Battle for Haditha: A remarkable film about the Iraq war

The film, a dramatization of the episode, first follows the various participantsmarines, Iraqi civilians, insurgentsas they go about their daily routines the day before the killings.

Local women with their children buy chickens for a party. A youngish Iraqi couple is focused on. The American marines patrol the city, expecting an attack from any quarter. They carry out raids, knocking down doors, terrifying and outraging the inhabitants. Their banter among themselves is coarse and super-aggressive. Two insurgents, one of them a former member of the Iraqi army, obtain an IED (improvised explosive device) and receive instructions on triggering it, by means of a cell-phone.

A good deal of the film, including perhaps its most memorable portions, is devoted to the processes which make the marines capable of carrying out their murderous assault. Battle for Haditha begins with one marine musing out loud, I dont why Im here, and expressions of alienation and demoralization continue throughout. The marine corps dont care, the country doesnt care, we hear. The individual marine has to learn to act like a machine. The Iraqis are ragheads. The marines chant, Train, train, train, to kill, kill, kill. They are indoctrinated to suspect and fear everyone: This is a hostile environment. Women and children, theyre told, are capable of carrying bombs.