Battle for Haditha and the anniversary of the war in Iraq

There has been much media reporting on Iraq in the last couple of weeks due to the fifth anniversary of the war.

The most striking thing I watched last week was Nick Broomfields film 'Battle for Haditha'. Broomfield has strayed from his old documentary style, where he appears on camera interrogating his subjects and chasing them around. His new dramatised style, seen first in the film 'Ghosts' shows how he has reinvented his film making format. However, his films continue to carry as much impact if not more than his old documentaries such as 'The leader, the driver and the drivers wife'.

'Battle for Haditha' is a striking film that shows the realities of war, a war where inept, young, underprivileged American marines crack under the pressure of war. These men, traumatised by what they have witnessed in Iraq, mentally disturbed and sleep deprived snap after one of their fellow marines is killed by a road side bomb. They proceed to slaughter 24 innocent Iraqis, men, women and children in revenge for the loss of their colleague. The killing is indiscriminate, although the marines insist they thought they were following marine procedure, ultimately they were so scared and furious that they seemed not to care who they killed. Witnesses even testified that the Americans enjoyed the killing, laughing and counting their victims as they went.

What was sad and infuriating about the film, apart from the loss of innocent life, was the way in which the marines, clearly suffering mental trauma, were refused medical help. Even when they asked for it. Apparently it is marine policy that they should receive help after their tour of duty has finished. Instead, they sent them back out with guns, ensuring the massacre that occurred. There is no doubt that there have probably been many other cases similar to Haditha, that we will never know about. The marines try to cover up these incidents, effectively all the soldiers involved in Haditha got away with it.

The film is not inherently bias towards the Iraqis, Broomfield includes the story of the two Iraqis who planted the bomb, setting off the terrible chain of events. They watch the slaughter, terrified and racked with guilt - The bloody cycle of attack, revenge and killing goes on in Iraq still.

The main point of the film, I felt was the struggle between the Americans and Iraqis to win the support of ordinary civilians. A battle which the Americans - and the British - seem to have lost. Five years on and the Iraqis cannot forgive the destruction we have caused them, we have no doubt bred a new generation who justifiably hate the west. We have let civil war loose in Iraq and destroyed their country, it is no wonder we have lost all support from ordinary Iraqis.