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I recently watched a movie I had seen in my teens, "The Year of the Pig". Vietnam. It's interesting, because after I saw that movie, I never believed anything that government said could be taken at face value. That was like '69. Movies can be very influencing. But that was the message I wanted to hear.
Even if there is an AQ, it's probably a spent force. Most Muslims do not want to live in caves, or with fundamentalists. There's no reason to take the idea that Bush's policies are completely wrongheaded, to extremes.
Ultimately Carter could have rejected the Shah, talked about democracy in Iran. The Dems could have undone the notion that our interests in the MIddle East were 1) Oil 2) .... ummm, nothing.
Why did we get Reagan? Of course he was an illusion. On some level, Bush is make-up democracy for people we never felt deserved any self-determination. But look at the Egyptian elections. Democracy in the Muslim Middle East is not likely to match the pseudo-Christian, semi-Western model Bush proposes.
I guess the problem with this documentary is that it won't change any minds. On the other hand, there are some films that successfully carry the message "See, you were right, you are right, so continue". I hope that's what this is. Really. But I love the BBC, even when I disagree with them.