Twinned with our economic security in the minds of Americans is our national security--from the threat of terrorism to a war in Iraq that has consumed over $600 billion federal dollars so far, cost more than 4,000 U.S. soldiers their lives and injured more than 30,000, and left the threat of anti-American fervor and Islamic fundamentalism still unabated. These documentaries present a range of critical national security challenges, from the stage set in Afghanistan of the 1990s to the life-altering events of 9/11 to the invasion and fall of Baghdad, and the events that followed; collectively, they illuminate the complexities of these issues and the current challenges.
21 DAYS TO BAGHDAD joins National Geographic’s own filmmakers Gary Scurka and Charles Poe to relive their experiences shooting in and around Baghdad during the Iraqi conflict. Working with officials insistent on denying the imminent threat posed by the U.S. aggression, Poe sets the scene in Baghdad as one by one, the city’s stalwart buildings and palaces succumb to enemy fire. Dealing with the bureaucracy by day and filming the aerial attacks by night, Poe gives a very real impression of a city—and governmental regime—in peril as coalition forces draw closer.
Stationed with India Company of the Third Battalion, Fourth Marines, Scurka gives viewers an up-close look at the U.S. military in action as he travels with them by tank from the Kuwaiti border into Baghdad. Viewers experience enemy fire first hand as India Company undergoes a tense conflict outside the Baghdad city limits. Later, after it is clear the coalition forces have effectively ended Hussein’s stronghold on the city, viewers are there to witness the soldiers’ relief as they enter Baghdad to the smiling faces and cheers of its citizenry.
One-on-one interviews with military personnel give viewers insight into the complex mix of emotions soldiers encounter when facing the enemy, helping the wounded or thinking of home. Meighan Adamouski, wife of Blackhawk pilot James Adamouski, whose helicopter was shot down by Iraqi soldiers early on in the conflict, puts a human face to the impact of the war back home as she talks of her husband’s commitment to his country and his family. For many soldiers, these seemingly disparate loyalties do not conflict with their stated missions, but make them even more steadfast in their belief that what they accomplish abroad will enable their family to lead a happier, more secure life at home.
Latest Comment
Posted 09/01/09 by Jay
When I look at this video, I see all the momentum, all the right things that the U.S. did right. Even most of the Iraqi people were at their side. The war has lagged on because we are not just trying to rescue an Iraqi people but we also want to change them. Plus, the Iraqi people themselves have lost faith in the American military and government. Morale and momentum as at a low, and when you have that in a war then it tends to lag on for too long.
Take a harrowing journey with author Sebastian Junger and photographer Reza deep into Afghanistan for the last interview with the assassinated resistance leader, Ahmed Shah Massoud. With never-before-seen footage, Afghanistan Revealed explores this war-torn country and the lives of its people as they struggle against the Taliban.
Latest Comment
Posted 05/07/09 by Mark White
The documentary is a typical work of left-of-center journalist. Reagan “walked away from Afghanistan” when the cold war ended. The cold war did not end because of anything Reagan did, but “because these brave afghan’s defeated the Soviets”. Then, completely skipping over the eight years of the Clinton Administration and ignoring the growing terrorist threat from the Taliban running Afghanistan, “Bush was warned about the great risk to America” in April, before the September 11th attacks.
Although this docu-drama was obviously well funded and put together professionally, it reflects a hard-left editorial bias as is typical of this generation’s “journalists”.
Exclusive, Uncensored Footage of Atrocities Gives Rare Insight Why America Had ‘Moral Obligation’ to Invade Iraq. After viewing, Americans will soon have a far better understanding of why it was the United States’ unavoidable obligation to invade Iraq.
BURIED IN THE SAND: THE DECEPTION OF AMERICA takes an unflinching look at the atrocities at Abu Ghurayb prison in Iraq and across this sand-blown country. Never-before-seen footage obtained from American military personnel, Islamic extremists and other sources put a face – the face of someone’s parent, spouse, sibling or child – on the suffering, death and betrayal suffered by an entire society.
BURIED IN THE SAND: THE DECEPTION OF AMERICA is hosted by Mark Taylor, a 25-year radio veteran and nationally known political commentator who has been a frequent guest on such prominent and influential shows as The O’Reilly Factor, Hannity & Colmes and Politically Incorrect, as well as on MSNBC and CNN news broadcasts.
Latest Comment
Posted 06/27/09 by Skorian
I often hope that some other country will liberate our own country (the US) for we have horrifying things happening to people right here in our own country.
I would also point out that the reason we attacked Iraq was because of the threat of terrorism by WMD.
A number of those who were treated brutally by Sadams regiem were infact terrorists that threatened his power and the stability of his country. Not that they deserve to be tortured, but that the middle east is a violent area and has been for centuries.
UNCOVERED: THE WAR IN IRAQ chronicles the Bush Administration’s determined quest to invade Iraq following the events of September 11, 2001. The film deconstructs the administration’s case for war through interviews with U.S intelligence and defense officials, foreign service experts, and U.N. weapons inspectors—including a former CIA director, a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia and even President’s Bush’s Secretary of the Army. Their analyses and conclusions are sobering, and often disturbing, regardless of one’s political affiliations. Produced and Directed by Robert Greenwald.
Latest Comment
Posted 10/11/09 by KleptoPsychotic
How does someone mix up the words “physical” and “fissile”? Answer: If they’re stupid enough to be able to think that “physical” is spelled with an “F.”
That pigfucker ignoramus Bush, his lunatic corporate overlord Dick Cheney (dubbed by the British press “Darth Vader"), that soulless, sociopathic, mutilated freak Donald Rumsfeld (who made his name early on by being central in creating the conditions for the escalation of the Cold War, the intelligence for which was coming from a former Nazi enrolled in our military through Operation Paperclip), ########## Rice, one of the most prolific liars and frigid, black-hearted Secretaries of State ever to enter office, and a whole slew of mindless demagogues like John Bolton and Richard Pearle are all guilty of either or both of two crimes at the least, namely Treason and Misprison of Treason. They are, one and all, liable for the death penalty.
Now a lot of people have the opinion that we should get rid of the PATRIOT Act, Victory Act, Military Commissions Act, John Warner Defense Authorization Act, and many others. I disagree. I think, instead, that we should radically expand those “laws”, and turn them back on the government. In other words, every single person employed by the Government of the United States of America, in any capacity, will have their phones tapped, their emails read, and if they are found guilty of any crime, will be secretly arrested by the militia, tortured, summarily charged, and executed.
That, my friends, is a country I WOULD like to live in.