82 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Everything That's Gone Wrong, June 9, 2008
I've seen this DVD at least three time before I felt I could write about it. One problem I had was putting all of it in context. It's because the "Rush to War" was not just about a rush to war. It was about many topics including the rush to war. It was easy to follow when being viewed, but extremely difficult to write about.
This DVD examines the reasons behind the attacks of 9/11, which includes our history of giving precedence to our support for repressive regimes that served the US interests, rather than the spread of liberty and democracy. Unfortunately, numerous examples abound such as Guatamala, Iran, and Chile where democratically elected governments where overthrown in favor of governments that served our interests.
The "Rush to War" finally gets around to the lead-up to the war and the lies told by the administration regarding weapons of mass destruction (WMD), yellow cake, reconstituted nuclear weapons programs, and the imminent "mushroom cloud," permeating another cloud of fear in this country, and the penchant for moving rashly and foolishly into Iraq. This part concludes that not one WMD was found, and that there was no connection at all, between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. David Kay's lecture here is particularly powerful.
That alone would have been enough, but Robert Taicher wanted to explore more, so he included the abu-Ghraib scandal, the detention of Jose Padilla as an enemy combatant, the exposure of Valerie Plame as a CIA operative, the arrest and conviction of Scooter Libby, and the most poignant of all, and an interview with parents who lost their son in Iraq. What made it so touching was that it was coupled with George W. Bush's speech where he jokes about not being able to find WMD with pictures of him looking under various pieces of furniture in the Oval Office. The message is clear: Whether as an intelligence failure or outright deception, George Bush, at the very least appears grossly insensitive, by making light of an appalling decision that had already cost the lives of hundreds of Americans. The mother who lost her son gives his humor the litmus test: "Would George Bush have done the same in front of the families of the deceased?"
These topics are discussed through the eyes of several illuminaries such as Chris Hedges, General Anthony Zinni (ret), Noam Chomsky, Robert Scheer, Molly Ivans, George McGovern and others. Several quotes add to the story form James Madison, Hermann Goering, George Herbert Walker Bush, and even Adolf Hitler (in a cynical way) reveal wisdom that adds to the theme Robert Taicher is attempting to convey.
Two things I had trouble with about this DVD: It strayed from the thesis. It was all over the political landscape. It would have been more comprehensible if he stayed on the reasons behind world animosity to the US, and our manipulation of intelligence to take us to war. The second source of annoyance was the monotonous, drone-like voice of John Doman. It was worse than Kevin Costner's in "Dances with Wolves," and I didn't think anything could be as bad as that!
This is an excellent, overall discussion of geo-political strategy and blunders of the past seven years. It is also an example of what a government, in the name of security is willing to do. The commentary is outstanding. When Robert Scheer states, that by giving up our liberty for security we have given the terrorists a victory, it is a message worth remembering. While the content is completely worthwhile, it is out of context with its title.
It should have been called, "Everything That's Gone Wrong."
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40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Facts Every American Should Know..., September 21, 2005
This review is from: Rush To War (DVD)
As the mother of a soldier currently in Iraq, I watched this documentary with great interest. Without sarcasm or sentimentality, Robert Taicher has pieced together the facts behind how 9/11 came to be and how our nation has been duped into responding in ways that will do us more harm than good, both now and in the long run. Interviews are with well-known people as well as with a cross section of the American public, all giving voice to the cause and effect of America's continuing history of misguided, immoral, and illegal activities in its never-ending quest for power and dominance throughout the world. This film is a must-see for everyone in America. It is an eye-opener for the uninformed, the misinformed, the narrow-minded, and the self-centered American public because it makes clear that America might well be its own worst enemy.
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36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
All-star cast! Very informative., April 3, 2005
This review is from: Rush To War (DVD)
This dvd has an all-star cast including Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, George McGovern, and Scott Ritter. It is a perfect place to start for anyone who wants to know the TRUTH about the current administration's absolute ignorance of the international community as well as its highly hypocritical foreign relation policies.
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