Control Room
dir. Jehane Noujaim
Magnolia Pictures

Even in the most charitable of media outlets, scenes of chaos, confusion and outright terror have come to define the US occupation of Iraq. Paul Wolfowitz — the guy who conspicuously predicted that Iraqis would welcome US troops with sweets and flowers — is singing a new tune in minor key, conceding that Iraq isn't really such a black-and-white place.

In retrospect, the war itself feels like a pleasant memory. Saddam had WMD. He defied the UN. We fired off some missiles, rolled out the boys in khaki and kicked some serious fonx.

It was a fast-forward war, and it's easy to recall nothing but the good times. Remember the fall of Baghdad, and the awesome toppling of Saddam's statue? The heroism of Jessica Lynch? The way US troops cut through feeble Iraqi resistance like a bullet fired through yogurt?

But the invasion was anything but painless for the Muslim world in general, and for Iraqis in particular. Just as the first Iraq war catapulted CNN into the living rooms of millions of Americans, so did its successor bring Al Jazeera — an Arab cable network based in Qatar — to people across the Arab world. Founded in 1996 by a combination of Qatari money and former employees of the BBC, Al Jazeera hit its stride in the showdown between the West and the Muslim world. Whether broadcasting tapes from Osama Bin Laden, interviews with American officials or the raw carnage of war, Al Jazeera connected with Arabs in the same powerful way that CNN connected with American viewers during the Gulf War.

Control Room goes behind the scenes of Al Jazeera's coverage, capturing the making of the news from a distinctly fresh vantage point. Gone are the waving flag graphics of the American channels. No longer is the anti-war perspective reflected solely by jingoistic left-wing movie stars. The baseline assumptions are that the war is an unjust mistake, Iraqi civilians are going to be the first and principle victims of the fight and that America is unleashing death in order to expand its invisible empire.

Neither baseline is particularly close to "neutral," of course. But by triangulating the coverage and mindset that spawned Al Jazeera's relentlessly critical coverage with the exciting, upbeat "embed"-driven US news networks, viewers of Control Room can put together a third picture of how the story of Gulf War II got told. If the US cable news networks were serving up the kind of images and ideas that the masses in Atlanta, New York and St. Louis were clamoring for, so was Al Jazeera addressing a visceral audience demand in cities such as Cairo and Amman.

While the US networks largely stuck to antiseptic explosions and shots of grateful Iraqis dancing in the streets, Al Jazeera dove straight into the horror of war. Footage of mangled children, shots of dead soldiers, interviews with US soldiers taken captive by Saddam's forces — few lines were left uncrossed.

In the process, Al Jazeera made enemies in the Pentagon. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld rarely passed up a chance to call its broadcasts propaganda for Saddam and Al Qaeda. US missiles targeted the network's Baghdad bureau, killing one of its correspondents — a tragic accident. That same day, another Arab cable network was also tragically and accidentally hit by US fire.

Control Room captures the human impact of the missile strike and beyond, documenting the experiences of Al Jazeera's surprisingly warm and sympathetic journalists.

There is Hassan Ibrahim, whose jolly energy and articulate outrage suggest an Arab incarnation of Michael Moore. His best line? When asked who will stop America from its worldwide spree of conquest, Ibrahim refers to the upcoming US elections and says: "America will stop America."

There is senior producer Samir Khader, who defiantly argues that Al Jazeera's searing imagery is necessary to tell the true horror of the US war effort — and also talks about how he hopes his children will get the opportunity to get US educations and experience the American Dream.

And there is Lt. Josh Rushing. Initially just another Pentagon PR flack, Rushing soon emerges as the center of the film's struggle to define the "real" story of the war. Idealistic, reflective and compellingly moral, the evolution of Lieutenent Rushing may be the heart of the film.

Control Room is gripping in its portrayal of the various media organizations doing business at Central Command. American news sources, particularly the TV channels, are drawn to stories that are clear, colorful and ultimately confirm a reassuringly simple world.

Al Qaeda is evil. Palestinian suicide bombers are depraved. Saddam Hussein is a monster. Israel and Iraq are different stories. Jessica Lynch is an American hero.

But the real story, by contrast, tends to be nuanced, confusing and depressing.

Al Qaeda is evil, but their grievances are viewed as valid by a significant percentage of the Muslim world. Palestinian suicide bombers are depraved, but so are the Israeli policies that use collective punishment, ghettoization and disproportionate force to make an entire people suffer. Saddam Hussein is a monster, but he was effectively contained — and the chaos following his overthrow may be far more dangerous to Middle Eastern stability and American interests than Saddam ever could have dreamed of being. Israel and Iraq are different stories that blend into one tale of exploitation and imperialism in the eyes of Arab viewers. Jessica Lynch is almost completely beside the point. People are dying every day, and Baghdad is on the verge of falling.

Are Americans ready to plunge into the messier grays suggested by the intersection of Arabic and Western news sources? If the receipts of Control Room are any indicator, we may be on the verge of a new awakening.

— James Norton (jrnorton@flakmag.com)