The Critical Edition

Posted By G. Scott on August 20, 2008

The fall of the Soviet Union provided the opportunity to solidify America’s world influence into an empire, Chalmers Johnson argues in part two. “We are the new Rome.”

Part two introduces a number of critical voices in the documentary.

• Introduced first is Richard Perle, noted conservative thinker and member of Project for the New American Century — itself a controversial group that somehow played a part in the planning of the 9/11 attacks, conspiracy theorists suggest. Key line: “What’s the big fuss about preemption?”
• William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, also makes his first appearance in this segment.
• Another major figure in the documentary makes her first appearance in part two as well: Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski. In the Pentegon at the time of the attack, Kwiatkowski later went on to author “comprehensive writings on the subject of a corrupting influence of the Pentagon on intelligence analysis leading up to the Iraq War” (Wikipedia). She is, in short, a critic.
• Additionally, ‘Fuji’ and ‘Tooms’ make their appearance. ‘Fuji’ and ‘Tooms’ are the two pilots who flew the initial mission over Baghdad in 2003.
• Colonel Richard Treadway (Commander of the Air Force’s Stealth Fighter Squadron) and James G. Roche, (Secretary of the Air Force) present information as well.
• Susan Eisenhower, the President’s granddaughter, provides information about Eisenhower’s view on the necessity of WWII and the results of the resulting armament industry.
• Gore Vidal, critic, playwright, and just about everything else, enters midway through. Vidal makes the claim that Japan had been trying to surrender throughout the whole summer of 1945. I’d never heard anything about this, but Vidal provides no documentation.
• John S. D. Eisenhower, the President’s son, discusses Eisenhower’s view of war in general in the bombing of Hiroshima in particular.

The segment ends with interviews of civilians, discussing one question: “What are we fighting for.” Some of the answers are frightening.

Why are we fighting? What’s your view?

Category: politics
Tags: america, iraq, politics