It’s very hard to sit through No End In Sight (see the trailer here), the new documentary by Charles Ferguson about the American misadventure in Iraq, and not feel deeply dismayed. In a series of interviews with soldiers and diplomats and policy makers who desired nothing more than to fulfill the president’s goal of free and democratic Iraq, Ferguson shows us that a series of disastrous decisions among a closed set of policy-makers—Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Paul Bremer—high-handedly undermined efforts to bring normalcy to Iraq.
Among the most angering moments in the film are clips from Rumsfeld’s press conferences, where the arrogant and preening defense secretary acts as if everything’s under control, while knowledgable people on the scene sadly sit by, knowing that he was literally ruining their chances for success. Over the weekend came reports that even the presidential candidates who are determined to end our involvement in Iraq are resigned to staying there for at least several years. Separately, sources are saying that the administration wants to get rid of Iraqi prime minister Maliki, stating that he is an impediment to peace. If he is, a lot of members of the Bush administration have preceded him in the role.