Endgame

Originally broadcast on PBS, this Frontline episode looks at the most significant blunder related to the American military presence in Iraq: the failure to anticipate the possibility that a civil war could erupt after Saddam Hussein was deposed. Michael Kirk's Endgame points fingers in a multitude of directions, with much of the blame falling on the arrogant White House leadership (Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Rice) and the extraordinarily incompetent Pentagon brass orchestrating the occupation. By now, the milestones along the road to ruin have become all too familiar to most Americans: the blatant lies about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, inadequate troops to secure Iraq, faulty intelligence that failed to determine the depth and scope of the problem, and the emergence of Iraqi factions that took advantage of the leadership vacuum to reignite long-stifled religious hatreds that led to today's chaos. The film conspicuously avoids putting any onus on American troops themselves, most of whom were ill-equipped for the assignment and ultimately failed to win the hearts and minds of the occupied Iraqis (atrocities at Abu Ghraib, Fallujah, and Haditha certainly didn't help). As for an exit strategy, the film forgets to mention that President Bush openly stated that a complete withdrawal would not take place during his presidency. Even though Endgame is likely to become dated before long due to its news-format style, this is still recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)