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n1 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Below is a condensed version of Tom Secker's review [spyculture.com] of the three part documentary A Very Heavy Agenda [blogspot.com]:

A documentary in three parts, A Very Heavy Agenda is the fullest, broadest and deepest exploration of the neo-conservative phenomenon. Robbie Martin’s films explore neo-conservatism not only as a political philosophy but also as a series of organisations from PNAC to the Foreign Policy Initiative and the Institute for the Study of War, and as a group of people adopting radical positions in media interviews and thinktank discussions. It features countless pieces of news media archive footage showing how the neo-cons, in particular the Kristol and Kagan families, have relentlessly pushed the most warmongering, hardline interventionist views into the popular American and global dialogue over the last 20 years or more.

[...] This influence had been exclusively pro-war, pro-conflict, pro-death and destruction. [...]

What A Very Heavy Agenda captures so well is the sociopathic charm of these people. This is particularly true of the first instalment which is an almost pure montage of interviews, discussions and presentations given by Bill Kristol, Robert Kagan and other members of the clique that is the focus of these films. Kristol’s never-ending smile and jovial exterior even when talking about failed wars that he helped to start is truly something to behold. [...] By allowing the neo-cons so much screentime, Martin gives them the rope to hang themselves which they do repeatedly throughout this series.

As the series progresses it incorporates more and more footage showing the impact of these statements and policies on the real world. [...] Terrifying moments from Syria and the Ukraine ‘crisis’ interrupt the neo-cons as they articulate their psychotic vision of the world.

[...] Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising aspect of A Very Heavy Agenda is its investigation into the 2001 anthrax letters. These post-9/11 attacks cowed any political opposition to the implementation of aggressive neo-con policies, and as such were just as important as the big event itself. Just as the neo-cons anticipated and almost prayed for 9/11 to happen, likewise in the days following the assault on the WTC and Pentagon they gave numerous interviews anticipating and predicting some kind of biological warfare. Likewise, White House and other officials began taking counter-anthrax medications such as Cipro on the evening of 9/11 itself, before anyone should have been able to know that an anthrax-based attack was imminent.

The essentially unsolved nature of the anthrax letters poses grim questions. The letters were pinned on a US Army researcher called Bruce Ivins, though he killed himself several years later, never faced charges and no direct evidence against him seems to exist. Martin includes an interview with Matt DeHart, a former intelligence analyst who received leaked documents from an FBI whistleblower that showed that people within the CIA were actually behind the attacks.

[...] In sum, A Very Heavy Agenda is a powerful, terrifying, enlightening documentary about one of the most serious phenomena influencing world events. It is brave and informative, ruthlessly well researched and pulls no punches. Without doubt it is the best documentary I have watched – on any subject – in years.

Original Submission