Movies - Why We Fight

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	Movies - Why We Fight

Why We Fight is a documentary film directed by Eugene Jarecki that won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. The documentary was first released on January 17, 2005, exactly 45 years after Dwight D. Eisenhower's farewell address. It is slated for a limited theatrical release on January 20, 2006.

The documentary is named after the World War II-era propaganda newsreels titled "Why We Fight," which had been commissioned by the United States.

Storyline

The film describes the rise and maintenance of the United States military-industrial complex while concentrating on wars led by the United States of the last fifty years and in particular on the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. It includes interviews with John McCain, Chalmers Johnson, Richard Perle, Bill Kristol, Gore Vidal and Joseph Cirincione. The film also incorporates the stories of a Vietnam War veteran whose son died in the September 11, 2001 attacks and then had his son's name written on a bomb dropped on Iraq, a 23-year old New York man who enlists in the United States Army citing his financial troubles after his only family member passed away, and a former Vietnamese refugee who now develops explosives for the American military.

Contributors / representatives

Politicians

Senator John McCain
Elected to the United States Senate in 1986, ex-U.S. Navy pilot and Vietnam prisoner of war John McCain is an expert in national security matters. He is also a watchdog on defense corruption.

Civilians

Wilton Sekzer, Retired officer, New York City Police Department / Vietnam veteran
Wilton's son died on 9/11. After the attacks, he says the Bush Administration made him believe that Saddam Hussein was responsible, AKA the Alleged links between pre-invasion Iraq and al-Qaeda. Wilton emailed all branches of the armed forces to ask if his son's name could be written on a bomb to be dropped on Iraq. He later said he regretted the actions when he heard Bush saying there was no link between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 attacks.

Joseph Cirincione, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Author, lecturer and frequent commentator on proliferation and security issues in the media, Joseph Cirincione is a senior associate and director of the Non-Proliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C.

William Solomon
Following the death of his mother and in the face of mounting debts, 23-year-old New Yorker William Solomon signed a six-year Army contract. On January 10, 2005, he was shipped to Iraq where he will serve for 18 months as a helicopter mechanic.

Karen Kwiatkowski
On joining the Pentagon's Iraq Desk in August 2002, Karen Kwiatkowski immediately knew something was deeply amiss. Discovering firsthand about America's motives for war, she soon reached a moral crossroads in her 20-year armed forces career.

William Kristol, Editor, The Weekly Standard
A figure of influence in U.S. politics since the 1970s, William Kristol started the Weekly Standard in 1995 and co-founded the Project for the New American Century in 1997.

Gore Vidal, Author of Imperial America
Author of numerous novels, plays, screenplays, short stories and essays, Gore Vidal has written several books on American foreign policy.

Susan Eisenhower, Granddaughter of President Eisenhower
Journalist, author and news expert Susan Eisenhower is a senior fellow and director of programs at the Eisenhower Institute. She is currently serving a third term appointed to the National Academy of Sciences' standing Committee on International Security and Arms Control (CISAC).

John Eisenhower, Son of President Eisenhower, Military Historian
A military historian, John S.D. Eisenhower was a member of White House staff during his father's administration. He is also a retired Brigadier General (AUS) and served as Ambassador to Belgium between 1969 and 1971.

Charles Lewis, Centre for Public Integrity
Charles Lewis is the founder, and was until recently executive director, of the Centre for Public Integrity - a non-profit, non-partisan watchdog organisation established in 1989, conducting investigative reporting and research on public policy issues.

Chalmers Johnson, Central Intelligence Agency 1967-73, Political Scientist
With a career in foreign policy spanning 50 years, Chalmers Johnson currently holds the position of President of the Japan Policy Research Institute. An academic at the University of California, he is the author of countless articles and many books.

Military representatives

'Fuji' and 'Tooms'
U.S. pilots 'Fuji' and 'Tooms' dropped the first bombs over Baghdad when the Iraq War broke in 2003. They were unaware that flawed intelligence had been guiding their deadly payload, until some months later when they hear of a missed strike and significant collateral damage.

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