Review of No End in Sight (2007) by Aaron G — 03 Jul 2012

Finally finished this 2007 Oscar-nominated film known for soberly telling the story of US actions in Iraq, mostly about the occupation. I was amazed at how much I learned, after not being sure I wanted to put in the time to watch this, and rank this among the top documentaries I've ever seen.

The magnitude of the suffering from mistaken decisions (which ignored the advice of experts interviewed), is overwhelming to consider, especially given the feeling I get from the film that the post-invasion course actually could have gone okay.

How surprised I was by that possibility speaks to how long this conflict was needlessly drawn out: the time when things might have been wrapped up successfully is now so many years past, and since then Iraqi civilians and US soldiers have continued to suffer, and incalculable resources have been squandered.

There is so much to learn not only about what happened, but what must be considered in future conflicts, that this film deserves multiple viewings. Luckily, it's on Netflix streaming that's not a problem.