Customer Reviews

CNN Presents: War in Iraq - The Road to Baghdad [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I bought this as a keepsake for my son who served in the USMC during the War for Iraqi Liberation, Oorah! We watched it together tonight, and neither of us can believe it was even the same war. This "documentary" focuses on the damage done to innocent Iraqi civilians by the evil American aggressors, and the inept "go it alone" cowboy mentality of the Bush administation. This account will give you the impression that the war was a colossal failure, not the new standard for 21st century combat that will be studied by military historians for years to come.

Save your money and wait for the "fair and balanced" version of this war. Unless you preferred the Al-Jazeera version of events during the war, you will be disappointed and a bit angry with this.

CNN's Walter Rodgers was imbedded in our unit and I'm very disappointed with CNN's efforts. There was very little footage from 3-7 CAV and the story does not tell of the Army's or Marine Corps' great successes. Would not recommend this for any vet of the war, especially those who served with 3ID.

I was expecting an account of the unit with which CNN's reporters were attached. I wanted to know more about their individual experiences and understand their burden. What I got was a questioning of why the war was fought in the first place. I find it unfortunate that few resources are readily available that tell the stories of those who fought so bravely. Oliver North put out a book on his experiences, I've not read it, but I'm sure he stayed closer to the events he was supposed to be covering.

This vido did not really show any footage, it was mostly jounalist, talking. I was looking for something with alot of footage, but this was not it.

Leading off in this well produced documentary of the war in Iraq, the issues of military force and the legalities of such are examined first. The subject of weapons of mass destruction are touched upon with added debate over reservations of U.S. action by the United Nations security council and foreign nations. This basically sets the tone for what is to come.

Moving forward, preparations for war itself and use of military strategies and technology demonstrate the planning and resolve that the United States employed to achieve its mission.

CNN and its front line correspondents then place you directly in the action as they report from the virtual center of the conflict traveling with ground forces. Many scenes of battle and conflict are shown to include skirmishes with Iraqi paramilitary forces, encounters with unconventional warfare, military operations in urban terrain (M.O.U.T.), and the effects of the elements on military operations.

Following the war itself and the occupation of Baghdad, issues are analyzed as to the uncertainties of U.S. forces remaining in Iraq for an extended period and complications that may result from this. Interviews with analysts, reporters, military personnel, and others offer intriguing points of views and speculation on the often debated subject of American intervention in Iraq.

War in Iraq - The Road to Baghdad is no doubt a comprehensive, interesting, and compelling production in and of itself. At just 90 minutes long, it is not all-encompassing but it does stand well on its own in examining the early, middle, and end stages of the entire affair.

This review is just as much response to the one-star reviews as it is my own personal review.

First of all, I would consider this to be a very neutral look at the war. Since the two main reasons for going to war (WMD & Al Qaeda) have been disproven, this release can only be seen as a neutral look strictly at the military aspects of the war. I'm not sure what the right-wingers and fox viewers were expecting, but the DVD shows that the U.S. military had a more or less easy go of it in Iraq. If all the release is supposed to do is look at the military aspect of the war, then this dvd does that. It is one-sided and comes from only an American perspective, but it covered what it was supposed to.

For those of you who think CNN is "liberal," I would say that just because CNN would seem to favor Democrats (in a less extreme version of how fox favors Republicans) does not make them "liberal." Democrats have been a lot of things the last 25 years...cowardly, accomodating, and spineless...but "liberal" is certainly not a label the Democrats can wear these days.

And for my friend that complained about all the footage of injured or dead Iraqis: Just because you'd rather not hear about them (for whatever reason) does not mean they cease to exist.

Being a big Desertstorm 'fan', I also bought this video, because although this war can't compare to Desertstorm, I was expecting some nice images. That was true, but the whole war and the way it is presented was, in hindsight, a bit too much propaganda style and not really what I was hoping for. If you think the 2003 Iraq war was 'cool', this is great I guess. But as a Desertstorm 'fan', it was dissappointing.

This will only give you a picture of what happened the first 5 months or so. I think its a great piece to have in you collection.

If you are looking for anti-American propaganda, you found it. If you are looking for an accurate documentary, look elsewhere. National Geographic has a good one or wait for one from Foxnews. If you love America, don't buy this. You will be sorry!

However, if you are looking for a factual documentary try the National Geographics "21 Days to Baghdad" or wait for a Foxnews release. I was very disappointed with this CNN one. Totally politically motivated rather than reporting the real story. At least the National Geographics one provides a balanced view - plus it has better material. This one went in my garbage can. I should have listened to the other reviews. I'm serious, don't buy it or you will be disappointed. Don't say I didn't warn you!