Video: Happy Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a time for Americans to say thank you to those who have served and are serving in the U.S. armed forces, and to remember in particular those who have been killed or injured in the line of duty. If you know someone in the U.S. service it takes just a few moments to say thank you and it really is appreciated by those who serve. 

And even if you don't agree with the Afghanistan war or other U.S. military activities that are currently underway remember that as Vietnam General William Westmoreland said, “The (U.S.) military don’t start wars. Politicians start wars.”

Memorial Day is also a good time to reflect on war in general and the tremendous suffering and destruction it causes. While there is still war we should not stop asking what are its root causes, and what more can we do to try and prevent it? 

The question of why war occurs is no doubt complex with many factors, but one component to keep in mind is the sheer size and business of war, and the affect it has on the livelihoods of millions of people.

Many are familiar with President Eisenhower's 1961 farewell address, and his famous warning about the 'Military-Industrial Complex'. If you haven't watched his full speech it is well worth the 15 minutes of your time.

Ike, a well respected leader with impeccable military credentials, was in a strong position to offer up such a warning.

One wonders if we'll ever see another Ike, or FDR, or TDR or Truman as U.S. President. One has the impression that they just don't make them like that anymore.

Review: Bin Laden: Shoot to Kill (Channel 4 On Demand)

A new Channel 4 docudrama on the Bin Laden raid premiered last night and provides new details on the covert op. It also features interview with senior U.S. government officials, a former Seal Team Six member, and a rather candid interview with President Obama. The trailer is embedded below; full video here.

One interesting element from the White House spin which comes through in the video is President Obama's repeated reference to there only being a 50-50 chance of Bin Laden being in the compound, and that this operation was basically a 'gamble'. President Obama has come under a lot of criticism of late for being too risk averse, so from a messaging and political strategy point of view it could be helpful for the President to beef up his risk taking image.

However, the natural question is whether this is the right spot politically for Obama to be positioning himself as a risk taker? I see two potential problems: first, by emphasizing the 50-50 gamble it makes Obama appear like he got lucky. Second, as opposed to gambling on financial regulatory or budget reform here his gamble here involved the lives of military personnel as well as a Pakistani military backlash.

From a military strategy perspective I can see advantages to emphasizing Obama's willingness to take risk on convert raids in terms of the message it sends to both U.S. enemies and 'frenemies' alike. Americans may also prefer that their President be 'lucky' rather than or in addition to being 'good'.

Overall it's an intriguing messaging strategy and the video is well worth a watch.

Bin Laden: Shoot to Kill (Channel 4 trailer) from Nutopia on Vimeo.

Channel 4's Description:

A stellar cast of White House insiders speak on camera about the operation to find and kill Osama Bin Laden, including the first - and extraordinary - documentary interview with President Barack Obama on the subject. 

From the anxiety-drenched minutes in the White House Situation Room to the deadly stairwells of Bin Laden's secret labyrinth, cinematic dramatisations take viewers deep inside one of the most important moments of our era, showing the US Navy Seals coming face to face with the most wanted man in history. 

Based on high-level CIA and White House briefings, and packed with exclusive stories and fresh insights, the film reveals that President Obama received a downbeat last-minute intelligence assessment, which caused many of his senior advisors to turn against the operation.

Pakistan 101: Bhutto Movie Review and Trailer

Pakistan is complex, messy, and an absolutely crucial place for the world to better understand.

Pakistan is described as a military that happens to have have a country attached to it. The Economist recently argued that the Pakistani-Indian border is the world's most dangerous (although I'd argue back that the North Korean-South Korean border is perhaps equally if not more dangerous). The country has nuclear weapons and has trafficked nuclear technology to North Korea, Iran and Libya. It is also perhaps ground zero in the War on Terror.

In the U.S., many questions have arisen since Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan about just how reliable a friend is Pakistan? Since 2002 the U.S. has sent nearly $20 billion in military and other aid to the country, with another $3 billion slated for 2011. How is that aid being used? Is this policy helpful or harmful to not only the U.S.'s interests, but Pakistan's?

The film Bhutto, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last year, is well made, engaging, informative, and highly recommended. While it perhaps can justifiably be accused of painting a positively-biased picture of Benazir Bhutto, it does not shy away from interviewing her critics and pointing out at least some of the accusations of corruption made against Bhutto and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, the current President of Pakistan.

This film is a recommended piece of edutainment for anyone interested in learning more about Pakistan and who likes learning through movies. It provides a helpful introduction to the history of Pakistan and the significant role the Bhutto clan have played.

Even more highly recommended is the book Ghost Wars by Steve Coll (who is interviewed in the film), which you can find on the right side of this blog in the Good Books and Films section.

Video: WikiSecrets -- Frontline's Profile of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange and Bradley Manning

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Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

Video: Afghanistan's Next President?

Amrullah Saleh, former Afghani Spy Chief

An interesting video interview from PBS's Frontline of Amrullah Saleh, the former head of espionage for the Karzai-Afghanistan government.

Some of the points made by Saleh, who served with the deceased Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud killed by Al Qaeda right before 9/11, include:

• He believes the U.S. Obama administration does not currently possess a grand strategy or vision for how to proceed in Afghanistan/Pakistan, and the wider region.
• He broke with President Karzai and resigned his spy chief position after Karzai pivoted towards trying to strike a "deal" with the Taliban. In general believes no lasting peace can ever be achieved through deals with the Taliban ; the only lasting peace will come by integrating the Taliban into a peaceful Afghanistan democratic process.
• On the question of how long will the U.S. need to stay in the region, "How long did it take to defeat communism?" (answer: 50 years).
• Believes the U.S. needs to step up raids into Pakistan and should effectively deal with the Pakistani's who are proving Al Qaeda and Taliban, namely Pakistan's ISI espionage arm.
• On how the Taliban and Al Qaeda are earning income, "they collect taxes, and they collect part of the (wheat) harvest", in addition to heroin (the Taliban has "diversified")
• He won't confirm or deny whether he will run for office against Karzai, but he has been making the rounds in Washington, and this interview would seem to serve.
• He appears to live out in the open in the Panjshir valley north of Kabul. And yes, he has bodyguards.

Other interview highlights not covered in the video after the break.