War Made Easy: How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death

Although I am a big supporter of Barack Obama and find him to be a great leader and inspirational person, as President he is continuing to war. He may have not started a war, and is winding down Iraq (troop pullout from Iraqi cities last month) -- but our involvement in Afghanistan was increased greatly, and we are bombing Pakistan (with drones, near the border).

I guess being President requires exercising military might -- but I hope that Pres. Obama can help wind down the war machine. Interestingly enough, he has stated that he wants to rid the world of nuclear weapons and is at work on reducing the amount of stockpiles in the U.S., Russia, and elsewhere.

Perhaps it is hard after a century of war, and only 7 years after 9/11, to not fight some battles. Change is not overnight...

Terrific doc here.

WAR MADE EASY is a short, but powerful look at how media pundits, government officials, policy makers, and pressure groups, working in conjunction with a fawning and compliant Free Press, have conjured up a belligerent American foreign policy of Orwellian dimensions. For over a half century Americans have been duped again and again about the real reasons for the deployment of US forces. And, immediately after the first shot is fired, the film demonstrates how all opposition is silenced or marginalized by calculated misdirection and pro-war manipulation. Norman Solomon (narration by Sean Penn) presents a well reasoned and fully documented point of view, chock full of historical references. WAR MADE EASY begs to be shown in a classroom.

That's exactly how I felt after walking out at the end of this gripping, but short documentary (only about 75 minutes). I was riveted to the screen from start to finish. I thought to myself, "I'm so glad I didn't vote for the Fourth Reich (i.e. The Bush Administration)either in 2000, or 2004 (not that voting mattered much, as I'm sure the voting machines were rigged so that Fuhrer George II came out on top both times). This documentary (shot on digital video fore mat),based on Norman Soloman's book of the same name,left me angry & bitter at the way this country is heading (is heading,he says?). There is a plethora of film & video footage of just about every war mongering President (Fascist Dictator) from L.B.J., to Fuhrer George II (George W. Bush),taken from the mainstream media (any & all of the major networks,including,but not limited to Fox News--shudder!). Although this documentary is getting something of a limited theatrical run (due to the fact that most cinemas aren't equipped for digital video fore mat),the film/video is already available on DVD, so there is still a chance for you to see this important document on how our (alleged)leaders are flushing our country down the proverbial toilet.

This move in my opinion is one of the most important movies of the year and for that matter the last 5 decades. The underling problem with the ideology of the leaders in this country is what this film hits right on the head. This film is not talking about victory or loss it's a move about brain washing an entire country for political and financial gain. Unfortunately as long as people take this sort of; Oh well that's just the way it is; kind of attitude and ;Oh were just oblivious and we let our government make decisions for us; the people who made this country are the ones truly being dismissed. "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. Thomas Jefferson"

This is based on Normon Solomon's book of the same title, and he comments at length throughout, with archive footage of politicians, news readers, and reporters. The clips support his thesis that wars are shrewdly packaged and sold to the public with little accountability, with dissenting voices quickly stigmatized as "anti-American" and silenced.

This is the way it is presented in the film, and watching it you can't blame the filmmakers for it being "one-sided." That's precisely the point. After getting nothing BUT the other side on basically EVERY news network (not just the usual suspects), these filmmakers take Solomon's argument and run with it.

It is tough to argue with his position that we the people are often lied to when it comes to selling a war, MOST if not all the time. (Solomon notes, "If you say something enough times, it starts to sound true.")

If you don't agree, at least watch this documentary before you make up your mind. It's that compelling.