Since the US media has demonstrably proved itself unable to offer balanced and unbiased reporting of the actions of the US and its "foreign policy" you owe it to yourself on the other sides perspective. That can conveniently be done by popping along to your local screening of The Control Room as Agent J and myself did this evening.

"The Control Room" follows the reporting of the US invasion of Iraq by Al Jazeeras. From Bush's ultimatum to Saddam, to the occupation of Baghdad and the infamous "Mission Accomplished" speech it shows there are always two sides to a news story. This documentary gives us a perspective that wasn't written by the winner, and is much closer to the real people involved in the invasion than that told by the American "shock and awe" military propaganda machine.

If nothing else "The Control Room" gives a fascinating incite to the media side show that is laid on by US central command for the benefit of the worlds press, but there is certainly more to be learned. The people who speak, from Al Jazeeras staff (one who is subsequently killed in US targeting of Al Jazeeras offices in Baghdad) to American press office Lt John Rushing do so candidly and often with amazing clarity of the situation they are in. Won cannot help but see the entire operation as one that was planned and directed from start to finish and the actual people are inconsequential compared to the objectives.

We are reminded over and over by Rumsfeld how Al Jazeeras dogged reporting of the humanist side of the conflict is viewed as propaganda by the USA. Ironically with 18 months to contemplate history Rumsfeld's words frequently come back to bite him and reveal the government position to be entirely vacuous, if not downright pious. With such hindsight we can see the bitter irony in comments from Bush like "we hope the American prisoners are treated humanely", Rumsfeld chastising Al Jazeera from "breaching the Geneva convention" by filming American dead and prisoners, and a rant about how disgusting its persistent lies are and that truth would ultimately catch up with them.

An import subtext that runs through "The Control Room" is the question of America's involvement in the Palestinian-Isreali conflict and contempt with which America is held in the Arab world for holding such duplicative standards for "freedom" of Arab peoples. This is an important issue to bear in mind when we see how people who agree that Saddam is a bad and evil person can be reduced to complete shock, confusion and resentment when the supposed "good guys" (that's America) ride into town guns a blazing apparently to defend Arabs when they have demonstrably failed to do so for over thirty years. One hardly blame them for being suspicious and for refusing to just regurgitate the military's propaganda in lieu of just straight facts of civilians dying and chaos ruling.

So do yourself a favour, add "The Control Room" to your must see list of 2004. Its right up there with "Fahrenheit 9/11", "Outfoxed", "The Corporation" and "The Fog of War". I promise you they will free your mind.

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