Syriana

Published by James December 26th, 2005 in Life

I saw the movie Syriana tonight. One question I had throughout the movie was, “what is Syriana?” I found that out after the movie in a Q& A with Robert Baer, who is the author of, “See No Evil” a book the movie is loosely based on. Great title…….

Mobile, Ala.: What does “Syriana” actually mean? Is it a place, real or fictional?

Robert Baer: It’s a fictional place, a term used inside the Beltway, to describe redrawing the borders in the Middle East to suit our interests. It’s a made-up name. For example, Iraq is very much an artificial country and that is one reason we’re having so many problems there because the Iraqis are not a people with a common identity.

Iraq was made up by the British from three Ottoman provinces after WWI but history tells us the British were unable to unify the Iraqis.

The movie is definitely worth seeing. Most people will say that it is slanted, which it is, but Baer is quick to point out that,

This is not a movie about Iraq or Republican oil politics. In fact, most of the oil stories in this movie were taken from the Clinton administration. I think that the real impact is the emotional wallop you feel at the end of the movie which is that the system is broken.

It is even better to see it on the biggest Christian/Capitalism day of the year. It helps put things in perspective.