Dirty Wars (2013) User Reviews

Scahill Takes Center Stage

[gavin6942 · 8/10 · 10 February 2014]

Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill is pulled into an unexpected journey as he chases down the hidden truth behind America's expanding covert wars.

Regarding Scahill, I may be a little biased. His work with exposing Blackwater impressed me, I was able to briefly meet him and found him a charming person, and he happens to be from Milwaukee. As a fellow Wisconsinite, I cannot help but root for the guy.

Here, he investigates the United States military and government cover-up of the deaths of five civilians, including two pregnant women killed by US soldiers from the Joint Special Operations Command. Interestingly, he focuses on this one case when this is probably not an uncommon thing (what we call collateral damage). This puts a human face on the dead rather just make them one of a multitude.

We see the refusal of Congress to listen, particularly Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (another Wisconsin native). Why does no one care about what our forces do overseas? Also interesting, we see that there appears to be a coordinated effort for the harassing of journalists, both American and in the Middle East. Scahill himself was apparently hacked and threatened, and another journalist is shown imprisoned for speaking out.

Trevor Johnston of Time Out London found the film to be a "gripping investigative doc, which plays out like a classic conspiracy thriller as it follows a trail of clues to the heart of darkness behind President Obama's good-guy facade." I think this is fairly spot on, though to use a phrase like "heart of darkness" or to single out Obama seems off. The real message is here is not that this happens, but that it is standard operating procedure regardless of who is in power.

One of the negative reviewers, Douglas Valentine of Dissident Voice, complained that "the film is so devoid of historical context, and so contrived, as to render it a work of art, rather than political commentary. And as art, it is pure self-indulgence." The second point I wholeheartedly disagree with. While of a higher quality than the average documentary, that should not be a strike against it. The first point is quite valid -- those who do not have a solid background regarding the war on terror may not understand the situations presented. As the film is short (roughly 90 minutes), a few minutes of context would not have bogged it down.

Although not expressed by either of these two gentlemen, I expect the biggest criticism would come from those who want to label Scahill an America-hating liberal for his negative outlook on our military. That is a fair criticism, and I do not know what his motivations are. But to not question power -- especially the powers that we pay for and are subject too -- is to blindly accept it.

None other than former president Teddy Roosevelt said, "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president and to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonous to the American public." Well said, and it is people like Scahill who prove the value of this criticism.

The Dirty Side of America's Military

[evanston_dad · 7/10 · 7 March 2014]

Add "Dirty Wars" to the list of movies that make me depressed to be an American.

Investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill plunges into the shadowy world of American strategic ops initiatives around the world, and the results, while not exactly surprising, are certainly chilling. What he finds are instances of American forces randomly going into obscure parts of the world and carrying out attacks that are as likely to kill innocent women and children as they are any people actively trying to do America any harm. At the center of these operations is a mysterious military unit about which virtually nothing used to be known, until this same unit carried out the assassination of Osama Bin Laden and elevated itself to hero status in the eyes of the American people.

Movies like "Dirty Wars" seem like a necessary evil to me. They bring to light topics that need to be addressed, but at the same time leave me impotently frustrated at my inability to do anything about it.

Grade: A-

Just when you thought oil alone was filthy

[StevePulaski · 8/10 · 28 January 2014]

Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill was on Real Time With Bill Maher a few months ago and when he was explaining to Maher how baffled he was that President Barack Obama could "sell" conservative ideas of drones to liberals is when I knew I wanted to know more about his methods and his thinking. He perfectly articulates a point that is worth questioning on why Obama would claim to want the people to have a transparent government when methods and legislation on things like drones are so shady and gray. But Scahill's documentary Dirty Wars doesn't explore this idea but puts a magnifying glass on the ambiguous term the "War on Terror," which Americans are constantly told is the third war they are fighting. It's hard to follow the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with the abundance of confusion, misinformation, and disorganization that has come in the way of reporting them, so how difficult is it to follow one that really doesn't have a specific enemy.

A little footnote: my generation has lived two-thirds where war, conflict, and high-level recruitment are prominent aspects of our society. With the War on Terror, however, Scahill illustrates how the United States has effectively worked themselves into a war that may never end. It has gotten to the point where there is no such thing as "declaring war" anymore, at least for the United States. We simply act with impunity, utilize unmanned drones to spy and attack suspicious countries, and act with a deplorable sense of recklessness. The War on Terror element of American foreign policy is the equivalent of a knee-jerk reaction and placing a lever that can launch bombs, deploy drones, and attack countries in the hand of someone with a violent and unpredictable arm-spasm.

What happened? How did it get like this? How did the United States, the country that believes it should be looked up to by other countries, get like this and become this controlling and involved? Scahill attempts to provide not really answers but temporary responses to these questions as he explores the land of Kabul, Afghanistan, investigating a raid in a village known as Khataba where five innocent civilians, two of them pregnant women, were killed by the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Scahill talks with JSOC, who have been given an immense amount of power under Obama, and is even lucky enough to speak with a specific member of the command who's voice and image is disguised to obviously protect identity. When Scahill asks if they were given more power Obama, for confirmation of his beliefs, the man replies, "we were permitted to attack harder, faster, and quicker with the full support of the White House." Also attempted to piece together is the reason President Obama authorized the killing of American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen, which also prompted attacks on a poor village in Yemen, as if skipping the step of declaring and diving right in to the act of war.

Dirty Wars is only eighty-two minutes long, but stuffs so much information, details, and insider information into its time-frame that it could almost be an hour longer. In efforts to try and coherently illustrate how the War on Terror effects other countries, Scahill sort of takes us on the exhausting and tireless journey of what it means to be an investigative journalists. Not only is it about asking tough questions, but it's about piecing the information together yourself. We see long stretches of day and night are spent with Scahill, by himself, drawing a cohesive timeline of events and piecing together exactly what it means to be on the frontlines of danger.

Because of this, Dirty Wars is edited together to be reminiscent of an espionage or a large-scale thriller, with familiar music cues, scenes capturing the intensity of a certain situations, and the globe-trotting aspect conducted with dramatic effect. This would be an issue if working in Afghanistan and traveling to countries like Iraq, Somalia, and Yemen weren't so similar to that of a thriller. The slickness of the editing and the espionage-undertones work in the films favor because they are only making the sequences out to be a bit more suspenseful than they already are. The scenes are inherently suspenseful and to capture them in this way doesn't seem so much as an attempt to sensationalize that but just provide a touch of emphasis on their behalf. Even early on, Scahill tells us through narration that the roads in Afghanistan are marked by color. Green is a safe zone, red is a danger zone, and with black, "don't even try it," he states. Going on to say how "the Taliban rule the night in Afghanistan," you tell me, is it so bad that Dirty Wars plays itself a bit like a thriller? Dirty Wars is a strong work of investigative journalism not because it focuses on a person with the title but because in addition to shedding light (or at least trying to erase some of the grayness) on the War on Terror aspect of American foreign policy it shows the methods investigative journalists take in order to get their information released to the public. It's a constant grind from beginning-to-end, that comes with the soul-crushing and frustrating conclusion that you can work for years and still never get a clear answer or even an explanation as to why this kind of thing happens.

Starring: Jeremy Scahill. Directed by: Richard Rowley.

Why isn't this being more widely reported?

[DougWilliams88 · 9/10 · 7 June 2013]

A courageous film that brings the truth of America's war crimes to our movie screens. Pregnant women murdered in Afghanistan shot to death by US special forces in their own home. Innocent villagers in Yemen blown to pieces by US cluster bombs. Somali warlords paid by the United States government to kill foreigners. Meanwhile, young Americans celebrate outside the White House after the President announces that a man has been in his own home.

It would be hard for anyone to watch this movie with dry eyes, but how can an American sleep at night after seeing the murders our tax dollars are funding and elected officials are ordering? Hopefully this movie will spark a national outrage against America's crimes against humanity and bring America's military aggression to an end once and for all.

Why aren't more people watching this film?

[rpduffy861 · 10/10 · 8 July 2013]

I watched this film at home yesterday. It opened my eyes and broke my heart. I didn't realize the United States of America has hired War Lords in Somalia, on our pay roll. I didn't realize the raids and mass killings in other countries where we are not currently at war with. I didn't realize we killed an innocent young teen just because he might grow up to be a threat (wtf). This film opened my eyes and I haven't been able to get it off my brain since watching it. I don't understand how the USA is getting away with committing crimes against humanity. This kill list they have keeps growing and at anytime your name could be put on it. It keeps growing and growing and there is no end in sight. Watch the film, have a your friends and family watch this film. Everybody needs to watch!

War is Dirty ... but is honor dead?

[twilliams76 · 7/10 · 30 October 2013]

Dirty Wars is a startling documentary that would most likely have (most) Americans up in arms in disgust over the senseless victims depicted in the film weren't they Muslims half a world away.

The Nation journalist Jeremy Scahill dives into the murky waters of American counter-terrorism efforts after 9/11 and discovers that drone attacks and targeted kills might actually be turning the tide in a war we believe ourselves to be winning ... as each new death creates tens to hundreds of new anti-American citizens in the world who view us as the new axis of evil as most of the deaths are collateral damage of innocent women and children. Scahill doesn't highlight the fact that we have enemies in the world that have caused us to increase these attacks; but he is simply making note/drawing attention to how "dirty" this "war" has become (war in nations we have never declared war upon). In places that once embraced Americans and our way of life, our continued use of drones and brutal attacks makes the survivors question who we are and wonder what our goals have become.

Some Americans and former military question this same thing -- what are we doing?!? When answers no longer make sense and lack logic, it is time to step back and re-evaluate what we are doing ... but the powers-that-be don't and won't. Began under President George W. Bush and continued heavily under our current President Obama, Dirty Wars exposes the acts of a super-secret branch of the military (JSOC - Joint Special Operations Command) who answers solely to our president. Their covert villainy (not always bad and villainous I must point out) can be easily re-written and members can become heroes at the drop of a hat -- or the execution of a major power player in the world of terror (Osama).

The doc is eye-opening and it actually made my eyes tear up a time or two over the deaths of innocent people (it isn't for the faint of heart as we see many graphic photos of the dead -- many of whom are children)... who happened to be Muslim. Oh ... the horror of THAT (my tears)! No ... oh the horror, period.

Amazing Documentary

[daniel-naderi · 10/10 · 1 June 2013]

The documentary covers the story of Jeremy Scahill's discovery of a secret war, without bounds, which the US government has been waging in the name of fighting terrorism.

We see Scahill travel the world interviewing families in Iraq, Jordan, Yemin and Samalia who have had family members killed when they were declared to be suspected terrorists.

I left the theatre feeling that it is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen.

I was lucky enough to catch a screening of this at the Seattle International Film Festival, where Scahill did a Q+A afterwards. He was extremely eloquent answering every question.

Killing Innocent Families

[adiavega240 · 6 February 2014]

This documentary Is called Dirty Wars made by Jeremy Scahill, he is an Investigative Reporter and in this documentary he focuses in on war being fought abroad. I think the purpose of this documentary is to shed light to all the terrible things going on in this world that people aren't aware of like innocent families being blown up for no reason. I also believe he made this to show people that everything in the media isn't true and you shouldn't believe everything you hear on the news. This was about the secret wars that are taking place. Also, that the government thinks they can kill whoever they want when they want If they think they are guilty. The trailer made it look like it would be real terrorists. I've learned that there is a lot of things in this world a lot of people don't know about , and most of the time the people responsible don't get punished for it. Also a lot of lies are told to make the viewer's believe their lies and do what they want them to do. It was a good documentary with good information and facts . It shed light on a lot of unknown issues and I'm sure a lot of people will like this film.

War masters

[ferguson-6 · 6/10 · 16 February 2014]

Greetings again from the darkness. This is one of this year's Oscar nominated documentaries, and it comes from director Rick Rowley and investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill. You might know Scahill as the author of the best selling book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army". Here, he is on the front line of looking into the U.S. covert operations in the Middle East.

The film covers 3 years of Scahill's work at uncovering drone strikes and top secret attacks on suspected terrorists. Suspected being the operative word. Scahill slowly pulls back the curtain to continually discover the activities of JSOC - the Joint Special Operations Command (formed in 1980). While the Osama bin Laden mission brought some rare media coverage for JSOC, Scahill's work shows just how deep the secret and often unmonitored missions of this group go.

Scahill's point is that the U.S. has significant ongoing covert operations in countries and areas of undeclared war, and it sometimes spills over to U.S. citizens. This point is driven home by the story of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen killed for being a suspected terrorist. His 16 year old son was killed by a drone soon afterward. Per Scahill, many innocents have been killed (more than a million) and the U.S. is creating enemies with some allies. He even found that some refer to these actions as the "American Taliban".

The film and Scahill's commentary certainly raise some compelling points and makes for intriguing conversation. My issue is with the structure of the film and the manner in which the topics are presented. In light of the criticism he has received, Scahill has stated "The truth is just true sometimes. Objectivity doesn't exist". Scahill himself spends an inordinate amount of time on screen. This is typically an indication that a documentary is lacking sufficient proof and documentation. Additionally, his Hollywood-type narration is quite distracting and complimented by a mood-influencing musical score from the Kronos Quartet. If the story goes as deep as Scahill would have us believe ... that there really is no end in sight ... a less gimmicky approach was in order.

Most people don't have a clue.

[originalchc · 10/10 · 19 October 2013]

I always had a feeling that the major media's version and the political affirmation is a bit one-sided, but never did I have a clue about what's really going on. I've also listened to what Naomi Watts had to say and the parallels are obvious - the world is shoving the control of grand processes in the hands of a bunch of elite, who are being represented by the White House, USA. I always knew that my brief passage through an American prism of beliefs in a high school in FL was truthful in it's lesson for me that the belief that "America is the best country in the world" will lead those young naive minds into nowhere. I'm not an American and I have no *need* to participate in "writing to your congressmen" or any similar actions (you Americans should), though I suspect that sooner or later Europe will wake up and what then? Will the civilized portion of the world be able to suppress the ambitions of megalomaniacs and shrink them down to due process?

Do we really want to see our reality as a failed civilization?

Dirty War Zones.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 6/10 · 13 January 2016]

Joining an event on IMDb's Film Festivals page,I spotted that one of the films was by the journalist who uncovered the full extent of the activates that military contracting firm Blackwater (now called Academi) was involved in the Middle East,which led to me getting ready to find out how dirty wars could be.

The outline of the documentary:

Learning about a number of raids which have been conducted in Afghanistan by Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) journalist Jeremy Scahill decides to investigate a raid which was to later be called the Khataba raid,where 5 people (including two pregnant women and a teenage girl) were killed by US Army Rangers.Meeting the victim's families in Afghanistan,Scahill soon discovers that it is impossible to get the US gov to admit to any activities in the Middle East.

View on the film:

Being unable to get insurance for visiting three "troubled" countries (Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia) the footage that director Rick Rowley shoots displays a remarkable clarity,with Rowley allowing the war lords to be clearly seen.Visiting the sights of deadly raids and travelling with war lords,Rowley and Scahill display a real care in making sure that the violent aftermaths are not the focus of the title,with full attention being paid to the survivors of the raids and drone strikes. Inspired by his book Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield, Jeremy Scahill takes centre stage as the "voice" of the film.Whilst his dedication to the subject is easy to see, Scahill sadly appears unwilling to let his interviewees get the full attention,with Rowley firmly positioning the camera in every interview so that Scahill is the most prominent person,which leads to the movie not uncovering the full dirt on the dirty wars.

Courageous attempt

[alikhan112 · 10/10 · 20 October 2013]

Finally someone brave enough to uncover US war crimes against innocent people. Jeremy Scahill and his team did a great job for humanity despite facing a lot of difficulties. i believe every one who has heart and some humanity left in him/her will be influenced by the movie and try to understand what US and other governments around the world are killing and torturing innocent civilians specially Muslims and covering up their crimes by just using a disguise instrument of terrorism and national security concerns. Those so called patriots denying that their government could do such a thing should consider themselves in the condition of victims who are killed every single night by US. There should be global moment to make US, NATO and puppet government held responsible for what they are doing.

wow

[sammmmmm100 · 7/10 · 3 February 2014]

In this documentary called Dirty Wars a guy named Jeremy Scahill investigates and reports about the tragic events that happen to innocent people run by a secretive military group. This powerful documentary tells the truth about the secret military group which are known as the Joints Special Ops Command also known as the JSCO. Their commander, Admiral Mcraven runs JSCO and tells the highly trained military personnel what to do. This was killing innocent Middle Eastern and east African families. An American citizen Anwar AL Awalaki was a Muslim preacher from the US who talked about the JSOC more than Jeremy Scahill. Anwar was getting angry with the US government because the media was making him into a terrorist. All that Anwar wanted to do was stop it. After that he was on the kill list for the US government. Meanwhile he left the US and went to Yemen to hide and then was murdered. Two weeks later his 16 year old son was murdered. What I learned from this documentary was that there are a lot of tragic events in the world that the media doesn't always tell the truth about. Nor, do they give us enough information. It really makes me wonder what else is going on besides JSOC killing innocent families.

Most Dishonest Documentary Ever Made... Spoilers (if that's possible)

[nickrock23 · 1/10 · 5 February 2014]

This was supposed to be an expose on JSOC until the gov't outed themselves after they killed Osama in the middle of the making of the doc. Then filmmaker changes the story line, and while it's sad to see innocents die, in every war there is collateral damage. Filmmaker tries to garner sympathy - but what I don't understand is, the movie mid-flight changes focus to the assassination of Al-Awlaki, who was arguably the most evil terrorist, in the history of mankind. You, as a viewer, are supposed to be outraged with the American gov't because an American hiding out with Al-Qaeda in the mountains of Yemen was targeted for assassination. That might outrage me if he wasn't on a level with a guy like, I don't know... Osama Bin Laden? I was pretty offended to be honest as the film went on, however what kept me incredibly interested was the filmmakers obsession with seeming, looking, and acting balls-out cool. This guys ego is the size of Texas and you can tell that in every frame his appearance was paramount to the actual story. The perfectly manicured 2 day beard, the sunglasses, I mean this guy must have the women lined up. I don't knock him for that.

Now, they make this Awlaki out to be a guy who merely criticizes the American gov't. They even make a point to show him denounce the 9/11 attacks shortly thereafter, however don't show when he told some Muslim kids in a school the next day to never trust a non-Muslim and Americans are out to destroy Islam. He also fails to mention that when his teenage son was killed two weeks after him, his "innocent" son was with high ranking Al-Qaeda officials. Nor is there any mention that when Awlaki was killed, he was in fact with many high value targets, including the editor of Al-Qaeda's propaganda machine.

Filmmaker's whole argument (I guess) is that Awlaki was an American citizen, therefor it was unconstitutional without a fair trial. He points out that "even" the "American Taliban" received a trial. However, filmmaker omits the fact that Awlaki fled the country while wanted, had a long criminal record including everything from prostitution to massive fraud. He lied about his birthplace to get foreign scholarships and had phony passports. His number was found in 3 of the 9/11 hijackers phonebooks, he also exclusively counseled the Fort Hood shooter in the 6 weeks prior to the deadly attack. He was involved in pretty much every major terror attack in the last 15 years.

I knew about this Awlaki for many years, so watching this documentary wouldn't have been so sickening if it weren't quite funny in its desperation. In the end, filmmaker is the real star, constantly looking like a secret agent, always trying to look and act cool. The fact this was nominated for any award let alone an Oscar is pure insanity.

Bottom line - does the U.S. gov't cover up mistakes and botched missions? Of course. They always have and guess what - so does every gov't because no gov't is perfect and politicians don't like to be embarrassed. It is terrible that innocent people die in war, but the fact is NATO's success rate in these type of attacks is quite high. If the killing of innocents is what you want to make a film about, you should be applauded but anyone who sympathizes with Al-Qaeda is worthless.

For those who would like open their minds just a little bit...

[mananpandya · 9/10 · 22 October 2013]

First off - this is not "fiction". I don't know where IMDb picked it up, but as far as what i've read about this documentary - it is all real. If you want to watch this documentary, make sure you open your minds just a little bit.

People across the world shouted cheers when G Bush said "We're going to fight Iraq because there are WMD there". All the big reporters and media outlets shouted in chorus - Yeah, let's bomb Iraq! A lot of American soldiers died there. A lot of Iraqi people died in that assault. There were sons, husbands and friends. For nothing. There were no WMD there. And the country is in a worse state than what it was during Saddam's rule. Is this the "freedom" that we gave people of Iraq?

Did bush issue an apology? To the hundreds of innocent people killed in Iraq? To the families of American soldiers who died? Why didn't this "freedom and justice loving country" raise it's voice?

Take a look at this documentary. It's NOT fiction. Then, sit down and think about it. Is it really possible? Most of you will want to think twice before being able to say to yourself - no.

You saw American forces take the bullets out of the body?

[lastliberal-853-253708 · 8/10 · 16 January 2014]

Written by David Riker and celebrated investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill, the film follows Scahill as he unpeals the layers of the Joint Special Operations Command, the powerful covert military outfit that answers directly—and only—to the president, and whose maneuvers in the Middle East have left more civilians dead than we can know.

The film shows the complicity of both the U.S. government and media in covering up massacres and smearing journalists who do more than phone in PR-spun news.

It's compelling journalism and a fascinating story with which all Americans should familiarize themselves – especially as drones and airstrikes occur with greater frequency and spread to countries such as Somalia, Yemen, and beyond.

Skip at your own risk.

A little too much 'fiction' for my tastes.

[bobtodrick · 2 November 2013]

Just another anti-American diatribe. Do you really expect that a Taliban or Al Qaeda member is going to admit it on camera to a western journalist who is obviously sympathetic to their cause? In the first scenario, wherein the Afghani police chief is killed...which Mr. Scahill says proves they were innocent...he was a police chief for goodness sakes. I guess Mr. Scahill has missed all the occasions in the news where members of the Afghan National Police have murdered either other legitimate police or ISAF personnel. Also, when interviewing the Yemeni sheik the filmmaker claims that three years before the interview (2011) there were no Al Qaeda in Yemen. Doesn't jive with the very well respected Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid, who in his book 'Taliban' (considered to be the best book on the subject) claims that Al Qaeda was in Yemen in the years just prior to 9/11. But hey...he does state his film is a blend of fact and 'fiction'.

It makes you think and question.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 19 January 2014]

This documentary has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. So far, I've only seen two of the nominees, so I really cannot speculate who is the odds-on favorite.

Last year there was a lot of hubbub in the US about the nomination of "Zero Dark Thirty" in the Best Picture category. Many disliked how it glorified war and some thought it endorsed torture. Well, "Dirty Wars" is like the opposite of the jingoistic "Zero". Instead of endorsing the war on terrorism, it is very, very critical and voices concerns for the sort of shadow government that has developed. Much of it really made me think.

The film begins in Afghanistan. Jeremy Scahill is a reporter and decides to leave the safe confines of the US forces-escorted press corps and look into what the natives think of this war. He discovers a family whose family members were mowed down by accident and investigates what happened and why. This was by far the most compelling and best made portion of the film and was a great way to capture the viewers' interest.

Later, Scahill looks at the war on terror in a MUCH broader sense. Some of this was very compelling (such as assassination contracts on some Americans as well as how far-reaching American hit squads have gone). Some of this just seemed too broad and should have been eliminated in order to make the topic more specific and focused (such as the time he foolishly spend recently in Somalia--a crazy dangerous place and it wasn't needed for the documentary). While I didn't always agree with all of Scahill's concerns, quite a few bothered me as well and I found the film worth my time. My biggest complaint, by the way, isn't that some of the stuff was irrelevant or hyperbolic but that too often the film seemed all about Scahill and not the victims of this war on terror or about how aggression breeds a new generation of jihadists. Still, as I mentioned above, it is worth seeing--warts and all.

By the way, a better film covering some of this same material was last years' Oscar nominee in the same category, "The Gatekeepers". This one is a must-see picture. And, while it's about Israel and not the United States, it draws the same conclusion that you CANNOT wipe out jihadists and trying to do so only creates new generations. And, it makes this argument far more convincingly as it's not the opinion of one reporter but by many past leaders of Israel's Shin Bet--their elite anti-terror squad. And, while my opinion carries no weight at all, I think "The Gatekeepers" should have gotten the Oscar.

there can't be a war on terrorism

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 4 January 2014]

The Nation correspondent Jeremy Scahill came to worldwide attention when he exposed the presence of private security firm Blackwater in Iraq. His documentary "Dirty Wars" shows that the debacle in Iraq was part of something larger. The so called war on terrorism has turned into an excuse for the Pentagon to do whatever it wants: an endless war on every continent. If the US army is the world's police force, then the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is the SWAT team given free rein. From Afghanistan to Yemen to Somalia, JSOC intends to spend eternity looking for more action. This includes assassinations without trial.

Scahill's documentary came out around the time that Edward Snowden exposed the NSA's tactics. Both show the criminality and lawlessness in which the US government has been engaging. It's no accident that the US is seen as the biggest threat to world peace.

Definitely see it.

Dirtiness

[sol- · 7/10 · 16 January 2016]

Following journalist Jeremy Scahill's attempts to find out the truth behind America's covert wars in the Middle East, this Oscar nominated documentary is curiously equally about Scahill as it is about the subject matter he is investigating. Narrating what unfolds and bringing everything down to a personal level, Scahill offers insights into his own mindset, such as his admission of how dull ordinary life appears "after being in the war zone"; much like Jeremy Renner's character in 'The Hurt Locker', he seems addicted to the thrill of being in dangerous places. The documentary is very well photographed too with gloomy, foreboding shots of cities like Kabul. There is also a section of the film in which an anonymous source is eerily viewed smoking in silhouette. All this focus on Scahill's personal journey does, however, detract from the subject matter and the film has trouble therefore stirring up anger at all the atrocities outlined. Scahill's interviewing style is also distracting as his translators have been noticeably edited out of the final film. Every interview basically consists of Scahill asking questions in English, his subjects replying in their native language, and Scahill nodding in reaction shots (ridiculous since sans translator he clearly does not understand them). The filmmakers do, however, at least refraining from dubbing over the locals and the gist of what they are staying still comes through even with the odd interview style. It should also be noted that the film does have some powerful things to say even if they sometimes take a backseat to Scahill's own personal journey.

fantastic

[tnrcooper · 10/10 · 19 March 2014]

Not an easy watch but a tribute to journalism as it should be done. Journalist Jeremy Scahill uncovers the existence of a top-secret drone program being run out of the White House. We see the creation of new enemies in far-off lands when people who had nothing to do with terror lose family members. The program comes off as pointless and counterproductive. It's depressing but if more people see it, it can be inspiring. It's fascinating to see some exotic places that we wouldn't usually see, even under the sad circumstances under which we see them.

Scahill is an empathetic, brave reporter and his ability to get to the bottom of a story on a limited budget only further reveals the soullessness of the US mainstream media. His work ethic and commitment to pointing out what's wrong in the world should be required viewing in colleges across the US.

Great Story with fine camera work and post editing, but sadly a disappointing ending

[chris-568-920686 · 6/10 · 10 February 2014]

I loved this documentary for the most part but felt the narrator was mellow-dramatic at times. i also found the approach of storytelling quite tedious and a little self-indulgent. I understand the narrator needed to tell the story in this way as he was the journalist who began the investigation over a decade ago, but I felt at times it lacked creativity.

My biggest problem with this documentary was it's ending. The story just seemed to go nowhere; or 'fell off a cliff" as my documentary tutor would say. The journalist had copious amounts of video evidence to which he done nothing about other than put it in his film. Why did he not bring it to the Whitehouse and demand comment and put the Generals of JSOC under pressure?

The line 'I realize now this story has no ending" for the fact the war on terror will always be in operation is a cop out on the producers part, it's a lazy way of saying I have worked so long on this film which has no ending but I want to get it out into the public domain. I feel in the end he was blinded by the excitement to release it rather than wait another 2 years to find a strong conclusion.

Apart from the above it is still an excellent documentary which is thoroughly enjoyable and well deserves its nomination for the Oscars, however I do not think it will win for its storytelling element over its political message.

Extraordinary

[joihargrove12 · 8/10 · 31 January 2014]

I am writing this review on the documentary Dirty Wars created by Jeremy Scahill. For me the purpose of this documentary was to show awareness and spread the word about this unbelievable secret group that is killing innocent people for really no reason at all. I did not expect to see that much shocking information about our own US government. Jeremy Scahill did and actually finished what some people couldn't. I was really surprised to see Barack Obama involved with the problem. For the US government to actually kill U.S. CITIZENS was very shocking to me. But overall I really enjoyed the documentary and strongly recommend it for everyone. This documentary is a message everyone needs to see.

Secret War Revealed

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 25 April 2014]

Reporter Jeremy Scahill is the author of the Blackwater about the covert wars from Afghanistan to Yemen, Somalia, and beyond. Scahill travels back to Afghanistan to investigate questionable NATO killings. He interviews Afghan witnesses of a deadly night raid in Gardez bringing it to the uncaring ears of congress. As he digs deeper, he discovers a covert unit Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) that reports directly to the White House. JSOC launches up to 20 raids a night in Afghanistan, but none of it is public. Then he finds that JSOC is fighting worldwide starting even in Iraq which Scahill admits he missed the first time around.

It's definitely one sided and Scahill has a history with the war on terror. He may not be wrong. It's definitely gone mostly unreported by the mainstream press. It's not like those killings are investigated throughly by anybody. The problem is that it's hard to confirm much of this. However much of it could be true. When the subject is this murky, there is no guarantee of anything.

I do disagree with the concentration on Awlaki because of his American citizenship. Of course, he's the sexy subject. American citizen getting killed is worth a thousand others, and there is the sexy legal aspect. But it drives the movie into a corner. Nobody will ever be convince that Awlaki is a nice innocent boy who got caught up with the events. It's another thing to say that killing children and pregnant women is bad. This moves the morality goal posts. Trying to understand why somebody would turn terrorist doesn't mean anybody would sympathize with the terrorist.

There are a lot of first hand new information. It's great to see investigative reporting on such a dangerous subject still being down. Shining a light on this dark corner is very important. However there is a general premise that the blow back exceeds the advantage of the kill list. It's a murky premise that Scahill doesn't always excel in. The movie wants to shock the audience with the merciless allies in Somalia, but it doesn't exactly have any answers itself. It's a better investigative piece than a convincing argument.

Horrible

[cyerger · 1/10 · 19 January 2015]

This is so bad it may as well be fiction. The writer tries to demonize JSOC by digging in to a single raid out of the probably 60,000 raids that JSOC forces have done during the war.

The writer uses tactical, short excerpts and clever editing to make his point. My favorite line in the movie was.... "I have been a war corespondent for over 10 years and I had never heard of JSOC before? Who is this mystery army?"

Have you been sleeping under a rock for 35 years?? They have a website and even a wikipedia page. There have been movies highlighting their operators for years. (i.e. Lone Survivor, Navy Seals, Blackhawk Down, etc....) If you have really been a war reporter / corespondent.... how could you not know about JSOC unless you are completely inept at your job.

As a former member I can tell you.... this movie is 95% fiction. And story tellers like this have the right to spin their stories and exploit isolated events because of the men and women that defend them.

And the gullible people that believe these story tellers. You are the civilians that are afforded their protection.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." - George Orwel