First showings of anti-war documentary draw about 100

Despite criticism as being disrespectful to American troops, an anti-war documentary has attracted local residents who think the film has proven its point.

"Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War" is being distributed by the Southeast Missouri Coalition for Peace and Justice, a local anti-war group. The film presents arguments that the Bush administration had intentionally given distorted military information to the public in order to garner support for the war.

Attendance at Thursday and Sunday's showings at the Cape Girardeau Public Library totaled about 100 people. The proportion of people who were for the war to those against it was unclear, said Dr. Robert Polack, assistant professor of social work at Southeast Missouri State University and leader of the coalition.

If people who opposed the film attended, he said, they did not participate in the discussions after the viewings.

"The film helps energize people," Polack said. "They see what an important threat the breach of trust between the government and the people is to our democracy."

Vergie Kies of Cape Girardeau said that she and her husband, David Sr., concluded long before the film that the Iraq war was unnecessary, believing that money and oil were the main motives. One of the film's strong points, she said, is how it shows recordings of officials within the Bush administration repeating "lies that just kept going" and "after they were proven wrong, they just shoved it off like 'Oh, well. We made a mistake.'"

"Patriotism is how you hold up for your country and also how you tell them when they're wrong," Kies said. "It's the American way."

The film includes over 20 interviews with retired CIA and Pentagon officials whose careers lasted from 20 to 35 years, some of them lasting into the Bush administration.

"I don't think anyone would question their patriotism," said Celeste Goff of Cape Girardeau. The fact that high-ranking officials from the inside are willing to speak out and put their careers on the line is impressive, she said, and the film solidified the opinions she had going into the war. "I felt we should have let the U.N. do their job."

Americans need to be concerned and informed about what is going on, said Deborah McBride, candidate for Cape Girardeau County public administrator. The officials in the film showed information that people should have received to be better informed, she said.

"I am against the war," McBride said, "but I am supportive of our troops in whatever capacity while they're there performing their jobs, doing what they need to."

The final showing will be at 7 p.m. today in room 121 of Rhodes Hall at Southeast Missouri State University.

jmetelski@semissourian.com

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