Talk:Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers

message: http://house-of-bob.blogspot.com/2006/10/iron-triangle.html
I’m curious to see the film, but I’m also required to avail myself of any well researched criticism that’s available on it. 
I’m of the opinion that political documentaries, particularly those of the far left, tend to be more sensationalistic and very biased, slanted towards an audience that already “gets it”, and is looking for further emotional affirmation of their views. With such works, the presentation of facts is willfully selective to particular a point of view. Evidence which supports a preconclusion is emphasized; countervailing evidence is conveniently left unaddressed or dismissed. 
I have no doubt that there is corruption and mismanagement by the corporations contracted to supply services/materials in Iraq, and I think that should be a concern of any taxpaying citizen. I have no objection to a call to action that reveals waste corruption or fraud. Several questions emerge when putting the question of corruption in historical context:
n Knowing that in all wars (and in civilian endeavors for that matter) there have been elements of corruption and greed, is the supposed profiteering in Iraq on a greater, lesser, or comparable scale? 
n Does the fact that corporations are financially benefiting from the war compromise the original justifications for the war?
I wonder if “Iraq for Sale” addresses the first question to any degree, and it’s an answer in the affirmative to the second question that I suspect is an underlying political message of the movie.
It’s not a new theory, and its origins can be found in Marxism: foreign policy is run by the military/industrial complex. Politicians, defense contractors, and the Pentagon work in collusion for the maintenance of power and financial gain while selling the public on imperial wars that aren’t in their interest. Franklin D. Roosevelt somehow allowed the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor; Lyndon Johnson conspired to get us into in Vietnam; and now Bush, Cheney, and the neo-cons manipulated intelligence to get us into this war in Iraq for their buddies in Halliburton and the oil industry. 
Never mind that this theory doesn’t explain our involvement in Afghanistan.
Ted Kennedy gave the conspiracy expression when he publicly stated that he believed “President Bush and his cronies cooked up this war about WMD’s on his ranch in Texas, probably just to mislead us.”
A selective fact: "We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." — Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sept. 27, 2002
Anyways, not having seen the movie, I’ll reserve judgment to an educated guess on its message.  
—Preceding unsigned comment added by Lips Mahoney (talk • contribs) 12:16, October 19, 2006
: > I’m of the opinion that political documentaries, particularly those of the far left, tend to be more sensationalistic and very biased
: Ok, that's hilarious... have you ever seen all the political documentaries from the right on the Clintons?  Where they are portrayed as murderers, etc. and that's just their nice side? You don't have to mention that you haven't seen the film,  I can easily see by the questions you've posed above that you've not only not seen this film, but you haven't researched the activities of these companies yourself to much degree..
: > Anyways, not having seen the movie, I’ll reserve judgment to an educated guess on its message.
: Look, I'll agree that all these documentaries left-leaning or right should be taken with a grain of salt until you do your own research into the matter.  AND, I'll agree that many Democrats are very flawed and need to be removed from office as well. (see this documentary, it attacks both the left and the right: HERE ... And... as far as your own research goes... the answer to your first main question is a resounding YES.  Look it up yourself... and YES, the documentary mentions that almost from the get go.  No war has ever been this privatized in the History of the planet and the waste and endangerment to America is out of this world.  It's based on govt. docs, hearings, eyewitness accounts of people who actually worked at these companies.  Is it left-leaning? YES.  If this was Democrats doing the same thing, would they be attacking them? Hell YES.  If you haven't noticed, Lieberman has been getting his ass tore up by Democrats.  True patriots aren't solemnly tied to party lines, they are tied to their family... their children... their country. 67.190.61.6 23:02, 19 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers 

message: Hi, I can't find any negative reviews as of this date.  Please help me sift through THESE REVIEWS and hopefully we can add someone of substance who is critical of the film to the entry. 67.190.61.6 23:24, 19 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: OK, it's been a pain in the butt to find any negative reviews, but through some creative Googling methods I found a couple (sort of) and I'm adding them now 67.190.61.6 23:35, 19 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Reviews 

message: this article is terribly out of format. It needs to respect Wikipedia guidelines and be much more NPOV. This reads like a review, and uses many words that violate a neutral tone. I agree it is important to have a good Wikipedia article on this, but this is not a wikipedia article it is review that sings its praises. Would the original editors please change this, before i do. Any help or comments would be appreciated.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.155.128.154 (talk) 20:50, 9 April 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  NPOV!