or


[08/12/13 - 09:07 AM]
Two-Hour Special "America vs. Iraq" Reveals the Inside Story of the Iraq War, Premieres 8/26, 9 PM
The National Geographic Channel film "gives new insight into the decision making in this conflict that, for a decade, has split U.S. public opinion."

[via press release from National Geographic Channel]

"MR. PRESIDENT, IT'S HELL. BAGHDAD IS HELL." - Security Advisor for Iraq

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL REVEALS THE INSIDE STORY OF THE IRAQ WAR FROM THE KEY PLAYERS IN D.C., LONDON AND BAGHDAD, IN THE TWO-HOUR SPECIAL AMERICA VS. IRAQ

Cheney. Powell. Petraeus. Blair. PLUS Top Iraqis Close to Saddam Hussein. For the First Time, All Sides Discuss the Iraq War.

America Vs. Iraq Premieres Monday, August 26, at 9 PM ET/PT

(WASHINGTON, D.C. - August 12, 2013) Perhaps it's easy to turn a blind eye to Iraq, 10 years later - to look away as the Iraqi people are on the verge of another war with themselves. And to fail to notice that nearly 1,000 people were killed last month, the deadliest month in the past five years. But some at the top can look now at the Iraq War with their eyes wide open. Is it confusion? Confidence? Regret? Pride? Anger?

Never before have the big players from Washington, London and Baghdad been brought together in one program to tell the inside story of the Iraq War. America Vs. Iraq, a powerful two-hour film premiering Monday, August 26, at 9 PM ET/PT on National Geographic Channel (NGC), gives new insight into the decision making in this conflict that, for a decade, has split U.S. public opinion. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com and follow us on Twitter at @NGC_PR.

From the same team at Brook Lapping Productions who created NGC's two Peabody award- winning films Putin, Russia and the West and Iran and the West, America Vs. Iraq follows the lead up to war in January 2002 through the withdrawal of U.S. troops to Iraq today.

Original interviews include Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, General David Petraeus, National Security Advisor Steve Hadley, CIA Deputy Director John McLaughlin, CIA head of Iraq Operations Luis Rueda, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Iraq's three prime ministers since the fall of Saddam: Nouri al-Maliki, Ibrahim Jaafari and Ayad Allawi. Among the former members of Saddam's regime who tell their part in the story is Saddam's last foreign minister, Naji Sabri, who illuminates his role in a meeting with a CIA source that convinced Washington that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

America Vs. Iraq goes inside the Oval Office at the moment of war. Vice President Cheney says in the film: "The president kicked everybody out except me he asked me to stay and then turned to me and said, 'Dick what do you think we should do?'" Hear Cheney describe how in January 2002 he called in the CIA to ask whether they could engineer a coup to remove Saddam Hussein. He says he was convinced that the biggest threat of another terrorist attack after 9/11 was from Saddam Hussein and Iraq. Going to the UN to demand weapon inspectors return to the country - as Colin Powell and many foreign statesman demanded - would "get us all tangled up," Cheney says.

We also hear from the top Iraqis who describe the lead-up to war from their side. General Hussam Amin, Iraq's liaison to UN weapons inspectors, says, "President Saddam Hussein sent for me. He said America and Britain would never be satisfied. They would look for any excuse to go to war. So we must play for time."

General Raad Hamdani of the Iraqi Republican Guard recounts his pleading conversation with Saddam, telling him that their weapons were obsolete. "We don't have modern air defense systems. We'll be target practice for American pilots."

And an Iraqi general describes why Iraq ignored orders to destroy all of their WMDs after the first Gulf War, and what they did in the following years. He explains: "We feared an attack by Iran. So we kept some weapons and hid them from the UN. We had 85 missiles that could reach Tehran. We also had the biological weapons program. And we were researching chemical weapons. ... We got the order to destroy all the hidden weapons and the equipment that hadn't been declared. And they were actually destroyed. But he ordered us to keep no written records. Why? Because documents can leak."

In America Vs. Iraq, Jay Garner and Paul Bremer - the two men who, after the fall of Saddam, were sent to restore Iraq - each tell their story. Garner recalls the challenges he immediately faced: "I went to the hospital ... and they didn't have any electricity or anything. I went to the sewage facility and there was nobody there and I thought, boy, you've gotta get this thing working, 'cause if we don't, we're gonna have an epidemic."

They describe the telephone call from Washington, in which Bremer breaks the news to Garner that he is coming to take over from him (Garner had been in Iraq for less than a month). And Bremer also describes a private meeting with President Bush when he told him that his policy of a quick departure from Iraq could not be carried out.

Then, Walter Slocombe, the Pentagon official in charge of the Iraqi defense ministry, describes how he decided that Saddam's army must be disbanded - and its soldiers not paid. Coalition Adviser Colonel Paul Hughes recalls: "I was dumbstruck. How could he have done this? You don't take 400,000 men who know where munitions are stored all over Iraq and say, 'You guys are no longer relevant.'" General David Petraeus recalls his conversation with Slocombe, saying, "'Walt, your policies are killing our soldiers.' ... that got his attention."

In 2006, Condoleezza Rice and her British counterpart, Jack Straw, went to Baghdad to tell Iraq's first democratically elected prime minister to resign. Straw reveals: "We were the occupying powers, we were the postcolonial imperialists trying to remove a democratically elected Prime Minister; this was tough stuff." As Rice uses all her diplomatic skills, former Prime Minister Jaafari recalls: "Rice had never been so gentle with me. Never before had I seen her being so feminine."

After 10 years of war, more than 4,500 American forces and more than 120,000 Iraqis have lost their lives. This year, the sectarian violence only seems to increase, placing the liberators' dreams of a peaceful Iraq still out of reach.

America Vs. Iraq is produced by Brook Lapping Productions for NGC. For Brook Lapping, series producer is Norma Percy. Executive producers are Brian Lapping and Paul Mitchell. Producer/Directors are David Alter and Charlie Smith. For NGC, executive producer is Michael Welsh; vice president, production & development is Kevin Mohs; senior vice president, production & development is Noel Siegel; president is Howard Owens.

###

National Geographic Channels

Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channels US are a joint venture between National Geographic and Fox Networks. The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education with smart, innovative programming and profits that directly support its mission. Launched in January 2001, National Geographic Channel (NGC) celebrated its fifth anniversary with the debut of NGC HD. In 2010, the wildlife and natural history cable channel Nat Geo WILD was launched, and in 2011, the Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo was unveiled. The Channels have carriage with all of the nation's major cable, telco and satellite television providers, with NGC currently available in 85 million U.S. homes. Globally, National Geographic Channel is available in more than 440 million homes in 171 countries and 38 languages. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com.





  [august 2013]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





[01/03/25 - 12:00 PM]
ESPN NBA Schedule Update: Memphis Grizzlies Visit San Antonio Spurs on January 17
This matchup replaces the previously scheduled Charlotte Hornets vs. Chicago Bulls game.

[01/03/25 - 11:31 AM]
MGM+ Unveils "Godfather of Harlem" Season Four First Look Images
In Season 4, Bumpy Johnson continues his bloody war for control of Harlem against New York's Mafia families, while contending with the emergence of a potential rival in newly arrived Black gangster Frank Lucas.

[01/03/25 - 10:00 AM]
Video: "Grosse Pointe Garden Society" - Official Sneak Peek - NBC
When four members of a suburban garden club get entangled in a scandalous murder, they're forced to bury the body - in their own well-manicured flower beds.

[01/03/25 - 09:09 AM]
Lifetime Unveils Full "Voices of a Lifetime" 2025 Slate with Music Icons Mary J. Blige, Lisa Lisa and Gloria Gaynor
The movie event kicks off on Saturday, January 25 at 8:00/7:00c with an all-new original movie executive produced by Mary J. Blige along with Jordan and John Davis.

[01/03/25 - 08:37 AM]
Date Announcement and First Look: Hulu Original Series "Shoresy"
Created by and starring Jared Keeso, "Shoresy" returns for season four on Wednesday, February 26 with all six new episodes exclusively available in the U.S. on Hulu.

[01/03/25 - 08:00 AM]
Video: AMC/AMC+ Release a Gripping New Teaser Trailer for Hit Noir Thriller "Dark Winds" Starring Zahn McClarnon
"Dark Winds" will return with an expanded third season exclusively on AMC and AMC+ on Sunday, March 9 at 9pm ET/PT with new episodes airing weekly on Sundays.

[01/03/25 - 07:00 AM]
Peacock Exclusively Streams DreamWorks' "The Wild Robot" Beginning January 24
Directed by three-time Academy Award nominee Chris Sanders, the heartwarming critically acclaimed film is voiced by Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Matt Berry, Ving Rhames, Mark Hamill and Catherine O'Hara.

[01/02/25 - 10:31 PM]
Video: "Paatal Lok" Season 2 - Official Teaser - Prime Video
A down and out cop lands the case of a lifetime when four suspects are nabbed in the assassination attempt of a prime time journalist.

[01/02/25 - 09:31 PM]
Video: "Black Warrant" - Official Trailer - Netflix
One jailer, thousands of criminals, and the dark secrets of a prison like never before.

[01/02/25 - 01:03 PM]
Video: All-New Extended Trailer for Survivalist Competition Series "Extracted" Set to Premiere Monday, February 10 on FOX
"Extracted" features 12 untrained competitors attempting to survive extremely grueling conditions, perilous terrain, and the threat of fearsome predators in the unforgiving Canadian wilderness.

[01/02/25 - 01:00 PM]
ABC's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2025" Is Top Program of the Night Across Primetime and Late-Night
The festive, star-studded celebration rings in the new year with 18 million total viewers during late-night edition - peaking at 22 million viewers during midnight quarter hour.

[01/02/25 - 12:51 PM]
Prime Video Registers TNF's Most-Watched Season in the 19-Year History of the Package Across Key Demographics
According to Nielsen's Panel Only measurement, TNF on Prime Video posted an +11% average viewership increase among total viewers over the previous season (13.20 million vs. 11.86 million).

[01/02/25 - 12:03 PM]
Video: Official Season 7 Trailer - "The Rookie"
John Nolan, once the oldest rookie in the LAPD, has used his life experience, determination and sense of humor to keep up with rookies 20 years his junior.

[01/02/25 - 12:01 PM]
Diddy's Inner Circle Breaks Their Silence in Peacock's All-New Documentary Special "Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy"
The 90-minute documentary special tells the story of Sean Combs' early years and his decades-long transformation to Puffy and then to Diddy, with crucial insight into the forces that shaped the man and may have made him a monster.

[01/02/25 - 11:15 AM]
2025 United Football League Schedule on ESPN & ABC Platforms Revealed
The full 22-game slate on ESPN and ABC platforms is also available on ESPN+.