So after marshalling all their one-sided arguments to put the viewer in a state of fear, what does the video offer the viewer by way of action? What do the makers of the video want us to do? It turns out very little, other than be afraid. The video makes the valid point that moderate Muslims should speak out against the radicalization of Islam that is occurring in some areas of the world. And that’s fine, but few people receiving this free video are likely to be Muslims.
Near the end, the video says that we should stand up for the “ideal of freedom.” But that’s too general and spineless to mean very much given the kind of threat the video has taken great pains to portray. However, one of the last scenes in the video that accompanies the “standing up for freedom” phrase shows the statue of Saddam Hussein being pulled down in Bagdad soon after the US forces invaded the city in 2003. Very subtle, but it’s clear that what the video makers want us to do is to feel good about wars like the Iraq war (and probably a war with Iran.) The unspoken logic of the video is to connect the Saddam Hussein regime with the 9/11 attacks, a connection long ago disproved.
In short, Obsession, while posing as a documentary, is a propaganda piece. It aims to make us afraid, so afraid that we will support continuing war in the Middle East, perhaps on several fronts. The video is being distributed widely just two months before the elections. And here stands John McCain ready and willing to continue the war.
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