FARENHEIT 9/11
Michael Moore

This award winning film is clearly an anti-Bush film. His history is exaggerated and his qualitative correlations are at time spurious, but the message must be decided by the beholder.

His movie narrative goes something like this. Bush stole the election and remains in the high 40’s in terms of overall popularity. 9/11 gave him the impetus to catapult to the top and get his conservative agenda passed. Democrats went limp and supported the Iraq war.

Armed with presidential and military macho, Iraq proved to be a paper tiger. The president proclaimed victory. The off year elections went great for Bush and then the war went into the toilet compared to the early victory.

According to Moore, Bush never administered a profitable business. His losses and those of his dad were underwritten by the Saudi’s through various brokers. Saudi’s own a trillion dollars in US equity and if they dumped their holdings, the country is in trouble. Saudi’s allowed Wahhabies to prosper. They planned 9/11 from a supposedly a not so bright Osama Bin Laden a family outcast. Bin Ladens were hurried out of the country and the rest is history.

Only one member of the house or senate has a child in the war. Most of it is fought by the kids of the bottom 40%. In the middle of this the Carlyle Group and Halliburton are allegedly making a ton of money off the war.

Marine recruiters are interviewed. Representatives and Senators are cornered, and everyday folks are sequestered. All tell the tale that Moore has arranged. Even Brittney Spears is interviewed.

At the end, Bush is given a chance to deliver a joke and goes flat. Crowd cheers.

9/11 is being played in at least some cities as an underground flick. In some papers, there are little if any advertisements. The movie theatre that I attended shows Indies and second run films and does a damn good job. The owner quickly issued a disclaimer that the movie is for one to interpret and that management did not support or oppose the movie. The place was packed.

In watching the film, you know it is an exaggeration, but wonder how much truth is there. The movie has taken a cult status and this film will be there with Moore’s ROGER AND ME, BOWLING IN COLUMBINE, and this FARENHEIT 9/11. It is quite a trinity.

The basic argument is that Iraq is really WAG THE DOG. History will tells us if that is true.