No End in Sight

The first year of the occupation of Iraq, told by the people who made and carried out the decisions. Among those speaking are former ambassadors, generals, officers who served in Baghdad and American officials who worked in the occupation administration. Charles Ferguson directed his first film. The focus is not whether the war was justified but how the aftermath was managed. Three decisions are taken up in particular: dissolving the army entirely, removing Baath Party members from state posts, and failing to stop the looting. The argument is institutional rather than personal: the failure came not from a lack of knowledge but from those who knew being ignored, and the people saying so held office at the time. The film's force comes from the identity of its sources; these are not antiwar activists but the people who ran it. It won an award at Sundance in 2007 and was nominated for the documentary feature Oscar. Who it is for: viewers who like political documentary and the study of decision-making. Who it is not for: anyone expecting balanced presentation; the film is openly a critique of an administration.