Login Here(Today Robert Greenwald joins in the comments to discuss his much-anticipated new movie, Iraq for Sale. Please stop by and welcome him.)
In reviewing his new documentary Iraq For Sale, the New York Times accuses Robert Greenwald of indulging in "liberal rage." I defy anyone to watch the film and not characterize it more appropriately as "human rage." The catalog of theft, mismanagement, greed, hubris and pathological indifference to the safety of those standing in harm's way elicits a response that is not partisan. It is, up until now, the great untold story of the war. Robert's film constitutes a heroic personal effort to bring this ugly story to the surface where we as a nation, not as Democrats and Republicans, can start to deal with the horrible fallout we'll be paying for, in both emotional and financial terms, for decades to come.
It's not a subtle subject matter, but using the style he developed in Outfoxed, Uncovered and Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price, Robert has a remarkable way of letting his subjects tell their own stories. What emerges is a pattern of corruption and amorality so pervasive it's staggering -- bad information gleaned by poorly trained interrogators (often through means of torture) is supplied to those who must rely on it for their safety, and the only operant ethic seems to be profit at all costs. Both civilians and military personnel find themselves in the midst of a kleptocratic horror show.
(As a side note, it's small wonder that Ned Lamont won the majority of late absentee military ballots from overseas. Seems the soldiers that Joe Tortureman has dispatched to fight his war don't share his rosy view of the situation.)
We've been covering the story of war profiteering every Saturday with Matt O.'s column, and Robert's film takes a good hard look at companies like Blackwater, Titan, CECI and Halliburton. My sincere hope is that it will start resonating with lawmakers who will demand some accountability post-November, and we can begin to unravel this national disgrace (and i was a really good sign when Byron Dorgan, Harry Reid, Patrick Leahy, Jeff Bingaman and Mark Dayton invited Halliburton employees who appeared in Iraq For Sale to appear during DPC hearings seeking "accountability for contracting abuses in Iraq.")
Please welcome to FDL our good friend and constant source of inspiration, Robert Greenwald. And for thse who are interested in seeing the film, you can buy the DVD direct from Brave New Films here .
Share This 
Spotlight
Liberal rage!
Please welcome one of my pesonal heros, Robert Greenwald. We ask that during our salon discussions that people limit their comments to the topic at hand; those wishing to discuss other matters can feel free to do so on the previous thread.
Human rage!
Welcome Mr. Greenwald and thank you for telling the painful and much needed truth!
thanks jane and the fdl team… you all have been very very important in this fight against profiteering and your continued focus on the issue has really helped all of us at brave new films… yea.
Robert you’ve been working on this one for a while. I remember in March at a party for Markos and Jerome you were telling me about it and it sounded really exciting. It must’ve been a pretty heavy film to work on.
What are the chances of getting the film into broad release, at least into the video rental stores across the nation? I assume that release to the screen is haphazard at best…
If the film will be release broadly to rental, are there plans to promote it with a marketing campaign?
it was emotionally very draining, to deal in a personal matter each day with people who literally had friends, relatives, killed because of corporate greed, brings in home in a way that numbers and abstractions can never do.
But all of us at bnf i think were incredibly motivated to support these people and to help however we could tell their stories.. they are amazing heroes.
we have a very powerful and effective distribution method which is a combination of individuals buying the dvd, house party screenings/groups screening it, canddiates screening it and our great distributor, getting to as many video stores as possible..
no we dont have big bucks for ads, but we have thousnads and thousands of people who are using the film, as it is meant to be, a tool for organzing from church to military to school.
Thanks Robert.
I am very proud to helped getting the word out on these people.
I learned a lot myself in this process.
matto…. keep it at , your blogs have been terrific and we devour them when they come out and spread them around.
I also high recommend t.christian miller book, BLOOD MONEY, it is brilliant.
I just wanted to say thanks so much for all your hard work to get these stories out there, Robert.
Welcome Robert. I look forward to this exchange.
Have you read the book, “Imperial Life in the Emerald City?” I just got it and I can’t wait to read it.
i havent read it yet, but hear it is terrific, that combined with david corn book and frank rich book, as soon as the work of getting IRAQ
OOOPS
getting IRAQ
getting Iraq out to the world quiets down i look forward to ingesting all of them!
Mr Greenwald,
Most of us here know about Halliburton and the “no-bid” contracts and they’re massive profits (thanks in no small amount to your wonderful work), but I was curious about who are the other worst corporate actors in this facade for liberty? Are there more run of the mill companies that can be boycotted, I don’t shop much at Halliburton.
Raoul
robert greenwald @
8
You can also find a list of screenings here, or sign up to host one of your own.
Hey Robert,
(that’s southern for “Hi”)
Thanks for all the great work you do. Keep on telling the stories. It’s nice to know that people are getting the facts, not the Fox.
illegitmus non carborundum!
Jo
I appreciated the trailer that FDL ran and look forward to getting the DVD to share. Should be a lot of interest here in So. OR. Thank you for getting this out. I thought the Varsity Theatre in Ashland, which runs all kinds of films would offer it. Also, we have a film festival here and I’ll talk with Tom Olbrich about showing it.
Robert, what if anything did you learn that surprised you as you conducted your interviews?
in the film we also cover CACI/TITAN/BLACKWATER.
my personal belief is that the work we need to do is about organizing, building awareness, and beyond boycotts. In this case, these corporatons have one customer, it is not us, it is the us. govt. and we MUST put the pressure on the electeds, the bureaucrats, that give the contracts.And the film is designed to help the l00 partner groups beat the hell out of the badguys by using the film
My work on the Pombo In Their Pocket campaign up here in the Bay Area keeps me pretty busy. I haven’t had time to read since I read “One Percent Doctrine” by Ron Suskind.
thanks for the ways and ideas for getting the film out there. Amazing the different approaches people take to making sure as many people as possible see the film, from military bases to church to school to stores… so keep at it!
My greatest surprise was the size of the profitizing and the terrible deaths as a result. it really affected me and had me going from tears to rage.
Robert,
Thanks for being here, and thanks for your tireless, excellent work.
I have a question tangentially related to “Iraq for Sale” (in that it deals with money and contracts) and also related to your film “Unprecedented: the 2000 Presidential Election.”
Among the hardest subjects for news outlets and documentarians to cover (and even, sometimes, understand themselves) are those involving math (e.g. probability theory) or specialized technology (e.g. computer programming).
One such subject is the integrity of hackable electronic voting machines and vote tabulation programs; and more specifically the question of whether electronic vote fraud may have occurred in 2002 and 2004.
Do you know if anyone is making a film on this difficult, technical and important subject?
I await the day when all Americans feel the same rage that so many of us feel about the fraud, waste and abuse that has been perpetrated on the American, Iraqi and Afghan people in the name of spreading democracy and reconstruction (both falsehoods, imho). I have watched every DPC hearing and read with dismay every one of Matt O’s posts. It is people like you, Mr. Greenwald, that will make the scales fall from their eyes and make warmaking far less popular and peacemaking the much better choice.
We destroy and only the corporations benefit.
It’s criminal, immoral and a sin.
some good friends of mine at public interest pictures have made a film, VOTERGATE, that will be airing on HBO in late october. I havent seen it, but earl katz, has been at the forefront of the fight on voting machines and was one of the producers of unprecedented.
Thanks! Glad to hear about VOTERGATE, and especially glad it will get wide exposure via HBO.
Your film sums it all up - the unfathomable greed, price gouging, the murder, the lack of professional training or ethics, the campaign donations, lack of oversight, disrespect for the military, endangerment of everyone in Iraq, cronyism, and on and on - in explicit and compelling detail, and the NYT has the audacity to say it comes from “liberal rage?” That is incomprehensible!
i like rage… at least they didnt say wimpy!
I wonder if we should sponsor libraries to own the film…if we all bought a couple of copies for our local library, then spread the word through our friends or groups we belong to or even drinking liberally gatherings. ?
marksb @ 31
Great idea. This is right out of 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Fight the Right.
love the library idea. we have raised some money to give copies to library,school, and military! we are sending them overseas.. but need all the help we can get on this. So anyone who has bought a copy and seen it, please make sure it continues to work, and giving to a library is a GREAT IDEA.. please do so and then blog about it so others will be inspired.
Robert,
A personal thanks for your work in making “Iraq for Sale”!
I’ll be attending a screening here locally on the 10th and I can’t wait!
My question to you is this:
Are there any Congresscritters who have made any effort to ensure any accountability for this travesty?
If so, who? And if so, what’s your take on the likelihood of their success?
Mr. Greenwald, thanks for being here. I’m almost out the door on my way home, but I’ll catch you on the flip side. I just bought the movie, and I’m participating in a MoveOn phone party on the 14th promoting Iraq for Sale.
robert greenwald @
30
Yeah I’ll take “rage.” I think it’s entirely appropriate to the situation, and as Digby says, I really don’t care if they think we’re a little bit scary.
High schools are a perfect venue for this film.
A parent/teacher/student night out.
henry waxman has been terrific , first rate on the issue, and Senator Dorgan, Leahy, have been really outstanding.. so there are some who are working to do the right thing.
Success will depend on a combination of elections and movement/grassroots keeping pressure up. On this issue thereis a very very wide tent, and we should all be reaching out to church/military/etc. to build widest coalition possible.. first you divide, then you conquer.
I feel impotent about affecting the military budget and the government’s failure to request proposals and hold providers accountable makes me furious. However, we’re all aware of how little accountability is happening everywhere, at the federal level. I also see the same problem on a much smaller scale at the state and local levels.
they are right because republiscum don’t have feelings or consciences.
there are alot of people who would love to see this country fall into a civil war.
angie…. good idea. can you make it happen and write about it! you are now in charge of parent/student/teacher night out!!!
Can’t wait to see the film.
I included it in my…
News Corpse Film Salon:
There is a screening here in L.A. next week that I plan to attend.
we dont need to take on the entire military budget. we start with an issue that is clear, strong and patriotic. profiteering and we build from their, these are all long term battles, and we MUST approach it long term, and withemotion but not driven by despair. Profiteering will bring many many folks together, we need to take the long view and we will beat the hell out of the greedy corporate bastards with this!
I visit two libraries and was thinking of copies for them, but the church I attend has a 1st Saturday of the month potluck and is always looking for programs.
thanks mark!! keep spreadin the word
cando… terrific, if you can get to them, good, if not write to us and we will work to make it happen…
Thank you, Mr. Greenwald.
Thanks for reminding me that Rome wasn’t built in a day. I feel some urgency about what’s happening but good discussion groups are the most effective ways to make change happen.
cando @ 39
I actually think there is a lot of latent rage out there about the money we have just poured into an open hole in Iraq with no oversight. I think it will cross party lines and that congressional hearings after the election (cross your fingers for Democratic chairs) can have a very big effect in starting to unravel this.
I’ve always felt this was an issue that would unite the country in the spirit of accountability and expose the Bush Administration’s true agenda — steal everything that isn’t nailed down. None of this “let’s let bygones be bygones” crap that some folks (and I do mean Bill Clinton) like to espouse. These people cannot be allowed to escape justice or they will just return and lead us down the same dark path again, and hopefully with people like us standing there with pitchforks and torches that will not happen.
cando….good discussion groups, IF FOLLOWED BY ACTION!!
Jane Hamsher @ 36
The YouTube above shows why they would be scared. It’s not some uncontrolled craziness that detractors want to associate with rage; it’s controlled moral outrage, that anyone with any decency can identify with. It’s informed, unflinching, articulate and fearless. You made Fund look like exactly what he is — a lying apologist for the indefensible. Well done, and I can’t wait to see the film.
I will do my utmost, Robert and I am trying to get it in our little theater here in town, too!
Pardon the interruption, but John Laesch is on Hardball right now.
Liberal rage? How about outrage over how
the NYT and a few other “frontline” American
MSM organs continually play “tilt and slant”
games with how the debacle in Iraq is reported
and broken down for the American reader?
Surely less shilling of American Imperialism
gaming in ME regarding Iraq,Iran and Israel vs.
the Palestinians is in order at NYT.
Liberal rage? Oh…”liberal Americans” sure
do have Washington DC intimidated these days.
R.Greenwald…applause to you. Best wishes.
Sounds like it’s time for more letters to the editor, to save we’ve seen Iraq for Sale and what it means to us.
Thank you taking this on Robert, and than you Jane for having him here.
That’s a great idea about libraries. I will see what is requiered to get a screening at the local theater here in town. I know there is a 20 person film board that must approve so it could be tricky.
we are having lots of screenings at libraries around the country and local theatres, but also pizza parlor, bowling alleys, elks clubs,church,school, anywhere thre is a tv set. go to the iraqforsale and see the variety, it is exciting and inspiring.
Hello Robert, Can you tell me what the next steps will be on Judge Elliss’ ruling on the (CPA). Will this eventually go to the Supreme Court?
sorry, i dont know enough about the legal side, if you email me direct at iraqforsale.org i will ask one of the lawyers.
Robert or anyone else- would an an edited audio only version be worth doing- for people with commute time? Just a thought for getting more people turned on to the film and the topic.
Mr. Greenwald, thank you for the movie and for being here. I just bought a copy, plus two other DVDs (I have a Wal-Mart loving relative who needs some enlightenment).
and we MUST approach it long term, and withemotion but not driven by despair. Profiteering will bring many many folks together, we need to take the long view and we will beat the hell out of the greedy corporate bastards with this!
Thanks for these words also. The murderous corruption and thievery is so deeply entrenched that I too often tend to despair that it can ever be stopped - and despair is NOT a good thing.
we win by taking our emotion, and a step at a time, beating the bums.. carefully, smartly, and never stopping
if you have a way to get the audio to people, go for it
It seems like film, and Independent film to be more specific, is the only truly “open” venue for free speech - Networks are beholden to their parent companies, many of whom have profited well under the current admistration.
Is there any momentum to create a real news network - such as a fair and balanced CNN for example? Or a cable network that would air progressive news and films?
I truly believe that until there is fairness and accountability in news reporting, our progressive voices are stifled.
Thanks, This is such a mess I think it will be in the courts for years.
Drive by …
Wow!!!
Huge fan, Mr. Greenwald. Can’t wait to go to a local screening of Iraq for Sale
Loved the Walmart movie … saw it a local college, and of course I can’t leave out Arnold in his Own Words
Robert- I’m in the techie dark ages in some ways- do you already offer an audio version, are you suggesting re-recording it, or? Help FDLers.
we dont need networks, really we dont, those are old models. remember, murdoch is spending billions, on, THE INTERNET. and guess what, we call can use his myspace to spread our politics, peer to peer. and you tube, and some new distribution mechanisms being discovered right this minute. the key is getting invovled and being part of the efforts to get the word out there, it is amazng how this peer to peer thing is working.
I attended the FCC meeting in Los Angeles yesterday. They have scheduled 6 of these around the country for public input into new media ownership regs.
Yesterday’s session was, not surprisingly, focused on how consolidation limits the opportunites of artists, producers, and other small program enterprises.
There was a large presence from AFTRA and directors of the Writer’s and Producer’s Guilds spoke. (more on my blog, News Corpse)
Do you plan to attend any of these meetings and do you have any comments on the FCC’s current efforts to further deregulate Big Media?
thanks john,,,, keep spreading the word.
hey valley girl, me too, we dont have a version, but could make one, IF there are folks who will make sure they get distributed…
I watched it the other day- it made me furious. Bought two copies and have sent the other to my friend- her son is a Marine. I told her to watch it and pass it around to everybody. Thank you for doing this Mr. Greenwald.
thanks KyCole, see if the marine will writ us after he sees and just keep getting everyone to keep passing it around..
Good point - in that case, keeping the internet free from regulation is a priority.
mark… i am not able to attend any of the hearings now. As my grandmother used to say, you cant dance at every wedding.
obviously the media debate is a big one,, and important.
yes the FREE INTERENT is very very important, and a forward battle, one we can and will win…
thats internet!!
robert greenwald @ 67
I heard today that the guys behind Skype currently have a private beta of an ad-sponsored p2p IPTV app, and plan to allow independant producers to add their content to the streams and reap their percentage of the ad revenue.
This could be the “TV” content distribution method of the future, and one that is *very* useful to our cause.
bdu… yes, there an amazing number of new and different ways to distribute,we no longer have to rely on the big baddies to get our stuff out… which is exciting and VERY HARD WORK
You know, an interesting comparison can (and perhaps should) be made between how our Government deals with looting in these 2 circumstances:
1. Aftermath of “Rodney King” and other civil unrest/disturbances - Government orders that “looters” may be shot on sight.
2. Aftermath of Iraq “Mission Accomplished” - Government recruits and pays for “looters”.
Guess it’s just a matter of filling out the right paperwork.
The line forms to the Right doncha know?
A little late and new to say hello to both you Mr. Greenwald and FDL. I just wanted to reiterate what Mr. Greenwald has said:
Slow and Steady wins the race.
Sometimes cliches are good, and spot on.
Thanks for your hard work. And thank you FDL.
robert greenwald @ 73
Well, you (and everyone else) can still send comments to the FCC by using the forms at Stop Big Media (via FreePress.net). Open comments continue through December 31.
I’m watching the Flash video now. Did I just hear John Fund say “This 35% drop, that’s one quarter, …”?
It just goes to show that if you’re a wingnut commentator, a firm grasp of the facts isn’t a prerequisite.
bdu @ 76
How sweet that would be! That would open things right up.
I’m signing off, Robert Greenwald. Deep gratitude to you and your associates for putting your neck and resources on the line to make movies like Iraq for Sale.
robert greenwald,
I bought your movie yesterday at Barnes & Noble. I finished watching it 30 minutes ago. It says a lot. And there’s so much more to say on this. After watching the movie, I switched to CNN, where they’re covering this awful week for our troops in Iraq. I dread to hear which units they are from!
bdu @ 76
Leave it to Skype. That’s like disruptive technology if anything is. Is there someplace I can learn more about it - or be advised when they release more info?
Great discussion. Will de-lurk to make a point.
There is one underlying cohering principle that aligns all Bush admin policies: the maximum transfer of public wealth to private hands.
By this principle, a never-ending war in Iraq at $2 B / wk, of which $_____ (please fill in % Robert) goes to private profiteers, is a rousing success… i.e. the longer the war goes, the more successful it is in emptying the public treasury into private hands.
It’s an interesting, if depressing, exercise to test any Bush initiative, foreign or domestic, against this principle. Where no other comprehensive explanation of Republican motives holds, this one peels the lid off their true intent in virtually every case.
Iraq for Sale is an excellent demonstation of the horror of this principle fully engaged. The good news is that once the real intent is exposed, it can be opposed.
I admire your courage and contribution in making this film (as well as your others). Thanks – and sorry for the long post!
Cujo359 @ 81
I’d believe it’s not only not a prerequisite, but a disqualifier!
In making this film did you uncover other potential ideas for future documentaries?
Robert, thanks for the reply. Still not sure if my idea has merit or not. Need to do some research. Hey techies out there, I need answers to some basic questions. Any techies out there?
db1 @ 87
yes, they are very clear they believe in profit to corporations, and the wealthy, it is no secret, and our job is to keep hammering at it, and connecting the dots…
FYI to anyone who is interested, I’ve got a post about the major players in Ohio’s “theocracy movement” here.
Mark @ News Corpse @ 85
Here’s a link to a story about it.
Robert, BTW, I am very impressed by Matt O and his posts at FDL. I couldn’t go to yKos, but “sent” him instead.
Valley Girl @ 94
yes, he has done wonderful work!!
BTW, for the rest of you who don’t know this, Matt O. was still a senior in college when he started writing the posts about war profiteering. In his “spare” time.
bdu @ 92
Thank you for the link.
And thank you Robert for your great work - and for being here.
The Iraq fiasco is unraveling so fast — CNN’s lead reports tonight were close to alarmist about how badly things are deteriorating — that I think we can now forsee a time (soon?) when the trad media will be pointing to Iraq for Sale, Waxman’s findings and other early warning and asking, “why didn’t they do something about this?” just as we are watching the press today ask the same questions about Foley and the Republican leadership. I hope it’s soon.
e.g., Mike Ware on CNN reported that if the US forces “stay the course,” the situation would just get worse and worse. Everyone is waiting for some dramatic change of course to prevent disaster, but the WH is seen as in denial, and the Iraqi govt officials as ineffective and powerless to change the situation. Failure leads very quickly to hearings/investigations about why, and then they’ll discover the answers were already out there.
If the local theater in town won’t show it, I’ll have an house screening. I have a small house so perhaps an open house for a full day with a couple screenings will work.
I’m on my way over to talk to the woman who runs the front of the house, so I’ll get a good idea if they would do it. If not there, then she could point me to others who might.
Valley Girl @ 89
Yes, we’re here. I know of Windows-based apps that allow you to play a Video DVD in your PC and capture the audio to a “sound-only” file.
One could then “burn” it to a CD for playing in one’s car CD player or make it available for transfer to an MP3-type player.
Never played with it myself, so I don’t know of its limitations or possible problems.
And since it’s for you VG, I guess I can find the time to play with it a bit tonite. *g*
Millineryman @ 99
great….. just keep looking for places that people can and do get together,, and the possibilities just keep growing and growing… thanks…i take you over universal studios!
FWIW, the review doesn’t say “liberal rage.” It says RG’s documentaries are like “sledgehammers of rage” (which they are, and which is a good thing), and later it says it consists of “liberal outrage”–perhaps slightly pejorative, and Jane’s “human outrage” would indeed be more apt. The reviewer seems a bit stung by the ferocity of the subject, but that just means the film is well done.
End of nit-pick.
Robert- if I come up with any more useful info re: an audio version, I will email you. In the meanwhile- if you were to make an audio only version, would it retail for the same as a DVD? That is what I am assuming, as it seems that cost involved in making CD vs DVD would be about the same. What I actually don’t know, and here I feel quite embarassed to raise this question, but can CD players be used to play DVD, but without sound?
Hi, Robert. Going to Lakeland Oct.11 to see your movie. Can’t wait!
Robert, Any ideas what your next project might be?
Valley Girl @ 103
the first question for me, always is, who will help get it out there, then i figure we canusually solve the technical, or at least the folks at brave new films who are so smart about this will
[apologies for OT post. I’m responding to another one. For me, this topic is over. Renee, if you want to comment further, I’ll watch the previous thread.]
Renee in Ohio @ 91
Do you ever read Dennis The Peasant’s blog? He wrote this article about the Ohio governor’s race that includes this quote:
DTP is no flaming liberal. If I had to categorize him, I’d call him old-school conservative. He’s not sure if he’s happy about this or not. Nevertheless, his view of the subject is interesting.
In my neighborhood (Somerville, near Cambridge/Boston), there is a small local theater that gets “normal” movies about a month or so after the main theaters. They fill in with Indian film festivals etc. This is a university area, lots of grad students and professionals, and I would think that seeing “Iraq for Sale” on the marquee would draw people in our community.
Robert: Have you been able to get the film into this kind of setting?
Mad Dogs @ 99
Thanks Mad Dogs. I did think about the copyright violation issue in rerecording the sound track only by private means, and then passing that around. Seems that if one already owns the DVD, and then creates a sound file for one’s own use, that would not be a problem, but anything more than that would be. That is why I asked (maybe you didn’t see my latest comment) I was asking about pricing for an audio-only version.
Robert, if you’re still around, your views on this would be MOST welcome.
It would be great if you could show it at the big drive-in in Fort Lauderdale. Recently, I watched a foreign movie that moved the projector out the window and showed the movie on a building. All the people in the village sat in the square and watched the movie.
scarecrow @ 108