>From the New York Times no less. TV Guide has also given "The Hidden Wars of
desert Storm" a 5 Star rating, their highest, even though the film is not
being shown on American TV. Gerard, Audrey and others - including me - will
soon be going to work on a documentary about Colombia. These are truly
fabulous people.
Anyone wishing to order the tape may contact
Free Will Productions
P.O. Box 5476
North Hollywood, CA 91616
Or call 818-487-2879 or e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Price is $30 - this includes shipping and handling.
April 20, 2001
'The Hidden Wars of Desert Storm': Questioning U.S. Motives in the Persian
Gulf War
By DAVE KEHR
It has been 11 years since Saddam Hussein sent his troops marching into
Kuwait and 10 years since the United States and its allies announced a
sudden cease-fire in the conflict that came to be known as the Persian Gulf
war. Yet for a large number of Americans, the reasons behind the conflict
remain unclear and its consequences obscure.
As its title suggests, "The Hidden Wars of Desert Storm," a documentary made
on video by Gerard Ungerman and Audrey Brohy, is a frankly skeptical account
of America's involvement in Iraq, from the C.I.A.'s early support of Mr.
Hussein as a stabilizing force in the region to the war's untidy aftermath.
The filmmakers say the conflict has left large portions of the country
littered with radioactive spent rounds made from depleted uranium. One
result has been a drastic increase in cancer among both Iraqi civilians and
American soldiers who served in the conflict.
Mr. Ungerman and Ms. Brohy interview an impressive range of authorities, not
all of them from the same end of the political spectrum. Gen. Norman
Schwarzkopf, commander of what the Americans called Operation Desert Storm,
is played against former Attorney General Ramsey Clark; the former head of
the United Nations Iraq program, Denis Halliday, finds his opposite number
in a State Department spokesman, David Welch.
The United States government is portrayed in the film as having deliberately
exaggerated Mr. Hussein's threat to the oil-rich nations of the Persian
Gulf, hoping to frighten one of them into allowing an American base to be
established within its borders. Eventually Saudi Arabia granted permission.
But the filmmakers are unable to find photographic proof of the 250,000
Iraqi troops said to have been poised at the Kuwaiti border. An
investigative reporter, Jean Heller, interviewed by the filmmakers, says
bluntly, "The administration lied to the Saudis to get the invitation to
come in."
The film also contends that the mysteriously premature cease-fire was called
to allow Mr. Hussein to put down a revolutionary movement that might have
deprived the United States of its favorite boogeyman; that the United States
government knowingly suppressed evidence that the depleted uranium rounds
were toxic; and that the sanctions against Iraq have been allowed to outrun
their purpose and have caused a health-care disaster among Iraqi citizens.
Though the filmmakers are not above using sentimental close-ups of sad-eyed
children to underline their points, "The Hidden Wars of Desert Storm," which
opens today at the Cinema Village, emerges as an uncommonly sober,
well-researched film of its type.
THE HIDDEN WARS OF DESERT STORM
Written, produced and directed by Gerard Ungerman and Audrey Brohy;
directors of photography, Mr. Ungerman and Ms. Brohy; edited by Jason
Stelzel; music by Fritz Heede; released by Free-Will Productions. At the
Cinema Village, 22 East 12th Street, Greenwich Village. Running time: 64
minutes; shown with a 30-minute short documentary, "The F.L.I.R. Project."
These films are not rated.
WITH: Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, Ramsey Clark, Denis Halliday, Jean Heller and
Scott Ritter; John Hurt (narrator).
Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company | Privacy Information
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