No End In Sight
In this superb documentary, directed by Charles Ferguson, the main theme is the question of what went wrong with the war in Iraq. It is a concise, unbiased view of the events in the Spring and Summer of 2003 and the decisions that were made that have ultimately led to the question of when, if ever, the war will end. Campbell Scott narrates in a voice that echoes the matter of fact collection of interviews, statistics, and occasional film clips that have culminated in the situation as it is in Iraq.
I say unbiased only because of the nature of the film itself. As a documentary, it is an historical overview of the events which transpired from the perspective of those individuals who were actively participating in the series of events in Iraq. The fact that there are many absent interviews in the film from other principal characters only goes to show the underlying truth, that the entire war was a series of actions filled with incompetence.
Candid observations by former state department officials Richard Armitage, Lawrence Wilkerson and Barbara Bodine are spoken in complete honesty. But where are President Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and all the others who turned a deaf ear on all of the reports and statistics that could have altered the course of the war?
ORHA, Organization of Recovery and Humanitarian Assistance, headed by Jay Garner, was assembled to deal with the crisis in Iraq. They were sent to a country which was in total chaos and disarray, looting and violence escalating by the hour, without even the basic tools to accomplish their assignment. Their first hand observations and suggestions were ignored thus rendering them incapable of working effectively towards restoring civility in a country rife with incendiary behavior. Jay Garner, during his interview, exemplifies the frustration and sadness he felt as he was basically undermined by those on the sidelines who believed their method was better than his and his group.
Enter Paul Bremer. The ORHA was no longer and the new group, CPA began operations. The Coalition Provisional Authority was formed in May of 2003 heralding the beginning of a series of costly mistakes that would shape the future of the war. Bear in mind that a National Intelligence Report was drawn up and presented prior to this that highly recommended that there be no war with Iraq to begin with. The most startling element of this is that President Bush did not even read the report, let alone the simple one page synopsis. When questioned about the report, it was dismissed as guesswork.
That being said, those in power proceeded with the purging of the Ba’ath Party and the dismantling of the Iraq army. The latter of which escalated the free for all that turned the country into utter chaos. The men of the army were demoted to regular citizens but with one very distinct difference, they still had their guns in their hands. Without any source of income in a country torn apart and devastated by war, they were often forced to act in unconventional ways just to feed their families. The United States military presence was ineffective both in regards to restoring order to the country as well as having the capability to organize a new government for Iraq. This was through no fault of their own because their assignment was not to be proactive, but rather to merely have their presence known. They were not utilized in any effective manner as a direct result of orders from those above.
The editing, choice of interviews being interspersed with occasional documentary film clips, and the haunting music combine to make this a very powerful film. While I was actively following the war during 2003 and still to this day, there were many insights revealed that I was unaware of until now. The film accomplishes the delivery of the message…what went wrong, clearly and succinctly. I feel that it is one of the best documentaries made to date in the sense that it is a factual statement of events delivered by those who were on the frontlines. The frustration, sadness and hopelessness the interviewees experienced has an impact far greater than had it been an anti-war film. The incorporation of interviews by a wide variety of participants, both those in state department positions and soldiers who were active participants in the war, gives the audience a well rounded account of the events that led up to the current situation in Iraq.