The War You Don't See
Encyclopedia
The War You Don't See is a 2010 British documentary film
written, produced and directed by John Pilger
with Alan Lowery, which challenges the media for the role they played in the Iraq
, Afghanistan
, and Israel
/Palestine
conflicts. The film, which went on nationwide general release on , had its premiere at the Barbican and was aired through Britain
's ITV1
on and later through Australia
's SBS One on .
and black and white stills of the victims of the U.S. Occupation of Iraq. In his opening narration Pilger quotes World War I
British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
’s comment to Guardian
editor C. P. Scott
that, “If the people really knew the truth, the war would be stopped tomorrow.” He goes on to state that this film will draw on his own experience as a war correspondent to question the role of the media in conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
Media historian Professor Stuart Ewen
demonstrates how Edward Bernays
’s use of fear to win US public support for the First World War set a precedent used in the build up to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq
. Former CIA analyst Professor Melvin Goodman states that part of the Pentagon
’s almost 1 billion annual propaganda budget is used to manipulate the news. US Assist. Secretary of Defence Bryan Whitman states that most western media reports came from the 700 embedded reporters. Former CBS news
anchor Dan Rather
, former BBC
world affairs reporter Rageh Omaar
and former Observer
journalist David Rose admit to not having done their jobs properly within this regard.
Independent journalist Dahr Jamail
, supported by un-broadcast footage from independent filmmaker Mark Manning, reveals the massive unreported suffering of civilians. FAIR
’s Steve Rendall relates the story of AP
journalist Charles Hanley, whose January 2003 report debunking WMD sites in Iraq went unpublished, as an example of how independent journalism could have averted the war. Pilger confronts BBC Head of Newsgathering Fran Unsworth and ITV News Editor in Chief David Manion for their uncritical echoing of officials.
Public Interest Lawyers’ Phil Shiner details the unreported use of torture on Iraqi civilians such as the murdered Baha Mousa
. Photographer Guy Smallman narrates the Granai airstrike
which was played-down by the mainstream media in accordance with Edward S. Herman
’s theory on unworthy victims. Pilger reports from the Armed Forces Memorial
to show the extent of Britain’s unreported enduring imperial role in post-WWII peacetime, confirmed by historian Mark Curtis
who believes that journalists could have prevented the war.
Former British Foreign Office diplomat Carne Ross
testifies to the unreported suffering inflicted on Iraqi civilians by the post-Gulf War
economic sanctions and bombing, which went unquestioned by journalists reliant on official information channels. Glasgow University Media Group’s Professor Greg Philo analyses the intimidation of journalists reporting of the Israeli military occupation of Palestine
. Pilger confronts Unsworth and Manion over the Israeli propaganda which dominated BBC and ITV coverage of the Gaza flotilla raid
.
Former US Congresswoman
Cynthia McKinney
dismisses US President Barack Obama
, who has failed to withdraw from Iraq, authorised US military action in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen, and approved the biggest military budget in history, as a war monger. WikiLeaks
Editor in Chief Julian Assange
puts money and money making by the military-industrial complex at the heart of the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Colombia and reveals that investigative journalists are viewed as the number one threat to this.
Archive footage shows former U.S. soldier Ethan McCord narrating his discovery of two seriously wounded children in the aftermath of the July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike, which Whitman denies is one of a daily occurrences of such events in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pilger concludes in St Bride's Church
, London, dedicating the film to the more than 300 journalists, including ITN reporter Rupert Hamer, killed reporting the Iraq War and quoting Claud Cockburn
’s maxim “never believe anything until it’s officially denied” calls on his fellow journalists to be the voice of people not power.
film reviewer Peter Bradshaw states that, "The force of his film is in its contention that the colossal scale of civilian casualties is, within the grammar of news, downgraded in importance so that it doesn't figure as news at all, but as all-but-invisible deep background to be ignored." "Pilger gives due respect to WikiLeaks," he concludes, "although his praise for al-Jazeera's independence is ironic, given that WikiLeaks has just revealed the possibility that the Qatar government is manipulating the channel."
The Guardian
television reviewer John Crace states that, "Pilger has never traded in anything other than black and white," and "Pilger's starting point is that all governments are shysters whose only interest is economic and all journalists are witless dupes," which, "had the feel of slight overkill," but "For all his lack of subtlety, he presents his case with passion and conviction." "What shone through," he concludes, "was that those we rely on to think clearly in times of war are often those most seduced by myopic machismo and that any sense of history gets instantly forgotten."
Total Film
reviewer Tom Dawson describes the film as a, "timely, potent doc," with, "an impressive range of interviewees, including 'embedded' war correspondents and whistleblowers," but concludes that, "it's the leaked footage of a US chopper attack on unarmed Baghdad residents that proves the film’s most disturbing scoop."
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
written, produced and directed by John Pilger
John Pilger
John Richard Pilger is an Australian journalist and documentary maker, based in London. He has twice won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award, and his documentaries have received academy awards in Britain and the US....
with Alan Lowery, which challenges the media for the role they played in the Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
/Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
conflicts. The film, which went on nationwide general release on , had its premiere at the Barbican and was aired through Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
on and later through Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's SBS One on .
Synopsis
The film begins with footage of an unreported July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrikeJuly 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike
The July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrikes were a series of air-to-ground attacks conducted by a team of two United States Army AH-64 Apache helicopters in Al-Amin al-Thaniyah, in the district of New Baghdad in Baghdad, during the insurgency that followed the Iraq War.In the first strike "Crazyhorse 1/8"...
and black and white stills of the victims of the U.S. Occupation of Iraq. In his opening narration Pilger quotes World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
’s comment to Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
editor C. P. Scott
C. P. Scott
Charles Prestwich Scott was a British journalist, publisher and politician. Born in Bath, Somerset, he was the editor of the Manchester Guardian from 1872 until 1929 and its owner from 1907 until his death...
that, “If the people really knew the truth, the war would be stopped tomorrow.” He goes on to state that this film will draw on his own experience as a war correspondent to question the role of the media in conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
Media historian Professor Stuart Ewen
Stuart Ewen
Stuart Ewen is a New York-based author, historian and lecturer on media, consumer culture and the compliance profession. He is also a Distinguished Professor at Hunter College and the City University of New York Graduate Center, in the departments of History, Sociology and Media Studies...
demonstrates how Edward Bernays
Edward Bernays
Edward Louis Bernays , was an Austrian-American pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda along with Ivy Lee, referred to in his obituary as "the father of public relations"...
’s use of fear to win US public support for the First World War set a precedent used in the build up to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. Former CIA analyst Professor Melvin Goodman states that part of the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
’s almost 1 billion annual propaganda budget is used to manipulate the news. US Assist. Secretary of Defence Bryan Whitman states that most western media reports came from the 700 embedded reporters. Former CBS news
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
anchor Dan Rather
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9,...
, former BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
world affairs reporter Rageh Omaar
Rageh Omaar
Rageh Omaar , is a Somali born British journalist and writer. His latest book Only Half of Me deals with the tensions between these two sides of his identity. He used to be a BBC world affairs correspondent, where he made his name reporting from Iraq...
and former Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
journalist David Rose admit to not having done their jobs properly within this regard.
Independent journalist Dahr Jamail
Dahr Jamail
Dahr Jamail is an American journalist who is best known as one of the few unembedded journalists to report extensively from Iraq during the 2003 Iraq invasion. He spent eight months in Iraq, between 2003 to 2005, and presented his stories on his website, entitled Dahr Jamail's MidEast Dispatches....
, supported by un-broadcast footage from independent filmmaker Mark Manning, reveals the massive unreported suffering of civilians. FAIR
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting is a progressive media criticism organization based in New York City, founded in 1986.FAIR describes itself on its website as "the national media watch group" and defines its mission as working to "invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity...
’s Steve Rendall relates the story of AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
journalist Charles Hanley, whose January 2003 report debunking WMD sites in Iraq went unpublished, as an example of how independent journalism could have averted the war. Pilger confronts BBC Head of Newsgathering Fran Unsworth and ITV News Editor in Chief David Manion for their uncritical echoing of officials.
Public Interest Lawyers’ Phil Shiner details the unreported use of torture on Iraqi civilians such as the murdered Baha Mousa
Baha Mousa
Baha Mousa was an Iraqi man who was kicked and beaten to death while in British Army custody in Basra, Iraq in September 2003. The inquiry into his death heard that Mousa was hooded for almost 24 hours during his 36 hours of custody by the 1st Battalion of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment and that...
. Photographer Guy Smallman narrates the Granai airstrike
Granai airstrike
The Granai airstrike, sometimes called the Granai massacre, refers to the killing of a large number of Afghan civilians, mostly children, and including women, by American aircraft on May 4, 2009, in the village of Granai in Farah Province, south of Herat, Afghanistan...
which was played-down by the mainstream media in accordance with Edward S. Herman
Edward S. Herman
Edward S. Herman is an American economist and media analyst with a specialty in corporate and regulatory issues as well as political economy and the media. He is Professor Emeritus of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also teaches at Annenberg School for...
’s theory on unworthy victims. Pilger reports from the Armed Forces Memorial
Armed Forces Memorial
The Armed Forces Memorial is a national memorial in the United Kingdom, dedicated to the 16,000 servicemen and women of the British Armed Forces killed on duty or through terrorist action since the Second World War.-History:...
to show the extent of Britain’s unreported enduring imperial role in post-WWII peacetime, confirmed by historian Mark Curtis
Mark Curtis
Mark Curtis may refer to:* Mark Curtis , Managing Director - Wealth Management, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney* Mark Curtis , American TV journalist, author and political analyst...
who believes that journalists could have prevented the war.
Former British Foreign Office diplomat Carne Ross
Carne Ross
Carne Ross is founder and director of Independent Diplomat, a diplomatic advisory group. Born in 1966, Ross has a fraternal twin, Oliver Ross, a successful paediatric anaesthetist in UK. Ross taught in Zimbabwe before attending the University of Exeter where he studied economics and politics. He...
testifies to the unreported suffering inflicted on Iraqi civilians by the post-Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
economic sanctions and bombing, which went unquestioned by journalists reliant on official information channels. Glasgow University Media Group’s Professor Greg Philo analyses the intimidation of journalists reporting of the Israeli military occupation of Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. Pilger confronts Unsworth and Manion over the Israeli propaganda which dominated BBC and ITV coverage of the Gaza flotilla raid
Gaza flotilla raid
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six ships of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Former US Congresswoman
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...
dismisses US President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, who has failed to withdraw from Iraq, authorised US military action in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen, and approved the biggest military budget in history, as a war monger. WikiLeaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
Editor in Chief Julian Assange
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange is an Australian publisher, journalist, writer, computer programmer and Internet activist. He is the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks with the stated purpose of creating open governments.WikiLeaks has published material...
puts money and money making by the military-industrial complex at the heart of the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Colombia and reveals that investigative journalists are viewed as the number one threat to this.
Archive footage shows former U.S. soldier Ethan McCord narrating his discovery of two seriously wounded children in the aftermath of the July 12, 2007 Baghdad airstrike, which Whitman denies is one of a daily occurrences of such events in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pilger concludes in St Bride's Church
St Bride's Church
St Bride's Church is a church in the City of London, England. The building's most recent incarnation was designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1672 on Fleet Street in the City of London, though Wren's original building was largely gutted by fire during the London Blitz in 1940. Due to its location on...
, London, dedicating the film to the more than 300 journalists, including ITN reporter Rupert Hamer, killed reporting the Iraq War and quoting Claud Cockburn
Claud Cockburn
Francis Claud Cockburn was a British journalist. He was well known proponent of communism. His saying, "believe nothing until it has been officially denied" is widely quoted in journalistic studies.He was the second cousin of novelist Evelyn Waugh....
’s maxim “never believe anything until it’s officially denied” calls on his fellow journalists to be the voice of people not power.
Participants
- Professor Stuart EwenStuart EwenStuart Ewen is a New York-based author, historian and lecturer on media, consumer culture and the compliance profession. He is also a Distinguished Professor at Hunter College and the City University of New York Graduate Center, in the departments of History, Sociology and Media Studies...
– media historian - Professor Melvin Goodman – former CIA analyst
- Dan RatherDan RatherDaniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9,...
– CBS Evening NewsCBS Evening NewsCBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963....
anchor and managing editor, 1981-2005 - Bryan Whitman – US Assist. Secretary of Defence
- Rageh OmaarRageh OmaarRageh Omaar , is a Somali born British journalist and writer. His latest book Only Half of Me deals with the tensions between these two sides of his identity. He used to be a BBC world affairs correspondent, where he made his name reporting from Iraq...
– BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
world affairs reporter, 2000-2006 - Dahr JamailDahr JamailDahr Jamail is an American journalist who is best known as one of the few unembedded journalists to report extensively from Iraq during the 2003 Iraq invasion. He spent eight months in Iraq, between 2003 to 2005, and presented his stories on his website, entitled Dahr Jamail's MidEast Dispatches....
– journalist & author, Beyond the Green Zone - David Rose – former ObserverThe ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
journalist - Steve Rendall – Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
- Fran Unsworth – BBC Head of Newsgathering
- David Manion – Editor in Chief, ITV NewsITV NewsITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. Since 1955, ITV's news bulletins have been produced by Independent Television News . The channel's news coverage has won awards from the Royal Television Society, Emmy Awards and BAFTAs. Between 2004 and 2008, the...
- Mark CurtisMark Curtis (British author)Mark Curtis is a British journalist, writer, and historian specialising in investigative journalism. He has written numerous books on the foreign policy of the United Kingdom and the United States during the twentieth century.-Biography:...
– historian & author, Web of Deceit - Phil Shiner – Public Interest Lawyers
- Guy Smallman – war reporter & photographer
- Carne RossCarne RossCarne Ross is founder and director of Independent Diplomat, a diplomatic advisory group. Born in 1966, Ross has a fraternal twin, Oliver Ross, a successful paediatric anaesthetist in UK. Ross taught in Zimbabwe before attending the University of Exeter where he studied economics and politics. He...
– British Foreign Office, 1989-2004 - Professor Greg Philo – Glasgow University Media Group
- Cynthia McKinneyCynthia McKinneyCynthia Ann McKinney is a former US Congresswoman and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...
– former US CongresswomanUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution... - Julian AssangeJulian AssangeJulian Paul Assange is an Australian publisher, journalist, writer, computer programmer and Internet activist. He is the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks with the stated purpose of creating open governments.WikiLeaks has published material...
– Editor in Chief, WikiLeaksWikileaksWikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
Reviews
The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
film reviewer Peter Bradshaw states that, "The force of his film is in its contention that the colossal scale of civilian casualties is, within the grammar of news, downgraded in importance so that it doesn't figure as news at all, but as all-but-invisible deep background to be ignored." "Pilger gives due respect to WikiLeaks," he concludes, "although his praise for al-Jazeera's independence is ironic, given that WikiLeaks has just revealed the possibility that the Qatar government is manipulating the channel."
The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
television reviewer John Crace states that, "Pilger has never traded in anything other than black and white," and "Pilger's starting point is that all governments are shysters whose only interest is economic and all journalists are witless dupes," which, "had the feel of slight overkill," but "For all his lack of subtlety, he presents his case with passion and conviction." "What shone through," he concludes, "was that those we rely on to think clearly in times of war are often those most seduced by myopic machismo and that any sense of history gets instantly forgotten."
Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
reviewer Tom Dawson describes the film as a, "timely, potent doc," with, "an impressive range of interviewees, including 'embedded' war correspondents and whistleblowers," but concludes that, "it's the leaked footage of a US chopper attack on unarmed Baghdad residents that proves the film’s most disturbing scoop."
External links
- John Pilger: Why are wars not being reported honestly? by John Pilger in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
(December 10, 2010) - Listening Post: Interview with John Pilger on AlJazeera (December 23, 2010)