The Grand War of Civilizations

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Description

For decades, Iraq was Saddam Hussein's sadistic stomping ground. Then it became George W. Bush's ideological battlefield. The pivot point was 9/11 and a perceived link between Saddam and al Qaeda, bringing calls for an invasion from top American and Western leaders. This program examines the consequences of that hasty decision-making process: misadventure on a grand scale, according to many observers, and an extremist backlash that engulfed Iraq in bloodshed. Viewers meet retired Major General James Marks, senior intelligence officer for coalition land forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and gain insight as to why the occupation and counter-insurgency faced so many problems. Events in both Fallujah and Baghdad are studied. Numerous accounts from victims of sectarian violence, questionable imprisonment, and military atrocities are presented.