CIA: Guerres secrètes (2003) (TV)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

William Karel

Writers:

Alexandre Adler (writer)
William Karel (writer)

Release Date:

16 April 2003 (France)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

The history of CIA told by previous directors and agents, and also some on the outside (like a former KGB director).

Plot Keywords:

CIA | Coup | USA | South America | Spy

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Robert Baer	...	Himself
Milton Bearden	...	Himself
Osama Bin Laden	...	Himself (archive footage)
William Blum	...	Himself
Leonid Brezhnev	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jean-Charles Brisard	...	Himself (as J.C. Brisard)
George Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
Frank Carlucci	...	Himself
Jimmy Carter	...	Himself (archive footage)
Duane Claridge	...	Himself
Bill Clinton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Charles Cogan	...	Himself
William Cohen	...	Himself
Peter Earnest	...	Himself
Robert Gates	...	Himself
Richard Haass	...	Himself
Alexander Haig	...	Himself
Richard Helms	...	Himself
Jim Hoagland	...	Himself
Richard Holm	...	Himself
Oleg Kalugin	...	Himself
Richard Kerr	...	Himself
Ayatollah Khomeini	...	Himself (archive footage)
Henry Kissinger	...	Himself (archive footage)
Robert Malley	...	Himself
Richard Nixon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Oliver North	...	Himself (archive footage)
Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi	...	Himself (archive footage)
Colin Powell	...	Himself (archive footage)
William Quandt	...	Himself
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself (archive footage)
James Schlesinger	...	Himself
Robert Steele	...	Himself
Joseph Trento	...	Himself
Stansfield Turner	...	Himself
Dale Watson	...	Himself
William Webster	...	Himself
Joseph Wilson	...	Himself
James Woolsey	...	Himself

Also Known As:

CIA: Secret Wars (UK)

Runtime:

156 min | France:52 min (3 parts)

Country:

France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Arte

Quotes:

A former CIA man: During the Cold War CIA got 13 trillion dollars. I... I don't even know how many zeroes that is.

Scary and thought provoking

If this documentary is totally accurate (I assume most aren't), then the truth behind US intelligence and foreign policy is far more sinister than even I thought possible. I can only pray that as many Americans as possible see this, so that they can realize that every enemy USA have had after WW2 have been by their own creation. The American power apparatus is not fighting external threats - it is fighting itself.

There are some truly tragic people interviewed in this documentary. They look like living dead, like the entire burden of the future of the world has been put upon their shoulders, only because they have walked through the halls of power a good few too many times. Disturbingly, for some of these people, the future of the world is indeed resting on their shoulders, but they appear too busy fighting imaginary enemies and pursuing their own selfish interests to do anything about it.

The documentary shows that with every action taken by the powers that be 'for the safety of the people', the less safe the people become. Obviously, brainwashed by bureacracy, power and the hunger for money they don't realize that (and only a miracle can change that), but for us mere mortals, it is a valuable contribution and a bit of an eye-opener. Watch at your first opportunity, especially Americans. Just don't dismiss it because it's French! 5/5