In one memorable scene, Samir Khader, an Al-Jazeera producers, defends the network's decision to show images of dead Iraqi children killed from American attacks by saying: "We want to show that any war has a human cost." If this is bias, his rationale is certainly no more biased than the decision by Fox News, for example, to not air such footage.

Watching the toppling of Baghdad from Al-Jazeera's perspective was alone worth the price of admission. (Just why did some of the celebrating "Iraqis" have a non-Iraqi accent?)

The most enraging scene involves the US attack on the Al-Jazeera building in Baghdad and the subsequent death of an Al-Jazeera reporter. Unfortunately, there isn't much follow-up in the documentary. We never learn enough to conclude whether this was an intentional act on the part of the US military.

My main criticism of the movie is that it denied the viewer the chance to see editors and producers at Al-Jazeera actually debate about whether to air certain images or cover certain stories. Of course, I can't fault the directors for what they weren't given access to.

One of the most compelling results of Control Room is what I learned after watching the movie. I had a chance to talk with the film's producer and cinematographer, Hani Salami, who said that one of the main persons in the movie — Lt. Josh Rushing, a press officer in the US Central Command during the Iraq war — has been silenced by the United States. In the movie, Lt. Rushing was a mouthpiece for the United States' policies, but he was also incredibly candid, reasonable, and respectful of the Arab journalists. Apparently, he has been ordered by the Pentagon to not speak about the movie. Apparently, he is now considering abandoning the Marines over its censorship of him.

The Bush administration's need to control the media has never been more obvious than to see one of its own be silenced for being merely "reasonable."

I am not sure that "Control Room," as a film, breaks new ground in documentary excellence. But during this time of political lies and media complicity, the movie is not only timely, but necessary.