Not even the fiercest opponent of the War in Iraq has anything but praise for the men and women in our military over there doing a tough job. As a Veteran, I support the troops. I support them so much, I don't want to see a single one killed or injured for bogus reasons.
With that in mind, I have to say I was very impressed with this film. The War Tapes is put together from footage shot by real soldiers on the ground doing the day-to-day jobs that soldiers do. Only here, it seems they spend much of their time providing back up support for civilian KBR/Halliburton employees who make five times what they are paid.
Why have an Army Private drive a supply truck for $20,000 a year when you can hire a Halliburton guy to drive it for $100,000? And no, Vice President Dick Cheney (former CEO of Halliburton) had nothing to do with the company getting lucrative "no bid" contracts in Iraq. How on earth is that even possible? The candor of the three men who provide the focus of the narrative is refreshing. I agree with them, this is a war for oil. And, if oil is not worth fighting for, then what is? But don't try and sell the bull that this is for democracy.
This film is comprised of footage these men took during the year (2004) of their deployment. Fortunately, all of them return to the USA without any injuries, but there is evident psychological damage in two of them. Mike Moriarty and Steve Pink seemed to be fairly closed off, emotionally scared men before going into the Army; I don't think the Army made them that way; although Iraq may have exacerbated their nascent problems. They seem to come from that school of male behavior that says that anything resembling a feeling must be repressed, lest it be considered feminine. But they are so wrong. At least Steve Pink gets his feelings out in his writing. Indeed his descriptions of what he sees that we hear in letters sent home are very literary, with imaginative allusions and they surpass what most professional journalists write.
My favorite guy in this group is Zack Bazz, who was born in Lebanon, came to America when he was ten and speaks Arabic. He at least has an understanding of the Arab culture and he is frequently called in to translate for difficult situations. He has beautiful dark eyes, full bushy eyebrows and a sweet open smile. Are you paying attention Hollywood? If Audie Murphy can become a film star after WW2, than Zack Bazz could be one when he's done in Iraq. I don't know if the guy can act, but he certainly has camera presence. When he's on screen, you don't notice anyone else.
I like how Bazz also explains the insurgency. As he says, if Canada had invaded the USA after the 2000 elections claiming that Bush and company stole the election (a reasonable belief), it would not be unreasonable for gangs of Bush supporters to take to the hills with their weapons and fight back. So you see, Bush supporters and Saddam supporters are a lot closer than you might think.
One odd thing occurs, Mike Moriarty says something that puzzles me. Explaining how he felt after 9/11, he claims that he felt totally frustrated. We then see some home video footage Moriarty shot on September 28, 2001 of the still smoking ruins of the World Trade Center. Moriarty then claims he immediately went to his Army recruiter and asked specifically to be put into a unit being sent to Iraq.
This was in September of 2001. Not even George Bush was touting Iraq as a cause for 9/11 that early. Did this happen the way it is shown or was this just some unclear film editing? How did Mike Moriarty know in September of 2001 that he needed to go to Iraq? Bush himself has since admitted that there was no connection between Iraq and 9/11, so is this just a mistake or what? If anyone has an answer for this please let me know, because it struck me as being a false note in a film that generally has the ring of truth.
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