Fair Game
Rotten powers
Following the parliamentary inquiry commission that investigates the actions of the Brazilian government in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we see how the discourse of morality distances itself from reality. Far from being an exception, this is a plague that affects most countries in the world.
When the United States invaded Iraq for the second time, claiming the existence of weapons of mass destruction, most enlightened people in the world knew this was false. But what about the American population itself? It’s true that they have always been a little alienated, that they think we speak Spanish in Brazil and that our capital is Buenos Aires, but everything has its limits.
The movie “Fair Game” (USA, 2010), based on the books “The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife’s CIA Identity: A Diplomat’s Memoir” by Joseph Wilson, and “Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House”, by Valerie Plame, offers an objective view of the shameful process that culminated in the invasion of Iraq, the ultimate goal of the Hawks, the powerful group that surrounded President George W. Bush.
Shortly after the 9/11 attack, anti-terrorist paranoia permeated the United States, stimulated by the White House group, which identified there an opportunity for gains from the possible invasion of Iraq – which had no connection with the attack.
At the time, Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) was a CIA field agent working around the world to prevent and undermine potential terrorist groups. After 9/11, she was in charge of everything related to Iraq. One of the points investigated was a possible sale of 500 tons of uranium to Iraq, which would be used to build an atomic bomb.
Valerie’s husband, Joe Wilson (Sean Penn), was a retired ambassador whose last post had been in Iraq right at the time of the first Gulf War. For his performance, he had been considered a hero, in preventing foreigners in the country from being used as hostages.
With little activity after retirement, Joe was a consultant and lecturer, and was called upon by the CIA to investigate the uranium sale, as he knew the region and had good contacts with the local government. Once there, he found that there was no possibility of such a sale having taken place, which he put in the detailed report he wrote on his return.
But his report did not please the White House, which forced the CIA to gather evidence against Sadan Hussein to justify the invasion. They even insisted that a shipment of aluminum tubes would be used to enrich uranium, which was systematically denied by the team led by Valerie.
When Joe saw on television the president using his report and associating them with such tubes in a distorted way, openly lying to elicit public opinion, he wrote an article for the New York Times denouncing the president’s lie and exposing reality of the facts.
What ensues from then on is a war of accusations waged in the main media, which culminated in the most disloyal and shameful coup of the Hawks: the public disclosure of Valerie’s identity.
Perhaps it is difficult for the general public to realize the extent of such a vile action. But regardless of the public massacre Valerie’s family suffered, all the people involved in her operations in several countries became in full life danger. The film only hints, but the group of Iraqi atomic scientists that should be rescued by the CIA simply disappeared into the chaos of the invaded Iraq, killed by who knows who.
In the ensuing investigations, Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Chenney’s chief of staff, ended up being convicted of obstruction of justice and perjury to two and a half years in prison – a sentence commuted by his friend Bush. After Libby’s conviction, the Secretary of State admitted to having been the source of the leak of Valerie’s identity.
The movie will certainly please fans of world politics, especially concerning to a region as troubled as the Middle East. And a tip, don’t interrupt the movie before the final credits, as Valerie’s historic testimony in the US Congress is shown, as well as the fate of some of the real characters.