Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill, author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, powers this chilling documentary based on another of his works, Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield. Along with director Rick Rowley, Scahill seeks to pull the curtain back on covert operations carried out as part of the US government’s never-ending “war on terror,” and the results are nothing short of shocking.
The Joint Special Operations Command, celebrated as heroes for their role in the assassination of Osama bin Laden, have often been called the “most covert unit in the military,” and some of the deeds which Scahill and Rowley attribute to them are far from heroic. While most American citizens may want to avoid thinking about the atrocities carried out in the name of “freedom” and “patriotism,” Dirty Wars forces the examination of secret raids, drone strikes, and executions carried out with no trial.
That’s not to say the film is without flaw – there are more than a few segments that comes across as heavy-handed when the simple facts would have been more than sufficient to spark an emotional response. But despite a few shortcomings, Dirty Wars is an informative and well-made documentary that shines a light on something that been kept in the dark for far too long.