Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, Why We Fight — the title is taken from Frank Capra’s WWII film series — investigates how the United States of America has become such a force in the world militarily since WWII, regardless of President or political party in charge, and it focuses on whether that explains the country’s actions currently, asking the question did 9/11 start something anew or did it provide an opportunity for a system already in place?

Directed by Eugene Jarecki, the film opens with President Eisenhower’s farewell address ,when he informed the nation that because of the Cold War “we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions,” so “we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” He goes on to say, “We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”

Jarecki is concerned that Eisenhower’s warnings have gone unheeded, so the relationship between the defense contractors and the government is explored. The successful contractors are good businessmen who know how the system works. Northrop Grumman, the prime contractor of the B2 bomber, ensures the production of its plane by having some segment of it built in every state to keep the congressmen happy. Any good business needs repeat customers and according to Karen Kwiatkowski, a 25-year Air Force veteran, “if you are making bombs, you need to have people blow up bombs to order new bombs.” The top three worldwide defense contractors of 2005 made between 20 and 35 billion dollars, so business is booming, so to speak.

The U.S.’s actions through the years are examined. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki might not have been done solely to end the war with Japan, who was willing to surrender, but to put the rest of the world, mainly Russia, on notice not to mess with us. The United States shifted towards vigilant defense against communism in the ‘50s as the arms race escalated. In 1953 we helped bring the Shah to power in Iran and the CIA warned of blowback, which many people feel manifested in the form of the 1979 Iranian Revolution that saw Ayatollah Khomeini rise to power. And of course, no discussion of 20th century U.S. foreign policy can leave out the Vietnam War. In one of the film’s more powerful scenes a world map highlights the countries where the United States has been involved in altering the leadership over the past 50-plus years through the military or CIA.

Article Author: El Bicho

This writer is a member of The Masked Movie Snobs, a collective that fights a never-ending battle against bad entertainment. Follow at twitter.com/ElBicho_MMS

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