TOW #28: Why We Fight

Dwight D. Eisenhower left his presidency warning the people of the United States of a military-industrial complex. Though people may not have agreed with his actions in office, Eugene Jarecki the director of “Why We Fight” argues why the American citizens should have listened to his warning. This was evident following the attacks on the world trade center on September 11, 2001, when the United States entered into a war with Iraq. Jarecki uses his documentary to show the little relevance that the attacks on 9/11 and the Iraq War have in common. He uses expert/personal testimony as well as his own point of view to prove how America is now entered into a military-industrial complex that may be impossible to leave.

            Jarecki uses multiple expert and personal testimonies in “Why We Fight” to show the relevance that America’s military-industrial complex has on everyone. Jarecki begins by introducing all of the testimonies separately and then relating them all together at the end. One of the more prominent personal testimonies is from a father whose son was killed on the attack on the world trade center. This father describes the emotions that he felt and the desire for revenge that he sought. He found this revenge by placing his son’s name on one of the bombs that was dropped at the beginning of the Iraq War. From listening to other expert testimonies, the viewer learns the credibility of this revenge. It becomes clear as the video progresses from testimonies of CIA agents as well as members of the military that the motives to enter into the war in Iraq were not specifically because of the attacks on 9/11, but possibly because of other motives. It is revealed when all of the accounts collide that the war that the United States had entered was directly related to the military-industrial complex that Eisenhower warned about and America’s confidence in its superiority. The connections of all of the testimonies at the end caused the revenge that the father of the 9/11 victim sought to be short-lived. He found out that those bombs killed many Iraqi civilians rather than targets, and he learned that the Iraq War was not related to the terrorists that performed the acts of 9/11. The testimonies performed the task of keeping the viewer interested, while informing the viewer about unknown truths about the Iraq War and its relation to the military-industrial complex..

            Jarecki also uses his own point of view to prove America’s ignorance towards Eisenhower’s warnings. It is clear in the documentary that Jarecki possesses a liberal point of view. He uses his point of view to form the argument of his film. He shows the other side of the argument, mostly conservative politicians, to prove how they are wrong. For example, he has a video of President Bush stating that the war in Iraq was not because of 9/11. This caused the other side’s arguments to be flawed because others argued that the war was because of the attacks on 9/11. By clearly showing his own point of view, it is difficult not to agree with him. After proving that the other side is flawed, it allows him to create the argument that the war was because of America’s military-industrial complex. Jarecki uses testimonies as well as his liberal point of view to prove that America is now in the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned about.