The film ‘Breaking the silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror’ was screened about six months after the attack of Iraq in March the year two thousand and three. This was also two years after the attack of Afghanistan. This film scrutinizes the truth and lies at the back of war on terror, examining the inconsistency between American and British rationalization for battle and the details on the ground in Washington DC and Afghanistan.
The movie starts with a disturbing sequence of pictures depicting the bloodbath inflicted on the people of Iraq by the British and US Armies in the year two thousand and three. In the backdrop we see the president of the United States, George W Bush declaring that America will give the Iraq people freedom, medical supplies and food. The media shows that the United States is playing a positive role in helping the people of Iraq but this is not what is happening in Iraq.
This film shows that the actions of the United States government are a part of a war that is open- ended and their aim is to dominate the world and control precious oil resources in Iraq instead of fighting terror. The film also shows that the real threat comes from the violent military action and terrorism coordinated by the white house. This film shows that there is a growing new form of terrorism that is silent and that is the terrorism by United States Government due to the increased greed for power. Pilger visits Washington DC to carry out a sequence of inquisitive dialogues with higher members of the US government.
Undersecretary Douglas Feith of the defense department categorically refutes that his nation provided mass destructions weapons to Saddam Hussein in the early nineteen eighties. Nevertheless, facts illustrate that the US government supported the former Iraqi totalitarian to declare war against Iran and endowed him with financial and material support. The weapons include biological and chemical agents and the advice on how to utilize them. When Pilger tries to bring up the discussion on the number of people killed in the attack in the year two thousand and three a military official from off camera interrupts and orders the interview to stop. This shows that we only know what the government wants us to know.
John Bolton, under secretary of state, when asked by Pilger says that, more than any other country the US has tried to create freedom for all individuals. He is also reluctant to give information on how many Iraqis were killed in the attack. William Kristol who is a neo-conservative and also an editor of the Weekly Standard says that the problem with Americans is not that they go raiding and imposing themselves on other countries. The problem is that they have been too slow when it comes to getting involved in conflicts. He dismisses the fact that the US has been involved in over seventy two separate attacks and interventions in foreign countries as ridiculous. This happens as a list of the countries scrolls down the screen.
Pilger journeys to Afghanistan to eyewitness the desolation. Among his interviewees is an Afghan lady who experiences the loss of eight relatives and among them her six children. Even though America claims to be friends with Afghanistan, that is just a cover up for what was really happening. The US has been of less help to many other nations when it comes to interventions. The film also points out that the United States has a history of supporting Islamic fundamentals.
The United States foreign policy reflects on how it interacts with foreign nations and sets principles of the relations for its associations, companies and individual nationals. The US is very dominant in policies chosen in the world and the president is the definitive power over foreign policy. The foreign policy includes describing the national interests and to preserve that and achieve the policy goals. The US foreign policy seeks to form a more safe, independent and successful world for the profit of the American society and the international community as well. The policy also seeks foster business interactions with other nations.
Using more diplomatic methods for intervention in foreign countries instead of military force could highly affect the shaping of the United States foreign policy. The use of military force as seen in the film causes many deaths and devastation in the foreign countries. Diplomatic methods can result in better results than military force. Principles of diplomacy can be used in foreign nations to interact without involving bloodbath.
The US foreign policy can also be shaped by the humanitarian principles that respect human rights. In the film the US government violates many human rights and embraces terrorism although this is silent because it is carried out by the US government. The human rights of the Iraqis were violated by the US governments and if the US government respected human rights then there would not have been the death of many innocent Iraqis.
In conclusion the film seeks to show people the truths and the lies of the happening in the interventions carried out by the US government. The government tells many lies about what happens in interventions. The US government needs to employ new tactics of using during interventions to reduce the loss of lives.
Works Cited
Pilger, John. Breaking The Silence: Truth And Lies In The War On Terror. 22 September 2003. 25 November 2011
