Control Room

In continuing the theme of looking at happenings in the Middle East, we rented the film Control Room last night. The movie came out last year so it's a bit dated, yet it remains timely. Control Room is a documentary focusing on Al Jazeera's coverage of the first few months of the Iraq war. The setting is the US military's Central Command ("CentComm") in Qatar, and we see behind the scenes with Al Jazeera's producers and on-air personalities. It's a fascinating and eye-opening look at Al Jazeera, which has been portrayed by the US as an anti-American propaganda machine. What we see doesn't really support that image, as the coverage seems to be a little more balanced than the US version, showing both Iraqi and Coalition casualties and making an effort to show the human cost of the war.

I'm not going to write a full review of the movie. Mark Caro of the Chicago Tribune does a good job with that effort. I was impressed with the professionalism of the the Al Jazeera journalists portrayed in the movie. They did not back down from their Western counterparts when challenged about their journalistic bias, pointing out that no journalist can be completely unbiased. I was also impressed with the US reporters in the film, who expressed concerns about the lack of information coming from the military. The most interesting moments came when the Al Jazeer journalists would offer their reflections on the US government, Saddam Hussein, and the conflict at hand. To a person they acknowledged that the US would secure a military victory but that it was unlikely that the US would be able to institute a stable democracy in Iraq by using such a heavy hand. The Iraqi people did not like Saddam Hussein, but they also do not like the US invoking its will upon the region, fearing another Israel/Palestine situation.

It's no secret that I am not a fan of the Bush regime or the war in Iraq. The snippets from Donald Rumsfeld, spewing lies and propaganda as he accuses Al Jazeer of the same, are frankly embarassing. Then again, I'm embarassed pretty much any time I hear him speak. I am sympathetic to the people of Iraq, because I think that it's wrong what we have put them through in the name of neutralizing a "threat". I think that the current administration has gotten the US into a bigger problem than it realizes.

But enough of my blabbing. Control Room sort of flew under the radar in the midst of the hype associated with Fahrenheit 9/11, but I think it brings a critical portrayal of the Iraq war in a package that I think more Americans would find agreeable. Director Jehane Noujaim has done a terrific job in presenting a seemingly balanced view of the war without a hint of either preachiness or hyperbole. I recommend anybody who wants to learn more (and put a human face on our Arab "enemies") to rent this film.