Reading some reviews on this, I'm a little confused. The subject matter was dealt with effectively. The interviewees spoke frankly (if not specifically honestly) about their experiences. Was there some deep resolution to this? Hardly. The little fish fried and the middle- sized wandered away to promotions and congratulations, whilst the biggest (Rumsfeld, Bush & Cheney) avoided everything.
Beyond that, the thing I found the most interesting was the personalities involved. After watching Camp X-Ray, some reviewers said that Kristen Stewart's character was impossible to have been that of a military person. The vulnerabilities and flaws she displayed as a human being apparently aren't SOP for the US military. Well folks, here's a reality check for you. Stewart's failings were nothing compared to those interviewed.
From Brigadier General Janis Karpinski down to PFC Lynndie England, I saw a whole bunch of whining, simple cowards intent on mitigating their own crimes by dropping hellfire onto anyone else in their range. Not quite the shiny, perfect robots that some people seem to think should be present in movies regarding the US military.
This doco was a critical piece in the puzzle that was the debacle of Iraq, the excesses of Bagram and Gitmo and all the other less publicised 'detention facilities' spread across the world. The 'world police' need some Internal Affairs action it would seem.
The most amusing thing of it all was the oft-repeated line of 'I was only following orders'. Where have we heard that before? Oh yeah, that's right. 1946, Nuremberg. Lucky these were the 'good guys'.
Beyond that, the thing I found the most interesting was the personalities involved. After watching Camp X-Ray, some reviewers said that Kristen Stewart's character was impossible to have been that of a military person. The vulnerabilities and flaws she displayed as a human being apparently aren't SOP for the US military. Well folks, here's a reality check for you. Stewart's failings were nothing compared to those interviewed.
From Brigadier General Janis Karpinski down to PFC Lynndie England, I saw a whole bunch of whining, simple cowards intent on mitigating their own crimes by dropping hellfire onto anyone else in their range. Not quite the shiny, perfect robots that some people seem to think should be present in movies regarding the US military.
This doco was a critical piece in the puzzle that was the debacle of Iraq, the excesses of Bagram and Gitmo and all the other less publicised 'detention facilities' spread across the world. The 'world police' need some Internal Affairs action it would seem.
The most amusing thing of it all was the oft-repeated line of 'I was only following orders'. Where have we heard that before? Oh yeah, that's right. 1946, Nuremberg. Lucky these were the 'good guys'.