Documentary views war through Iraqi doctor - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Documentary views war through Iraqi doctor

SAN ANTONIO — An Oscar-nominated documentary that examines the situation in Iraq from an Iraqi point of view was shown to airmen attending the Air Command and Staff College’s cultural-awareness program this winter.

Trailer

"My Country, My Country"

“My Country, My Country” documents events in Iraq leading up to the January 2005 elections, seen mostly through the life of Dr. Riyadh, a physician, father of six, devout Sunni Muslim and political candidate in the largest Sunni political party, the Iraqi Islamic Party.

The title is a play on words — it’s taken from the Iraqi national anthem but is intended to illuminate what American filmmaker Laura Poitras believes is a situation created by the U.S.

“I always felt there was something contradictory about using force to bring democracy,” Poitras told Air Force Times in February.

The film premiered in October on PBS Television’s “P.O.V.” program. It has been nominated in the Best Documentary category for the 2007 Academy Awards, scheduled for Feb. 25.

By following Riyadh, military members, diplomats and international election officials, the film illustrates how difficult the situation in Iraq is — for U.S. and allied forces and for Iraqis themselves.

The Iraqi viewpoint is personified by Riyadh, a man who wanted former dictator Saddam Hussein gone but is opposed to foreign occupation.

Early in the film, Riyadh is seen obtaining health information from prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, who criticize him for not doing enough for them.

“We are an occupied country with a puppet government,” Riyadh says. “What do you expect?”

A moderate and a believer in nonviolence, Riyadh tries to use the political process to convince fellow Sunnis that it is better to be engaged in the elections than to oppose them. But as the violence around him intensifies, Riyadh’s idealism is worn down to the point that even he is conflicted about whether to vote. At that point, his party had withdrawn and its members were encouraging Sunnis not to vote.

The film ends with Riyadh talking about leaving Iraq — which he ultimately did, Poitras said.

“I talk to him and he says, ‘I am paralyzed by the military, I am paralyzed by terrorists,’ ” she said. “Four people in his neighborhood were killed with drills for being in the government.”

A unique perspective

For Army Lt. Col. Gaylon McAlpine, director for the Joint Campaign Planning Course at the Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., the film’s window into Iraqi society was a worthwhile addition to the program’s existing readings and discussions on cultural awareness.

One of the college’s Air Force faculty members met Poitras while she was filming in Iraq and asked her to send him a copy of the documentary when it was finished, McAlpine said. When McAlpine saw it, he knew it belonged in his curriculum. Poitras then visited Maxwell to discuss the documentary and answer questions about her experience in Iraq.

“As a non-DoD civilian, she has a unique perspective of the interactions on the ground,” said McAlpine, who in 2003 was a battalion executive officer with the Army’s 101st Airborne Division in Iraq. “After her appearance, she agreed to stick around for anyone who wanted to come up and just talk to her a little bit — there were at least 30 to 40 students who kept her on stage for another hour and a half.”

One of the students, Maj. Kelly Martin, a KC-135 pilot who has flown over Iraq but never been in-country, said the experience helped take the idea of cultural awareness from theory to fact.

“My view of the ground is what I see on the news, like everybody else,” she said. “So to get this perspective, kind of being that fly on the wall in the home of an Iraqi citizen — I found it very interesting and enlightening.”

Seeing families and local residents interact was especially valuable, Martin said.

“I think the No. 1 thing I’m going to take from [the course] is that we can’t do anything without incorporating culture in it — from the largest of campaigns to the smallest of interactions,” she said.

Pessimism and dedication

Poitras said she is pleased with the military response to her project — despite its sometimes critical tone.

“It does not paint a glowing picture of the U.S. presence there — but it paints a truthful picture,” she said. “And you can learn from truthful pictures.”

What struck her most about her visit to Maxwell, she said, was the level of pessimism expressed by career officers about the Iraq war and the difficulty of trying to create democracy through military force — and how that contrasted with their dedication.

“There is this attitude of, ‘How come you’re asking us to die doing something we’re not trained to do?’ ’’ she said. “And yet, everyone continues to do what they are asked to do.”

See for yourself

“My Country, My Country” will be available on DVD on March 20. Look for it in video stores or pre-order a copy from Zeitgeist Films through its Web site, www.zeitgeistfilms.com/homevideo.php, or by calling (800) 509-0448. The DVD costs $22.49.