The History Channel heavily promoted a three part miniseries called "The World Wars," which encompassed WWI and WWII and focused on the rise and fall of Hitler, Stalin, Patton, Churchill and FDR. The NY Times gave it a glowing review and I have really enjoyed it so far.
There is so much to learn and re-examine about World War II, and the temptation to keeping zooming in closer and closer is almost irresistible; 70 years on, there are still new discoveries, fresh interpretations or just the comfort of repetition.
And that makes “The World Wars,” a documentary on the History channel that runs for three consecutive nights beginning on Monday, remarkable. It’s a smart, imaginatively made and unusually sweeping look at what happened to the world from Sarajevo in 1914 to Hiroshima in 1945, or as Churchill put it, “one story of a 30 years’ war.”
Right up to the point when they started using John McCain, Colin Powell and Dick Cheney as their talking heads. WWI &WWII are incredible stories, with millions and millions of lost lives and loaded with political implications that resonate in today's world. They inserted several historians (like Douglas Brinkley and Michael Beschlossto) fill in some interesting information, so why insert politicians like Dick Cheney and Colin Powell to describe the action? Especially when they helped lie to the America people so the Bush administration could attack a country that didn't attack us and caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
John McCain was so essential in promoting the Iraq war that he is the network news' go-to guy on all things that deal with foreign policy. It was mind blowing.
How can you honor the memory of all those that suffered through those horrible years and who also showed great courage and leadership by using men who repeatedly lied on TV to the American people, to the UN and to the world? Why even pick people from the Obama and Bush administrations at all? (There was a Leon Panetta sighting on the series as well) Knowing that Dick Cheney planted pro-Iraq war propaganda stories in the NY Times and then recited them as if they were actual breaking news to Tim Russert broke my heart. Knowing that Colin Powell gave a speech to the U.N. about Saddam Hussein that was was based on lies to get their war approval made it agonizing to listen to him talk about honor and duty.
Jonathan Schwartz: Lie After Lie After Lie: What Colin Powell Knew Ten Years Ago Today and What He Said
These people responsible for this miniseries have a lot to answer for:
Stephen David Entertainment for History. Russ McCarroll, Paul Cabana and Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive producers for History; Stephen David, executive producer for Stephen David Entertainment.
Please contact them and ask nicely.
Submit an email to The History Channel. From the channel's home page (history.com/support), click the "Contact us" link and submit your email. Email the network. Send an email to feedback@aetv.com to submit a comment or ask a question to A & E Television Networks, the company that owns The History Channel. Write the network. Send a letter to A&E Television Networks, 235 East 45th Street, New York, New York 10017. The president is Abbe Raven. Phone or fax the network. Call 212-210-1400 or send a fax to 212-210-9016.
Update:
There was a Donald Rumsfeld and Joe Lieberman sighting in the last episode.
