Thursday, August 09, 2007

"No End In Sight"



This movie opens near me on Friday, August 10, at the Kendall Square Theatre in Cambridge. I think I know what we'll be doing this weekend.

From the movie's website, here's the synopsis:

The first film of its kind to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq’s descent into guerilla war, warlord rule, criminality and anarchy, NO END IN SIGHT is a jaw-dropping, insider’s tale of wholesale incompetence, recklessness and venality. Based on over 200 hours of footage, the film provides a candid retelling of the events following the fall of Baghdad in 2003 by high ranking officials such as former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Ambassador Barbara Bodine (in charge of Baghdad during the Spring of 2003), Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to Colin Powell, and General Jay Garner (in charge of the occupation of Iraq through May 2003) as well as Iraqi civilians, American soldiers, and prominent analysts. NO END IN SIGHT examines the manner in which the principal errors of U.S. policy – the use of insufficient troop levels, allowing the looting of Baghdad, the purging of professionals from the Iraqi government, and the disbanding of the Iraqi military – largely created the insurgency and chaos that engulf Iraq today. How did a group of men with little or no military experience, knowledge of the Arab world or personal experience in Iraq come to make such flagrantly debilitating decisions? NO END IN SIGHT dissects the people, issues and facts behind the Bush Administration’s decisions and their consequences on the ground to provide a powerful look into how arrogance and ignorance turned a military victory into a seemingly endless and deepening nightmare of a war.

5 comments:

Ted D said...

Becks, it breaks my heart to think about how many of our men and women have died over there with, as the movie says, no end in sight.

The whole thing has been a clustermess from day one. Yes, Saddam Hussein was an evil man: and yes, he used WMD on his own people. And while I firmly believe they are buried in Syria or Iran, I see no reason why we ever went back over there in the first place.

8 years ago, I might have felt differently: now, with my oldest 8 years old, and two more 3 and under, this kind of cowboy crap scares me to no end.

I have never voted Democrat in my life strictly because of the abortion issue: we lost 2 children in between Ciera and Rakes, so I'm a little sensitive there. But I have really struggled with the actions of this administration over the last 5 years.

One reason why I love your blog is you make me think: it's a far cry from my own blog, which is basically free therapy for me!

Ted

beckperson said...

Ted,

Thanks so much for this comment. You don't know it, but the reason this blog was started was as free therapy for ME! And it was started to vent my frustration with the mess in DC. As you may have gathered, I think this Administration (and I'm using this term loosely) has been the most dangerous, criminal, lying bunch of creeps ever to be in Washington.

Everything they touched has been screwed up, and then they refuse to take any blame. I think Trot has more of a conscience than they do.

But enough about them.

I think it's important for people like you and me to compare notes and not let them drive a wedge between us. (By them, I mean politicians of both parties.) We need to take the country back from them and not allow them to divide us like cattle. Certainly the Dems make mistakes, and one of them may be around abortion. Certainly I've softened my stance somewhat as I've gotten older. (And probably we should stay away from discussing, if it's a tender spot for you - its also something that is important to me.) But, I think we have more in common than we sometimes think.

The point is, I hope we can have a good conversation about this and I'm really happy that you visit and comment! Let's see what happens. :)

::shakes Ted's hand::

Ted D said...

Becks,

I had no clue you thought poorly of this administration: you do such a great job of hiding it. ;)

No wedge here: I respect your opinion's and I know you respect mine. We'll skip talking about the abortion issue, and keep talking about the other issues: Lord knows there is enough else to talk about!

We CAN have good conversation and I always look forward to checking your site out. :)

::gives Becks a Happy Birthday hug::

beckperson said...

Now I just want a Red Sox win tonight as a gift!

Ted D said...

Becks, sorry you didn't get the win for your birthday: maybe they got confused and thought it was today.

Hope you are having a great weekend and your birthday was the best one yet.