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NO END IN SIGHT (2007)

Category: Documentary
Description:
NO END IN SIGHT is a documentary film that focuses on the two year period following the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The film asserts that serious mistakes made by the Bush administration during that time were the cause of ensuing problems in Iraq, such as the rise of the insurgency, a lack of security and basic utilities for many Iraqis, sectarian violence and, at one point, the risk of complete civil war. The documentary does initially touch upon other aspects prior to the reconstruction. One mis-assumption that Bush made was that the Shi'ites (forming a 60% majority of the population) would welcome the invaders. This premise seems to arise from the fact that in 1991, after the end of the Persian Gulf War and encouraged by President George H. W. Bush, the Shi'ites rebelled against Saddam Hussein. However, despite heavy losses from the Gulf War, Hussein's remaining forces crushed the rebellion. The US did not offer any support to the rebels at the time, nor did the US stop the Iraqi government troops. Another issue in the 2003 invasion was the number of troops that were to be sent. Donald Rumsfeld estimated that the job would take half of the number of troops that Colin Powell and other US Army Generals had requested, but Rumsfeld essentially had his way as he enjoyed more support within the George W. Bush administration than Powell. NO END IN SIGHT is a 2007 documentary film about the American occupation of Iraq. The film marks the directorial debut of political scientist and former software entrepreneur Charles H. Ferguson. The film premiered January 22, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The film opened in limited release in the United States on July 27, 2007, playing in 2 theaters. As of December 2007, the film had grossed $1.4 million, and had been released on DVD.[ INTERVIEWS To a large extent the film consists of interviews with the people who were involved in the initial Iraqi occupation authority and the ORHA (the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, later replaced by the CPA, the Coalition Provisional Authority). Thirty-five people are interviewed, many of them former Bush loyalists who have since become disillusioned by what they experienced at the time. In particular, many of those interviewed claim that the inexperience of the core members of the Bush administration — and their refusal to seek, acknowledge or accept input from more experienced outsiders — was at the root of the disastrous occupation effort. AMONG THOSE INTERVIEWEDARE: * General Jay Garner, who briefly ran the reconstruction before being replaced by L. Paul Bremer * Ambassador Barbara Bodine, who was placed in charge of the Baghdad embassy * Richard Armitage, former deputy secretary of the State Department * Robert Hutchings, former chairman of the National Intelligence Council * Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Powell's former chief of staff * Col. Paul Hughes, who worked in the ORHA and then the CPA * Marc Garlasco THERE WERE THREE ESPECIALLY GRAVE MISTAKES MADE BY PAUL BREMER, THE HEAD OF THE CPA: * A move toward "De-Ba'athification" in the early stages of the occupation, as Bremer considered members disloyal. Saddam Hussein's ruling Ba'ath Party counted as its members a huge majority of Iraq's governmental employees, including educational officials and some teachers, as it was not possible to attain such positions unless one had membership. By order of the CPA, these skilled and often apolitical individuals were banned from holding any positions in Iraq's new government. * Not providing enough troops to maintain order, so martial law was not established after the country was conquered. The ORHA had identified at least 20 crucial government buildings and cultural sites in Bagdad, but ending up only the oil ministry was guarded. With no police force or national army to maintain order, ministries and buildings were looted for their desks, tables, chairs, phones, and computers. Among these pillaged were Iraqi museums, containing priceless artifacts from some of the earliest human civilizations, which No End in Sight suggested had sent chilling signals to the average Iraqi that the American forces did not intend to maintain law and order. The destruction of libraries and records , in combination with the "De-Ba'athification" had ruined the bureaucracy that existed prior to the US invasion. ORHA staff reported that they had to start from scratch to rebuilt the government infrastructure. Rumsfeld initially dismissed the widespread looting as no worse than rioting in a major American city. * The disbanding of the Iraqi Army, against the advice of the US military, which made 500,000 young men unemployed. The US army had wanted the Iraqi troops retained as they knew the locals and could maintain order, but Bremer refused as he felt that they could be disloyal. However, many former Iraqi soldiers then decided that their best chance for a future, many with extended families to support, was to join a militia force. The huge arms depots were available for pillaging by anyone who wanted weapons and explosives, so the former Iraqi soldiers converged on the military stockpiles. The US did known about the location of weapon caches but said that they lacked the troops to secure them; ironically these arms would later be used against the Americans and new Iraqi government forces. The film cites these three mistakes as the primary causes of the rapid deterioration of occupied Iraq into chaos, as the collapse of the government bureaucracy and army resulted in a lack of authority and order. It was the Islamic fundamentalists that moved to fill this void, so their ranks swelled with many disillusioned Iraqi people. The documentary also notes that during reconstruction, the US shunned Ba'ath officials and relied upon Ahmed Chalabi instead, someone who they later realized could not be trusted. Chalabi was said to have taken advantage of US resources to eliminate political opponents. One of these interviewed suggested that the main beneficiary of the Iraq invasion was neighbouring Iran. Prior to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Iraq and Iran were enemies and so kept each other in check. Indeed, some suggested that Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction were mainly to intimedate Iran, which explained why Saddam was not forthcoming with UN inspectors. Saddam's fall left Iran more powerful in the region. It also did not help that they elected a hardliner who was anti-Western, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who went on to allegedly produce their own weapons of mass destruction. TOP TEN LISTS This film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007. * 1st - Stephen Hunter, The Washington Post * 3rd - Ty Burr, The Boston Globe * 5th - A.O. Scott, The New York Times * 5th - Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly * 6th - Dana Stevens, Slate * 6th - Marc Mohan, The Oregonian * 6th - Michael Sragow, The Baltimore Sun * 6th - Rene Rodriguez, The Miami Herald * 7th - Marc Savlov, The Austin Chronicle * 7th - Richard Corliss, TIME magazine * 8th - Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post * 8th - Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor * 9th - Carrie Rickey, The Philadelphia Inquirer * 9th - Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly * 10th - Scott Foundas, LA Weekly (tied with Redacted and The Wind That Shakes the Barley) * 10th - Stephanie Zacharek, Salon (tied with Redacted)
Seeders: 9
Leeches: 21

Israel project -old and recent news from Israel - collection 3 of 5

Category: Documentary
Description:
Part 3 - More old news from the promised lands. And please help upload these to other trackers, you can get the first two torrents at One big torrent (no signup great books and documentaries). ;; Extra, extra read all about it. ;;this weeks news, ;; ;; This collection is all about this weeks news mixed with some material on Lebanon 2006, Palestinian music, a few ;; shows from Al Jazeera, ;;5 books and a dumb documentary on Muslims and anti-Semitism . ;; In this collection you will find the following: Checkpoint - 2cd version Survivors of the summer war - Lebanon The Martyrs Smile - Lebanon George Galloway - Regarding Lebanon Blaming the Jews about Muslim anti-Semitism The rocket men Al Jazeera-Ben Cnaan SecularVsOrthodox Israel ;; Books and audio: Palestinian music Five random books I read last year. What we say goes - audio ;; And this weeks news, about the subjects listed below, democracy now Monday 12 januari 2009 Wednesday 14 januari 2009. ;; �; ;; Fmr. Clinton Special Counsel Lanny Davis vs. Israeli Professor Neve Gordon: A Debate on the Israeli Assault on Gaza Israel has poured thousands of reservists into Gaza as Israeli troops push deeper into Gaza City in the seventeenth day of fighting. Nearly 900 Palestinians have now died, including 275 children. Another 4,100 Palestinians have been injured. The Israeli death toll is at thirteen. We host a debate on the crisis with Lanny Davis, senior adviser to the Israel Project and the former special counsel to President Clinton, and with Neve Gordon, an Israeli professor at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. [includes rush transcript] �; ;; Kucinich Cites Arms Export and Control Act in Decision to Vote Against House Measure Supporting Israeli Offensive Both the House and Senate passed non-binding resolutions last week overwhelmingly supporting Israel’s offensive in Gaza. On Thursday, the Senate passed the resolution by a unanimous voice vote. The House voted on a similar bill on Friday that passed by a vote of 390 for and five against. Twenty-two representatives voted “present.” We speak with Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) who voted against the measure. [includes rush transcript] �; ;; Tens of Thousands Demonstrate Globally Against Israeli Actions, Jewish Women Among Those Leading Protests Tens of thousands of people took to streets over the weekend in cities across the globe to demonstrate against Israel’s assault on Gaza. Some of the protests have been organized by Jewish groups who are speaking out against Israel’s actions. We speak with two Jewish women for peace: Dorothy Zellner, one of fifteen Jews who have signed a call for a protest in front of the Israeli consulate in New York, and Judy Rebick, who organized a sit-in comprised of Jewish Canadian women at the Israeli consulate in Toronto. [includes rush transcript] ;; "An Unconscionable Legacy" - Veteran White House Correspondent Helen Thomas on the Bush Presidency President Bush held his final news conference Monday. Bush fervently defended his record, saying he made the nation safer following the 9/11 attacks, rejected the idea that the nation’s moral standing has been damaged over the past eight years and defended the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina. We speak with veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas. She’s the most senior member of the White House press corps and has covered every president since Kennedy. [includes rush transcript] Pro-Israel Supporters Praise Gaza Assault as Justified Despite Mounting Civilian Death Toll On Sunday, thousands turned out in New York for a rally to support the attack on Gaza. Speakers included New York Senator Chuck Schumer and Governor David Paterson. The journalist Max Blumenthal, also a Jewish American, spoke to some of the demonstrators. We play highlights. [includes rush transcript] "Catastrophically Misguided and Incomprehensible Policy" - Renowned Jewish Playwright Tony Kushner Speaks Out Against Israel's Assault on Gaza On Monday, a group called Jews Against the Occupation staged a protest against Israel’s invasion of Gaza blocks away outside the Israeli consulate in New York. Among those protesting was renowned playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner. Kushner won a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for his play Angels in America, which was later made into an award-winning television mini-series. “The policy, on the part of the Israeli government, of reoccupation of Gaza seems to me catastrophically misguided,” Kushner says. “I can’t imagine this is not going to continue to be bloody and a violation of human rights.” [includes rush transcript] Gaza Suffers Most Intense Bombardment of 18-Day Israeli Assault Residents of Gaza suffered the most intense bombardment of the eighteen-day war last night as Israeli warplanes carried out strikes throughout the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian death toll is now at least 930. More than 4,000 Palestinians have been injured. Thirteen Israelis have died over the past eighteen days. We speak with journalist Zaki Chehab, author of Inside Hamas: The Untold Story of the Militant Islamic Movement. [includes rush transcript] ;; Leading Israeli Scholar Avi Shlaim: Israel Committing "State Terror" in Gaza Attack, Preventing Peace The assault on Gaza is entering its nineteenth day, with no end in sight. Israel continues its intense bombardment of the territory as Israeli troops edge closer to the heart of Gaza City. Nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed, more than 4,400 injured, many of them women and children. Thirteen Israelis have died over the same period, ten of them soldiers. We speak with Oxford professor Avi Shlaim. He served in the Israeli army in the mid-1960s and is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities on the Israeli-Arab conflict. [includes rush transcript] White Phosphorous and Dense Inert Metal Explosives: Is Israel Using Banned and Experimental Munitions in Gaza? Israel is coming under increasing criticism for its possible use of banned and experimental munitions. Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of illegally firing white phosphorous, which causes horrific burns if it comes in contact with the skin, over crowded refugee camps in Gaza. Medics and human rights groups are also reporting that they are seeing injuries distinctive of another controversial weapon, Dense Inert Metal Explosive, known as DIME, that was designed by the US Air Force in 2006. Those struck by the weapon who survive suffer severe mutilations and internal injuries. We go to the Gaza border to speak with Marc Garlasco of Human Rights Watch and to Norway to speak with Dr. Mads Gilbert, who just returned from the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. He says Gaza is “truly a scene from Dante’s Inferno.” [includes rush transcript] ;; ;;
Seeders: 1
Leeches: 4

Iran - Iraq where does it end?

Category: Documentary
Description:
Just some files from the tube encoded 3 of them to mpeg nice 45 minute movie about Mossadec all the way through to saturday 16 2008. I enjoyed it. Nice wakeupcall the wars are fueling hatred and there is no end in sight. I hope everyone will start protesting this summer. Before they attack Iran. It starts with a small clip from the corporation, chomsky in Ireland, Amy goodman and ends with Ritter and Hersh. This is a nice mish mash of facts. Too bad it looks a bit crappy these guys deserve to do something better. Hope they do in the future.
Seeders: 0
Leeches: 1

Democracy Now! Wednesday, March 19, 2008 :: Winter Soldier

Category: News & Current Affairs
Description:
Today's Headlines Antiwar Events Nationwide Mark 5th Anniversary of Iraq Invasion In Gaffe, McCain Says Iran Backing al-Qaeda Obama Criticizes Ex-Pastor’s Political Comments Murtha Backs Clinton Ahead of Pennsylvania Primary Dalai Lama Threatens Resignation as Chinese Crackdown Continues British Court Overturns Venezuela Asset Freeze UN Calls for Investigation into Colombia Deaths Foreign Workers Sue US Oil Firm for Exploitation, Fraud Justices Appear to Favor Overturning DC Handgun Ban Science Fiction Author Arthur C. Clarke Dies at 90 Half a Decade of War: Five Years After Iraq Invasion, Soldiers Testify at Winter Soldier Hearings Five years ago tonight, on March 19, 2003, the US launched the invasion of Iraq. Half a decade later, as the occupation continues with no end in sight, some of the most powerful voices against the war have been the men and women who have fought in it. For four days this past weekend, soldiers convened at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland for Winter Soldier, an eyewitness account of the war and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. We broadcast their voices. [includes rush transcript]
Seeders: 0
Leeches: 1

The Iraq War by Numbers- Rageh Omaar 2008 03 17 (ITV)

Category: Documentary
Description:
The Iraq War by Numbers- Rageh Omaar 2008 03 17 (ITV) Journalist Rageh Omaar goes back to Iraq to chart the effects of five years of war. The statistics alone are breathtaking: one in seven Iraqis has left their home; four million have fled the country; between 150,000 and one million have been killed. But Omaar seeks out the human stories behind such figures, mostly via people he previously knew or worked with. "Life has been destroyed," says one photographer colleague flatly; while a former office manager bemoans that, "You can never tell who is the police and who is the gangster." And a women's campaigner paints a sickening picture of poverty and prostitution. What emerges chillingly is how what was once a liberal, literate country has suffered a net loss of freedom and security. One war has become many as Sunni insurgents and Shia militias fight local power struggles, with no end in sight. XviD 402 MB 00:45:55 retrack-shunster thebox.bz
Seeders: 1
Leeches: 0

No End in Sight (US post-invasion in Iraq) - 2007 Xvid

Category: Documentary
Description:
On May 1, 2003, President Bush declared an end to combat in Iraq. More than three years later, 3,000 American soldiers and an estimated 790,000 civilians are dead, and Iraq still burns. What happened? The first film to examine comprehensively how the Bush administration constructed the Iraq war and subsequent occupation, No End in Sight exposes a chain of critical errors, denial, and incompetence that has galvanized a violent quagmire. Drawing on jaw-droppingly frank interviews with an impressive array of high-level government officials, military personnel, and journalists, many on the ground in "postwar" Iraq, Charles Ferguson zeroes in on the months immediately before and after toppling Saddam. Despite intelligence strongly warning that transforming Iraq into a democracy would be long and brutal without careful planning, massive troops, and international support, Bush launched the invasion after only 60 days of preparation. Baghdad's infrastructure fell along with the city, leaving large-scale looting, lawlessness, and violent chaos in its wake. Installing neither police forces nor self-governing institutions at this crucial juncture, Rumsfeld's inexperienced team disbanded Iraq's military and intelligence, marginalizing 500,000 armed men--only one of a relentless stream of ill-advised moves that ignited resentment, fomented desperation, and fueled a still-raging Iraqi insurgency. Ferguson's surgical analysis of the way the U.S. government sparked disaster in Iraq is riveting, information packed, and airtight. In his capable hands, the situation has never been so transparently clear, which makes it even more shocking and tragic. film site: http://www.noendinsightmovie.com/ Please seed for a while after completion for others.
Seeders: 0
Leeches: 0

No End in Sight (2007)

Category: Documentary
Description:
An examination of the Bush Administration's conduct of the Iraqi war and occupation. The film chronicles the manner in which the principle errors of U.S. policy--the use of insufficient troop levels, allowing the looting of Baghdad, the purging of professionals from the Iraqi government, and the disbanding of the Iraqi military--largely created the insurgency and chaos that engulf Iraq today http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0912593/ Watch this movie with a critical eyes and the agenda it might be trying to serve.
Seeders: 0
Leeches: 0