FRONTLINE: Bush's War Series

Lectures curated around FRONTLINE: Bush's War, which examines 9/11 and Al Qaeda, Afghanistan and Iraq, WMD and the Insurgency, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Fallujah, and the Surge.

On the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, Frontline reveals these stories in meticulous detail, and the political dramas played out at the highest levels — George W. Bush and Tony Blair, Dick Cheney and Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleezza Rice, Osama Bin Laden. The battles were over policy, but the conflict was deeply personal.

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Sebastian Junger on War
Sebastian Junger on War
Sebastian Junger
November 11, 2010
01:34:00
Sebastian Junger, who was embedded for months in Afghanistan with American troops, discusses his new book, War, and the documentary based on the book, Restrepo, with New York Times columnist Bob Herbert.
Iraq and Beyond: A Boston Review Ideas Matter Event
Iraq and Beyond: A Boston Review Ideas Matter Event
Nir Rosen
October 28, 2010
01:21:00
The United States recently reduced its Iraq commitment to 50,000 “non-combat” troops. What is next for Iraq, Afghanistan, and U.S. international strategy? What was achieved in Iraq and what lessons can be learned for Afghanistan? With Nir Rosen, Andrew Bacevich, and Barry Posen.
God in America: Media Report Card
Dan Gilgoff
September 28, 2010
01:26:00
Reacting to both 9/11 and the religious dimension of the Bush administration, many media organizations scaled up their reporting on religion and spirituality. This discussion examines the current state of the religion beat. What is the quality of coverage?
Washington Rules: America's Path to Permanent War
Andrew Bacevich
September 24, 2010
01:11:00
Andrew Bacevich, international relations professor at Boston University, says now is the time to examine the Washington consensus on national security. He argues national priorities must shift from fixing Afghanistan to fixing Detroit.
Tony Blair: My Political Life
Tony Blair: My Political Life
Tony Blair
September 16, 2010
00:55:26
Former British prime minister Tony Blair discusses his new political memoir, A Journey: My Political Life, in conversation with noted journalist and editor Tina Brown. Tony Blair's emergence as Labour Party leader in 1994 marked a seismic shift in British politics.
Torture, Privacy, and Presidential Power
Torture, Privacy, and Presidential Power
Charles Fried
September 7, 2010
00:59:28
Father and son political philosophy team Charles and Gregory Fried sit down for a conversation about terrorism and torture, and their new book, Because It Is Wrong: Torture, Privacy, and Presidential Power in the Age of Terror.
Eric Blehm: How Eleven Green Berets Forged a New Afghanistan
Eric Blehm
February 9, 2010
00:09:26
Eric Blehm and Bethanne Patrick discuss Blehm's new book, The Only Thing Worth Dying For: How Eleven Green Berets Forged a New Afghanistan.
Invisible History: Afghanistan's Untold Story
Paul Fitzgerald
February 4, 2009
01:11:13
Paul Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould, authors of Invisible History: Afghanistan's Untold Story address Afghan policy choices facing President Obama.
Three Trillion Dollar War: True Cost of the Iraq Conflict
Linda Bilmes
October 29, 2008
01:21:23
Linda Bilmes, expert in budgeting and public finance at Harvard's Kennedy School, discusses the true cost of the Iraq conflict, as calculated in her new book, co-authored with Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. What expense items have been hidden from American taxpayers?
Audio-only
Terrorism and US Foreign Policy
Catherine V. Scott
October 21, 2008
00:43:50
Catherine V. Scott, professor and chair of political science at Agnes Scott College, presents a multimedia look at Imagining Terror in an Era of Globalization: Popular Constructions of Terrorism and US Foreign Policy.
Audio-only
PRI's The World: Invisible Nation
Quil Lawrence
April 29, 2008
00:49:48
Quil Lawrence discusses the Iraq War's seldom-told success story, the rise of the Kurds of northern Iraq. Lawrence has recently released a new book Invisible Nation: How the Kurds' Quest for Statehood Is Shaping Iraq and the Middle East, based on his experiences as a reporter in Iraq.
Iraq: An Endgame
Dan Reiter
January 17, 2008
01:22:08
Dr. Reiter spells out the challenges and options in Iraq and places them in a broad framework to help others evaluate alternatives and arrive at their own answers. Dr. Dan Reiter is a professor and chair of the Political Science Department at Emory University.
Capitol Perspective: Heroes of Iraq and Afghanistan
Edward Kennedy
November 9, 2007
00:29:30
Ted Kennedy pays tribute to the fallen heroes of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This lecture also contains excerpts from Remember Us, a NECN documentary, which debuted at a Northeastern event honoring veterans on November 9, 2007, as well as excerpts and speeches from the day's events.
Audio-only
Seymour E. Goodman on Technology and Terrorism
Seymour E. Goodman
November 7, 2007
00:19:27
Professor Goodman's research focuses on international technological development, technology diffusion, and related public policy issues. Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) and PBA present Dr.
Monitoring the Threat: The Center for Disease Control
Julie Gerberding
October 24, 2007
00:36:21
Dr. Julie Gerberding discusses business at the nation's headquarters for monitoring disease threats, the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
Audio-only
Bioviolence: Preventing Biological Terror and Crime
Barry Kellman
October 4, 2007
01:00:31
Barry Kellman, discusses his book, Bioviolence: Preventing Biological Terror and Crime, and describes how diseases such as smallpox, anthrax, or ebola might be used for hostile purposes. His book explores developers of disease weapons including rogue states and groups such as Al-Qaeda.
Audio-only
Jon Peede: Operation Homecoming
Jon Peede
August 30, 2007
00:10:12
In support of PBS' national premier of Ken Burns' The War, the Forum Network has produced a handful of short interviews that address the impact of wartime experiences on military service-people and their communities when they return home from active duty.
Audio-only
Insider's Briefing on the Pivotal Nation of Pakistan
Mahmud Ali Durrani
August 6, 2007
00:14:52
Mahmud Ali Durrani, ambassador from Pakistan, shares his perspective on his country.
Audio-only
Fiasco: American Military Adventure in Iraq
Thomas E. Ricks
August 1, 2007
00:53:43
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Thomas E. Ricks discusses the American military adventure in Iraq, with a preface on recent developments.
Refusing to Fight: The Road From Ar Ramadi
Refusing to Fight: The Road From Ar Ramadi
Camilo Mejia
June 18, 2007
00:34:01
Camilo Mejia talks about and reads excerpts from his new book The Road From Ar Ramadi. Camilo Mejia was the first Iraq veteran to refuse to fight in the war. In his book, he argues passionately for human rights and the end to an unjust war.
Elizabeth de la Vega: Making a Case For Impeachment
Elizabeth de la Vega
May 9, 2007
01:08:53
Elizabeth de la Vega, former federal prosecutor and author of U.S. v Bush et al: Fraud Worse than Enron, conducts a hypothetical grand jury indictment of administration officials who conspired to defraud the United States by misleading the nation into war.
Grace Under Fire: Letters of Faith in Times of War
Andrew Carroll
April 17, 2007
00:42:15
Andrew Carroll reads from his new book, Grace Under Fire: Letters of Faith in Times of War, a moving record of the importance of religion and spirituality to troops and their families from the American Revolution to the fighting in Iraq.
Audio-only
Challenges in Iraq
Ali A. Allawi
April 17, 2007
01:28:27
Join Ali Allawi, former Minister of Defense and Minister of Finance in the Iraqi Transitional Government; Ambassador Barbara Bodine, who has spent most of her career in the Middle East, most recently as a coordinator for post-conflict reconstruction in Iraq; and, Ambassador Peter Galbraith, author o
Audio-only
Love in a Torn Land: Flight from Iraqi Vengeance
Jean Sasson
April 12, 2007
00:52:57
Jean Sasson discusses his book Love in a Torn Land: The True Story of a Freedom Fighter's Flight from Iraqi Vengeance, which tells the story of Joanna Al-Askari Hussain and describes the plight of the Kurdish people, who have been suppressed by the Iraqis, Turks, Iranians, and Syrians.
Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace
Ali A. Allawi
April 4, 2007
01:13:10
Iraqi diplomat Ali A. Allawi presents an insider's view of the ongoing crisis in Iraq. How can devastated Iraq end sectarian violence and achieve peace?
Iran: War or Peace?
Kenneth Pollack
March 20, 2007
01:51:29
Kenneth Pollack discusses the tension between the US and Iran, and the possibility of war.
Audio-only
Counting the Dead in Iraq
Gilbert Burnham
February 27, 2007
01:23:04
Gilbert Burnham explains how his 2006 Johns Hopkins study arrived at a different number (650,000) than the UN did (34,000) in its estimate of Iraqis killed in the war.
Great Decisions: The US in the Middle East
John Kelly
January 25, 2007
01:22:12
John Kelly draws on his vast experience in diplomatic posts and with the State Department to provide background on the situation in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon and explore US options for the future.
Human Rights in Iraq and Beyond
Ann Clwyd
November 15, 2006
01:14:03
Ann Clwyd, the UK's Special Envoy on Human Rights in Iraq, discusses human rights in the world today. For more than 25 years, Ann Clwyd has been a staunch supporter and campaigner for human rights around the world.
Operation Homecoming
Andrew Carroll
November 11, 2006
01:23:33
Operation Homecoming is a program created by the National Endowment for the Arts to encourage returning soldiers to write about their wartime experiences. Their poems, essays and stories will soon be published in a literary anthology.
America and the Progressive-Conservative Debate
William Kristol
October 30, 2006
01:31:44
William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, and John Podesta, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress, debate the issues, from stem cell research to the war on terror, that define and often divide American politics today.
Audio-only
Yaron Brook: Why the Forward Strategy of Freedom Had to Fail
Yaron Brook
October 22, 2006
01:47:29
As an expert on foreign policy and the Middle East, Yaron Brook is interviewed for his answers to a range of questions related to the Arab-Israeli conflict, the war in Iraq, the Iranian threat and Totalitarian Islam and terrorism.
Iraq: Press, War, and American Exceptionalism
Michael Massing
September 27, 2006
00:48:54
Michael Massing critiques the American media's reporting in Iraq, focusing on favoritism shown toward the US military.
Audio-only
Inside Afghanistan: President Karzai Post Taliban
Sarah Chayes
September 11, 2006
01:23:18
Sarah Chayes discusses the future of Afghanistan.
Beyond Broadcast Conference: The War Tapes
Deborah Scranton
May 12, 2006
00:18:15
Deborah Scranton discusses the creation of her Internet film, The War Tapes, a documentary shot by US soldiers from the front lines of Iraq.
Defending Guantanamo Bay Detainees
Thomas B. Wilner
March 30, 2006
01:22:40
In a program cosponsored by Amnesty International USA, three lawyers currently defending prisoners in Guantanamo Bay talk about who the detainees are and why the United States continues to hold them.
Breaking Ranks
Mike Hoffman
April 4, 2005
01:33:59
Two Iraq war veterans, Mike Hoffman and Paul Rieckhoff, discuss rising dissent to the war in Iraq within the American military, the backdoor draft, and what it really means to "support our troops." Mother Jones reported in a recent cover story that more and more US soldiers are speaking out o
Audio-only
Development and Prevention of Bioterrorism
Jeanne Guillemin
March 23, 2005
01:31:15
Lecturing from her book Biological Weapons: From the Invention of State-Sponsored Programs to Contemporary Bioterrorism, Jeanne Guillemin explores the circumstances under which governments have undertaken major biological weapons programs and explains why such weapons were never deploye
Iraq and Afghanistan: View from the Ground II
Marty Meehan
March 4, 2005
00:37:33
In a symposium sponsored by the Joiner Center for the Study of War & Social Consequences at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Marty Meehan discusses veterans' policy; the future of the guard and reserve programs and services required by returning veterans, are discussed by veterans, policy
Iraq and Afghanistan: View from the Ground III
Stephen Lynch
March 4, 2005
00:39:26
Veterans, policy makers, service providers, and community organizations discuss veterans' policy, the future of the guard and reserve programs, and services required by returning veterans.
Iraq and Afghanistan: View from the Ground IV
Paul Camacho
March 4, 2005
00:45:10
Veterans, policy makers, service providers, and community organizations discuss veterans' policy, the future of the guard and reserve programs, and services required by returning veterans.
Iraq and Afghanistan: View from the Ground I
Barney Frank
March 4, 2005
00:45:05
In a symposium sponsored by the Joiner Center for the Study of War & Social Consequences at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Barney Frank discusses veterans' policy; the future of the guard and reserve programs and services required by returning veterans, are discussed by veterans, policy
Senator Kennedy and the War in Iraq
Edward Kennedy
February 4, 2005
00:48:14
Edward M. Kennedy tells an audience of 400 people at the University of Massachusetts, Boston that the US must begin to demonstrate to the Iraqi people that the military mission is one of liberation, not occupation.
Audio-only
Bush, Blair, and Iraq: The Making of a Catastrophe
Simon Jenkins
November 5, 2004
01:00:50
Simon Jenkins argues that, though much has been made of the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom and of the personal relationship between George Bush and Tony Blair, the war in Iraq has strained these public and private ties.
Chain of Command: From 9/11 to Abu Ghraib
Seymour M. Hersh
October 29, 2004
01:22:25
Seymour Hersh discusses his recent book Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib as well as the Bush Administration's "war on terror," its intelligence failures, and what he describes as the lies and obsession that led America into Iraq.
Audio-only
Inventing Iraq: The Failure of Nation-Building
Toby Dodge
November 19, 2003
01:21:15
ABC News Iraq expert Toby Dodge discusses his new book, Inventing Iraq: The Failure of Nation-Building and a History Denied, on the formation of modern Iraq, and the troubling parallels between the policies of a declining British empire and those of the current American government.
Embedded in Iraq: The Objectivity Question
Brian MacQuarrie
October 9, 2003
01:14:45
Brian MacQuarrie of The Boston Globe takes a look back at his time in Iraq, and forward to the future of war journalism. MacQuarrie traveled to Iraq in March of 2003 to cover the war as an embedded reporter with the Army's 3rd Infantry Field Artillery Battalion.
Audio-only
After Liberation: The Challenge of Iraq
Thomas Cushman
October 2, 2003
01:45:24
Thomas Cushman, a Wellesley sociology professor with a keen interest in human rights, discusses the human-rights perspective of the war and makes a case for the moral imperative of using American power to unseat tyrannical leaders like Saddam Hussein.
Audio-only
Naked in Baghdad: Covering the War in Iraq
Anne Garrels
September 29, 2003
01:22:38
Anne Garrels discusses her experiences in Baghdad which she has chronicled in a new book, Naked in Baghdad. Garrels is a roving foreign correspondent for NPR's foreign desk.
Joseph Stiglitz: Globalization and Its Discontents
Joseph E. Stiglitz
September 18, 2003
01:44:07
Hear Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel prize-winner and former senior vice president of the World Bank, critique the World Bank, globalism, and recent events, including the war with Iraq and the Middle East crisis.
Media Coverage and the War in Iraq
Rod Fritz
April 10, 2003
01:22:13
Leading media experts from print, radio, and television explore questions arising from the media's coverage of the war in Iraq. Journalists trained in military skills and embedded with our troops? Live broadcasts of bombings?
Endgame: The Impact of Economic Sanctions on Iraq
Scott Ritter
March 4, 2003
01:27:25
Scott Ritter discusses his new documentary, Endgame: Closing the File on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction, about the death of more than 1.2 million Iraqis due to United Nations economic sanctions.
Audio-only
Iraq's Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction
Raviv Drucker
October 28, 2002
01:35:19
In this session, numerous experts, including former Congressman Mickey Edwards (R-OK) and former UN weapons inspector, Scott Ritter, examine the recent developments in US foreign policy in the Middle East.
NOVA: Building on Ground Zero Series
NOVA: Building on Ground Zero Series
15 Lectures
Lectures curated around NOVA: Building on Ground Zero and the anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy.