Big gaps in Gulf War documentary
The Gulf War: a television historyABC TV, Wednesday February 14 and 21, 8.30pm
Reviewed by Jennifer Thompson It's only five years since the 1990-91 Gulf war and yet it's faded from many people's memories. Nevertheless it was a turning point increasing US strategic dominance in the Middle East and particularly its oil resources, and it showed the world what the end of the Cold War was going to be about. The first two-hour instalment mentions these points, along with a host of others that are more spurious and reminiscent of the West's propaganda campaign before, during and after the US-led assault on Iraq. It plays the "ridding the world of an aggressive dictator" tune repeatedly, while noting the West's propaganda campaign to demonise and liken Hussein with Hitler. The documentary notes US and British arms dealings with Hussein, but then has Margaret Thatcher and US-Middle East adviser Richard Haass saying that they had mistakenly thought that after an eight-year war with Iran, Iraq would not undertake any other military ventures. Why did they sell the arms if they didn't want them used? This question is not answered, nor is the continuing British Matrix-Churchill scandal over arms-related sales to Iraq after the invasion of Kuwait looked into. Thatcher adds some light relief, coming across as a lunatic warmonger that urged Bush to pursue "an aggressor that must be stopped". She must have thought the British people wouldn't remember Britain's aggression to keep its colonial possession the Falklands. Bush's US national security adviser General Brent Scowcroft also appears as raving warmonger, urging Bush on and delightedly watching CNN's coverage of the bombardment of Baghdad with the war plan on his lap. There are many points to take issue with. However, the most obvious is the impression given that Bush did everything possible, including "going the extra mile for peace" to avoid the war. In reality, when Iraq's intentions toward Kuwait became clear to the US Bush began pushing for war, undermining various efforts to negotiate a solution that would have allowed Iraq to withdraw. He also refused to address Kuwait's flouting of OPEC production quotas. That said, there are some interesting and revealing aspects to some of the interviews. Various of Colin Powell's remarks indicate the extent of thought given to how the war was presented in the US and the rest of the world. The other interesting aspect was the look at the high-tech weaponry used — the sanitised video game war — and how it contrasted with the sort of damage inflicted. One example was the bombing of a public air raid shelter in Baghdad in which over 240 civilians were killed. I was unable to preview the second instalment, but am interested to see how it presents the carnage inflicted on the retreating Iraqi troops, and whether it takes up the issue currently being dodged by both British and US governments — the Gulf War syndrome affecting war veterans. A significant number of veterans from both countries are suffering from a number of symptoms ranging from irritating, to debilitating to fatal. Both governments have refused to recognise the problem, although Britain's Ministry of Defence has recently announced an investigation into the problem. Worth watching.