No End in Sight
Since this week marks the fifth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, might I recommend the film No End in Sight.
I've watched films, read articles and blog posts, even saw a play about the Iraq war, but it seems every new interview and piece of information adds to the messy puzzle. The play and most of what I've read dealt with the political actions and deception that led to the decision to start the war. By contrast No End in Sight deals more with the utter absence of war-planning that caused serious mistakes, the insurgency and a complicated mess.
The film mentions that there were two years of planning prior to WWII, but only 90 days before our invasion of Iraq. As a result, looting and lawlessness broke out immediately and got worse from there. The cost (at the time the film was made) of looting alone cost $12 billion. Rumsfeld didn't help gain respect for the US military when he mocked the reports of the destruction. While Iraq's National Library and Musuem were looted, the oil ministry was the only building protected by our military. Telling.
The film also goes into the ill-planned military decisions that led to the insurgency, most notably the surprise disbanding of the Iraqi army which put 500,000 bitter soldiers (who knew where to find weapons) out of work. One image that struck me was of a map showing who controls what parts of Baghdad. It's a bloody mess.
The costs of the war are also laid out. The film says $1.8 trillion. However, an excerpt from The Three Trillion Dollar War in this month's Vanity Fair estimates that it will eventually cost, you guessed it, $3 trillion.
Anyway, not much detail in this post, just wanted to give a recommendation.
I've watched films, read articles and blog posts, even saw a play about the Iraq war, but it seems every new interview and piece of information adds to the messy puzzle. The play and most of what I've read dealt with the political actions and deception that led to the decision to start the war. By contrast No End in Sight deals more with the utter absence of war-planning that caused serious mistakes, the insurgency and a complicated mess.
The film mentions that there were two years of planning prior to WWII, but only 90 days before our invasion of Iraq. As a result, looting and lawlessness broke out immediately and got worse from there. The cost (at the time the film was made) of looting alone cost $12 billion. Rumsfeld didn't help gain respect for the US military when he mocked the reports of the destruction. While Iraq's National Library and Musuem were looted, the oil ministry was the only building protected by our military. Telling.
The film also goes into the ill-planned military decisions that led to the insurgency, most notably the surprise disbanding of the Iraqi army which put 500,000 bitter soldiers (who knew where to find weapons) out of work. One image that struck me was of a map showing who controls what parts of Baghdad. It's a bloody mess.
The costs of the war are also laid out. The film says $1.8 trillion. However, an excerpt from The Three Trillion Dollar War in this month's Vanity Fair estimates that it will eventually cost, you guessed it, $3 trillion.
Anyway, not much detail in this post, just wanted to give a recommendation.
posted by Anne at 9:23 PM
2 Comments:
Those numbers are staggering. I will check out the film.
I almost can't believe it has been five years. I feel sorrow for those who are unable to forget it.
I know, those costs don't seem possible. The excerpt in Vanity Fair lists all the things that were considered in the $3 trillion cost. There are future costs I don't think many people consider.
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