Let me pose some questions. If America were invaded by a foreign power who claimed we had a corrupt regime that threatened the world with WMD's, which isn't that absurd a claim, and this power patrolled our streets with tanks and armored vehicles and demanded ID checks so that we could go about what was left of our lives; if we had little electricity due to the occupiers bombing the system into ruins during the invasion; if we had little clean water as a result of the bombing campaign during the invasion; if our streets were no longer our streets and we had no gas for our cars; what would you do? Would you just passively wait for the occupiers to leave? Or would you join the resistance and fight for your home, your city, your nation?
To be sure, not all of the young men trying to kill Americans are acting from this point of view. There are many who have been taught to hate Americans and Jews as infidels. These are not the majority, but they are a significant part of the effort to chase America off Iraqi soil. For these fundamentalist Muslims, all those who in any way denigrate their version of Islam and walk upon Islamic lands must be killed.
These are the questions facing all Iraqis. Blood of My Brothers is a documentary that looks at the situation through the eyes of Iraqi insurgents. Many of them consider themselves "freedom fighters," others simply hate America. Are they acting that much differently from how Americans would act in a similar situation?
Invading Iraq was one of the biggest foreign policy mistakes committed in recent decades -- on par with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and destined to end about as well. I don't condone our actions there, nor do I condone the militant reactions of Iraqis who feel they are fighting for their faith and/or their nation. Violence is rarely -- if ever -- the best or only solution to a situation.
Here is the text describing the movie:
The Blood of My Brother tells a story of the war in Iraq from a perspective rarely seen. The primary point of view is Iraqi -- family grieving at the tragic death of its eldest son. After years of hard work, Ra'ad, an Iraqi portrait photographer, has saved enough money to open his own shop. On the night of the opening, while volunteering to guard the ancient mosque in Kadhimiya, Ra'ad is shot and killed by an American patrol.
Longing for revenge, Ra'ad's brother Ibrahim dreams of joining the Shia uprising against the American occupation. But as the only male left in the family, Ibrahim must take on the role of breadwinner. "When I see a burning tank, it makes me happy. When I see any Americans or Jews, I want revenge, but I can't. I have to take care of the house." While some of his friends leave home to fight the Americans, Ibrahim attempts to continue his brother's business and provide for his mother and two sisters.
The Blood of My Brother takes the viewer behind the scenes of the growing Shia insurgency with scenes of fighting and death on the streets of Sadr City and Najaf. The Blood of My Brother brings war-torn Iraq to life with intimate detail. This is the closest most will ever come to being there, kneeling in prayer amidst a thousand Muslim worshippers, the roar of low-flying Apaches, riding atop a sixty-ton tank, driving with masked resistance fighters to attack American positions, fleeing the threat of an overwhelming response, the blood in the street, a tank on fire, or the cold, distant stare of a dead Iraqi fighter.
If you are squeamish, you may not want to watch the trailer:
1 comment:
I'm suprised that no one commented more on this. hmmm.
Erica
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