The movie “Redacted” is an original, powerful condemnation of the crime of George W. Bush and his lying cronies, who invaded Iraq on the false pretense of its possession of WMDs, as well as on the unfounded assumption that it was responsible for 9/11. Notwithstanding the well-known shortness of our memories, what the U.S. did to Iraq is not likely to be forgotten anytime soon. This film will help keep the shameful memory alive. It will be remembered for a famous quotation, particularly pertinent to the war in Iraq – “The first victim of war is truth” – and perhaps also for the GIs’ designation of their battlefield, Iraq, long before Trump’s “tough talk”, as a “shithole country”.
The film is fictional but centered on a war-crime that really happened. Statistics recalled in the movie include those concerning the American check-points’ controls, during which 2000 Iraqi citizens were shot. Only 60 of them were identified later as terrorists. At one check-point, the double crime and cover-up of the rape of a 15-year-old Iraqi girl and the murder of her family by American soldiers, gave the movie its curious title. The rape and murder, officially, became . . . “fake news”, redacted, black-markered, out of existence.
I could not help wondering, after viewing the film, what devout Iraqi Muslims must think of their Christian invaders and oppressors. The blind faith and blind folly of the messianic Bush administration, believing itself appointed by God, who “blessed the beginnings” of the United States, according to the Great Seal of the U.S. which proclaims their mission as a nation to create “a new world order” (“novus ordo seclorum”), are tragic reasons for not only ridiculing but rejecting religion. Religion, in fact, is not mentioned in the movie. It is shocking enough to live through the horror of the redacted “incident” – dismissed not as “collateral damage” but literally erased from the pages of history. It never happened ! In fact it did, as did this disastrous, devastating war. If Islam has never forgotten or forgiven the medieval Christian Crusades, it would be surprising if, centuries from now, the war in Iraq is not remembered by Muslims as a 20th century Christian Crusade, intended to destroy them and their religion. The world would be so much better off if there were no religions at all.
RIDENDA , DELENDA RELIGIO
