Why We Fight

Using as a motif the famous warning about the dangers of “the military-industrial complex” that President Eisenhower delivered in his farewell address in 1961, Eugene Jarecki's documentary Why We Fight argues that corporate financial interests have largely controlled governmental decision-making—especially the frequent use of force—in America's post-World War II foreign policy. Combining archival footage with modern interviews, this unabashedly activist film contends that Eisenhower's worst fears about the nexus between the defense business and the armed forces have now been realized—to the country's general detriment—successfully personalizing the topic by presenting the perspectives of ordinary Americans (particularly Wilton Sekzer, an ex-cop whose son died in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Towers, and William Solomon, a young Army enlistee), as well as comments from the likes of Chalmers Johnson, William Kristol, Dan Rather, and Gore Vidal, among others. While hardly impartial, Jarecki's film offers a salutary alternative view to the official version of why America is so often engaged in war. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Eugene Jarecki and Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, five additional scenes (30 min.), two TV appearances by Jarecki on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Charlie Rose Show (16 min.), a 12-minute audience Q&A (12 min.), a 12-minute “Characters” segment with five extra interviews, and trailers. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a provocative documentary.] (F. Swietek)