Why We Fight

Why We Fight, a new film playing in select movie theaters, is the best documentary I have seen in a while. Going further than Fahrenheit 9/11 did, and providing a richer historical context to that tragic day, Why We Fight is the latest movie to look at the madness in Iraq (and how we got there). The film uses incredible stock footage, old newsreels; its a master collage. It doesn't just look at why we fight in Iraq, it looks at why we have fought in virtually every war since WWII. I hate to spoil it for you, but the bottom line of why we fight is money. Moore brings this to light in both Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11, but this film centers on it. Who's profiting from all this war? Not me. Not our "enemies". It's the stock holders of major weapons manufacturers, and the companies that make products part of the war machine that gain from this unnecessary conflict. Why We Fight uses President Eisenhower's coined term "the miliary-industrial complex" throughout the film. Eisenhower on his final night in office gave a speech to the United States, and this film plays this to underscore the filmmaker's thesis. Ike warned that too much spending and focus on defense could lead us in the wrong direction. Well, since World War II, we have seen a couple questionable conflicts like Vietnam and Iraq. The Director focuses on the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which was the grounds for launching an invasion on Vietnam, and how that resolution was bogus. A veteran of Vietnam, and father of a son who died in the World Trade Center, speaks at length in this documentary. Why We Fight is a necessary film to watch. It may make you think twice about supporting the next war Washington sells to us.