“Frontline: Truth, War and Consequences” [ ]
Thursday night at 9 on PBS
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‘FRONTLINE” opens its 20th season Thursday night with a show more incendiary than post-war Iraq. And that’s just what it’s about – post and pre-war Iraq.
With questions coming fast and hard about the failure of the U.S. to secure stability in Iraq, “Frontline” went deep into the heart of Iraq and the State Department in order to delve into the matter. The result is this very explosive report.
At the core is the question of whether or not America went to war – which has cost us over 300 American lives and 1,600 casualties, and an estimated $4 billion a month – based on exaggerated reports and faulty interpretations of those reports.
In “Frontline: Truth, War and Consequences,” producer and “Frontline” correspondent Martin Smith interviews Ahmad Chalabi of the Iraqi National Congress.
The formerly exiled Saddam-opposition leader is identified as the top and most-trusted tipster of Iraqi information to the White House, who lobbied for more than 10 years for the U.S. to invade Iraq. Now Chalabi says on camera, “We don’t need continued occupation.” Right.
In fact, he even lobbied France and Germany for their support in the U.N. for “a speedy transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqis.” No good deed goes unpunished.
The correspondent interviews both General Jay Garner, the man who was put in charge of post-war Iraq, and Paul Bremer, who took over after looting ran riot on Garner’s watch.
Smith also interviews scores of people who were deeply involved in the State Department planning of Iraqi’s future and whose plans were thrown out when the war ended.
More shocking than some of the insiders’ comments is the actual raw footage taken by Smith and his camera crew during the past few months.
In one, U.S. soldiers catch a man stealing wood. They gleefully shoot up his unoccupied car and then laugh as a tank crushes it.
There is a segment when Smith and company cover a shoot-out in the street involving armed Iraqi citizens and U.S. soldiers.
Suddenly, the soldiers turn and begin firing in Smith’s direction. A husband, wife and their little girl standing five feet from the “Frontline” crew are shot dead by U.S. soldiers, who then walk over, shake their heads and say it was a mistake.
General Garner sums up his experience, saying, “The soldiers are unsure of their roles.”