The documentary film Why We Fight is one which will make you either nod your head in agreement, or discard with contempt. Its subtext is the Dwight D. Eisenhower's farewell address as President, in which he warned the nation about the military–industrial complex: a dangerous mix in which economics and non-military forces dictate whether the USA should go to war. In that sense, filmmaker Eugene Jarecki, who got no to very little American financial assistance in making this film, barely scratches the surface.
As a film Why We Fight starts well but then gets a little scattered. When it refocuses it does so with what shapes up to be a political agenda which weakens the topic. But it still manages to drive the point home.
While some critics found this documentary completely biased and a left-wing propaganda, I recommend viewing it with an open mind. For me it didn’t shed much new light on the reasons we go to war but it still provided some insights. In the words of a retired police detective interviewed in the film, whose son died on 9/11 and who felt betrayed when President Bush, deep into the Iraq war 'clarified' the war on Iraq was unrelated to 9/11: "I was so insane with wanting to get even, that I was willing to believe anything."