Why We Fight (2006)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Daniel P

  
  A documentary-by-numbers, in a sense, and about the Iraq War mostly, but I found this to be as much about Eisenhower than anything else, which was great, because I didn't know as much about him and his meaning when he famously coined the term Military-Industrial Complex. I liked… More
  A documentary-by-numbers, in a sense, and about the Iraq War mostly, but I found this to be as much about Eisenhower than anything else, which was great, because I didn't know as much about him and his meaning when he famously coined the term Military-Industrial Complex. I liked this documentary because it was as damning as a Michael Moore film and much less sentimental, and the message was stronger because of it. There are situations that just make you throw your hands in the air, and the Iraq War is certainly one of them. Worthy of its accolades, no question.

• Michael S

  
  Good documentary with some great moments of emotional power, but it doesn't say all that much new about the current state of the USA that hasn't already been discussed in superior films.

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]"Why We Fight" is an informative but flawed documentary, that despite providing a comprehensive history lesson through talking heads, participants and archival footage, does not make a very good case. It starts off with Dwight Eisenhower's 1961… More
  [font=Century Gothic]"Why We Fight" is an informative but flawed documentary, that despite providing a comprehensive history lesson through talking heads, participants and archival footage, does not make a very good case. It starts off with Dwight Eisenhower's 1961 farewell address where he explains the menace of the Military Industrial Complex.(It is curious that the film praises Eisenhower's presidency in many ways but two of the most infamous Cold War foreign interventions - Iran and Guatemala - happened on his watch.) The central thesis of the movie is how that has corrupted American foreign policy but I would argue that the weapons makers are simply a group of bottom feeders and war profiteers who have no direct affect on foreign policy. Instead, the government's self-righteous attitude leads the United States into perpetual conflict, first with the Soviet Union and now moving onto Iran and North Korea. In fact, the invasion of Iraq was nothing more than a cynical exploitation of post 9/11 blood lust, waged by an administration looking for an easy win to heighten its popularity, with little congressional opposition due to a lack of backbone, not corruption. And it is ironic that one of the reasons for the invasion was to stop terrorism, when instead it seems to be the cause of the opposite. [/font]

• Kit X

  
  Why We Fight is described in the links section of Billhicks.com as "probably in Bill's iPod on Arcturus". I doubt that it is. Whereas Bill's comedy was loud, angry, and deliberately controversial, this documentary about the military-industrial complex is… More
  Why We Fight is described in the links section of Billhicks.com as "probably in Bill's iPod on Arcturus". I doubt that it is. Whereas Bill's comedy was loud, angry, and deliberately controversial, this documentary about the military-industrial complex is pedestrian and gentle. The target audience is clearly those that know little about the role of the military-industrial complex in the U.S. government. To its credit, it well-made and addresses its target audience without patronising. Unfortunately, it offers little to the well-informed viewer.

• Anthony V

  
  I gained great respect for John McCain after seeing this film. Powerful, and another film most Americans should see, especially since some of the most scathing indictments of war come not from the liberal Left, but from the conservative right.

• Sarah P

  
  This is a doc that needs to be seen, it will make alittle more sense afterwards.

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