented within is enough to bring even the staunchest pro-war, Bush lovin’ Republican’s blood to boil (governmental dismissal of expert evidence that Iraq would collapse into anarchy without sufficient policing, a total disregard for civilian welfare, fresh-out-of-Harvard graduates in charge of Baghdad traffic control). Most disturbing of all is the suggestion that coalition forces squandered the good will of the Iraqi people leading to the rise of extreme fundamentalism in the region. For anyone who wondered what happened to those smiling children waving US flags and screaming ‘Thank you America’ at passing Humvees on CNN after the initial takeover – the heartbreaking answer will be found here.
The documentary’s impartiality extends to its treatment, or lack thereof, of ‘Gulf War II’ itself. This is a picture which firmly concerns itself with events after the overthrow of Saddam, with the exception of a brief Post-9/11 history lesson for anyone who may have been shipwrecked on a desert island for the last six years. There is no talk of the ethics, morality or hidden agendas of the war itself and no overt politicizing. It could be suggested that the arguments are a little one-sided but inter-titles make clear that the most well known and culpable figures (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, etc.) declined to be interviewed.
That said, anyone who has remained informed on events in Iraq may not find any new or enlightening information in the film. Ferguson's real achievement, however, is to bring all the facts together into a cohesive history – and to do so in a way that is both riveting and devastating.
This is, of course, a story without conclusion. The real, unanswerable question that the film poses is “What happens now?” but in the meantime this essential, vital piece of reportage will stand as a definitive document, and along with Eugene Jarecki’s Why We Fight, one of the very finest non-fiction films of recent years.