Common Book 2019-20: Redeployment: Videos

When the Iraqi government threatened to expel all foreign mercenaries following the controversial Blackwater Baghdad shootings of 2007, the role of private military contractors was thrust into the spotlight. There’s no denying that the use of hired security forces is transforming the way we wage war. The contractors earn four times more than regular soldiers, act with impunity, and in Iraq, outnumber all non-U.S. soldiers combined. This program follows the training and deployment of these combatants in Iraq to provide an eye-opening look at life as a private soldier, while exploring some of the issues surrounding their use. “With private contractors, America is able to stay in Iraq for much longer and without as much political fallout,” explains one proponent. But a recruit puts it more succinctly: “We’re cannon fodder.” (55 minutes)

The invasion of Iraq was the most extensively-reported conflict in history, with more than 2,000 journalists descending on the country. But paradoxically, most of this coverage never made the news back home. This documentary contrasts coverage of the Iraq War with the reporting of previous conflicts, revealing how the 2003 invasion was sanitized and repackaged for the American public, and assessing the wider implications of the media’s role in war coverage. With commentary from Steve Katz, former counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs; Danny Schecter, author of Death of the Media; Prof. G. Kurt Piehler; and journalists Roger Peterson, Dorie Griggs, and Sig Christenson. Viewer discretion is advised. (59 minutes)