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Iraq For Sale: The War
Profiteers
Directed by: Robert Greenwald
Starring:
Halliburton
Genre:
Documentary
Run Time: 75
min.
Release Date:
September 2006
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
Having only heard whispers
about Robert Greenwald’s previous documentary successes (OUTFOXED,
WALMART: THE HIGH COST OF LOW PRICE, etc.), I finally decided to
check out one of his latest “success” stories, IRAQ FOR SALE: THE WAR
PROFITEERS.
This documentary closely monitors the contracts doled out to private
companies who are involved in the Iraq War. Halliburton is hit on pretty
heavily and the association it has with Vice-President Cheney. Then
there are the Blackwater boys who render privately armed American men
for political protection, security and, surprisingly, interrogation.
There are companies who wash the clothes for the military (at nearly
$100 per bag), furnish food and drink, and even provide fuel tankers for
military vehicles.
All of the costs associated with the war come out of the American
taxpayer’s wallet, and the idea behind the documentary is to make one so
furious at the ridiculous costs that they want to quit the war and fire
their Senators and/or Representatives. The figures are mind-blowing — in
the many hundreds of billions of dollars.
I will admit that the story points out some terrible flaws in our
government’s handling of private contracts, and all of the favoritism
and bipartisanship that comes with it (almost all of the votes related
to private contractors that took place in congress went along party
lines).
But the documentary fails terribly in coherency. Running around like a
child with ADHD, the film makers seemed to have difficulty following
through on any one idea. Halliburton, Blackwater, CACI, Raytheon,
DynaCorp, and many other companies are hit upon as abusers/enablers of
The Military Industrial Complex. But they’re barely touched on and then
we quickly move to another topic. It was enough to give viewers
whiplash.
There are also small box graphics which have arrows pointing to and from
various contractors and people in high level government jobs (making
connections to cronyism) but, again, they are shown only fleetingly and
are difficult to decipher.
As far as I could tell, too, there was only one attempt to garner
information from the other side (a brief encounter with the CEO of
Blackwater in a public garage), which makes the entire film very
one-sided. We never see nor hear from any higher-ups in these
corporations and only view disgruntled employees. If an attempt to
interview resulted in stonewalling, I would’ve like to have seen that in
the film, however brief.
I’m not in any way defending these scumbags who overcharge our
government (i.e., me and everyone else who pays taxes) or use war as a
means to achieve profits. I find that despicable. But this documentary
isn’t the best way to see that. It’s hopscotchy, poorly structured, and
difficult to follow. Perhaps I’ll have to check out Director Greenwald’s
other documentaries to see if I can appreciate his earlier works.
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Image from Iraq For Sale:
The War Profiteers
DVD cost: $11.99
Purchase:
BestPrices.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
The DVD's extra features
includes information on how congress voted for or against contract
employees/companies being involved on the war in Iraq.
Movie Quote: "These
companies are not being held accountable for their actions."
Other Actors/Actresses
from Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers
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