Sick to My Stomach

Rarely do I judge the quality of a film by its ability to make me want to vomit. After watching Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers, however, I felt sick to my stomach. It wasn’t just the detailed accounts of war profiteering and the sad fact that war makes some rich and many more miserable. What made me even sicker was a feeling deep inside me that there is no remedy for this bleak situation because humans are innately greedy and cruel and predisposed not only to slaughter each other, but to try to get rich in the process.

Iraq for Sale tells the story of how Halliburton/KBR, CACI, and Blackwater (to name a few) have been given no-bid contracts to handle logistical support and reconstruction in Iraq and have reaped billions in the process. While many Americans have probably heard some of the allegations of how this outsourcing has led to cost overruns and substandard services, fewer are probably aware of how outsourcing has contributed to the breakdown of the rule of law.

The film examines, for example, the role played by private contractors in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal and points to the fact that private workers are not subject to the same laws and regulations as military personnel. The film also documents specific instances of how cost cutting and attention to the bottom line have repeatedly put employees at risk, often with devastating results.

There is no doubt that privatizing the Iraq war has opened the door to enormous profits. Sadly, the relentless pursuit of profit in Iraq has taken place at the expense of the American taxpayers, the Iraqi people, and the lives of rank and file workers. And it sickens me to think that not a damn thing will be done about it.

If you want to feel sick, go see Iraq for Sale. It’s currently screening at multiple locations throughout the greater Boston area and elsewhere in Massachusetts through November 11. The screenings are free, but you need to sign up in advance. To do so, click here.

If I thought I could stomach it again, I’d sign up to host my own screening.