Top 10 Iraq War Documentaries

Though the conflict is ongoing, a number of insightful documentaries about the War in Iraq and the politics in the U.S. and internationally leading up to it have been made. This list is sure to change quickly as events and historical distance yield greater insight.

1. Control Room

Jehane Noujaim's film makes it clear that the information war is as important as the war on the ground. "Control Room" shows Western reporters and reporters for the Arab news network Al Jazeera covering the early days of the war. As the military works to spin the news for both audiences, differences in coverage reveal the depth of the cultural divide - an understanding of which should frame your viewing of any other documentary about the Iraq War.

2. Iraq in Fragments

James Longley spent more than two years on the ground in Iraq where he got to know families in the Kurdish, Shiite, and Sunni regions. Divided into three chapters, the film stands out among the Iraq War documentaries released to date on the strength of its gorgeous cinematography. Though filming completed before 2006's escalation of internal conflict, the film makes clear the dramatic cultural divides Iraq faces.

3. The War Tapes (2006)

Rather than embed herself with the military in Iraq and subject herself to censorship and biased guides, director Deborah Scranton gave cameras to soldiers who she kept in touch with online. The resulting film features a balanced and unfiltered perspective on the war. Winner of the Tribeca Film Festival's 2006 Best Documentary honor.

4. About Baghdad

Intentionally rough and disjointed, "About Baghdad" is one of the most essential Iraq War documentaries to be released to date – if only for the fact that it consists entirely of the most important and least-heard voices in discussions of the war: those of the Iraqi people.

5. Iraq for Sale

An enraging glimpse of the corruption, waste of taxpayer dollars, and endangerment of troops and contractors lives taking place under contracts awarded to Haliburton, Titan, CACI, and others. Independent contractors represent a greater portion of the American presence in Iraq than in any other conflict, and these corporations are largely exempt from oversight. Iraq for Sale is Robert Greenwald's second documentary on the Iraq war (Iraq Uncovered examined the deception in the lead-up to the war).

6. Farenheit 9/11

Michael Moore's cinematic essay on Bush's first term raises questions about how the invasion of Iraq came about, who benefits from the war, and who is doing the sacraficing. Conservative critics have largely succeeded in turning Moore into a media leper, but the substance of "Fahrenheit 9/11's" arguments about working class sacrafices and a war started on false pretenses have not faded.

7. Baghdad ER

HBO's documentary may have riled Army brass for showing too much U.S. blood, but the film – which depicts the heroism on display every day at the best front-line military hospital ever assembled - was among the most-decorated programs at the 2006 Emmy Awards. Directed by Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill.

8. Gunner Palace

The story of the U.S. Army's 2-3 Field Artillery Division stationed in one of Saddam Hussein's palaces in early 2004. "Gunner Palace" avoids politics, focusing instead on the day-to-day life of soldiers trying to make sense of a chaotic and foriegn situation.

9. Occupation: Dreamland

Ian Olds and the late Garrett Scott were given full access to the operations of the Army's 82nd Airborne unit in early 2004 as they work in the al-Falluja area (months before the major uprising and intervention in the area). In the day-to-day work of the Army, the film finds an uneasy mutual acceptance between the military and the Iraqi people.

10. Uncovered: The War on Iraq

Robert Greenwald's detailed examination of the leadup to the Iraq war takes an emotionally dry approach - carefully dissecting and logically dismantling Bush administration arguments.