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Patricia FoulkrodThe Ground Truth: The Human Cost of War (2004)

The Ground Truth: The Human Cost of War is our soldiers' perspective of the Iraq War, and how they are being treated upon returning home. It goes beyond the war stories to look underneath our American tradition of going to war and then abandoning the warrior. We see the dreams and realities that often set up soldiers and their families for a lifetime of heartbreak. Yet, billions of tax dollars are spent recruiting, training, and paying soldiers to fight our wars, only to ignore and dismiss these same people, now well trained to serve their country, and to kill. How do we Support Our Troops when the killing stops? What is behind our silent indifference to these new warriors, and the 272,000 homeless veterans we walk by every day? This film asks Congress and the American people to bare witness to these soldiers and their families, and to consider the human cost of war, above all else.

The film is currently seeking finishing funds. For more info see www.thegroundtruth.org.


This movie is part of the collection: News & Public Affairs

Director: Patricia Foulkrod
Producer: Patricia Foulkrod
Production Company: The Ground Truth
Sponsor: GNN
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: Iraq; Soldier; War
Contact Information: thegroundtruth@yahoo.com

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Reviewer: Egy-Sniper - - September 23, 2007
Subject: Arab-Sniper
Thanks For Our God For Our Victory In Our Ground Iraq God Will Espouse Us With Them God Forgive Us If We Weren't Right Allaho Akbar

With Out Name

Arab-Sniper
Or As You Call
Arab-Juba

Reviewer: Telephone Toughguy - - August 16, 2007
Subject: Compassion?
From anti war people so much vulgar and offensive hate is ironic. Not reviewing this as a work and 1 starring it for not agreeing with the message is like old me. I didn't watch it but reading some of these reviews makes me queezy... it is disgusting to hear poeple talk like that. The same poeple spit on the soldiers coming back from nam who were drafted. Amazing that anyone could formulate an opinion like that at all. I can understand being against war but come on, do you ever go back and read your own words? You might want to. I know I do sometimes and say "damn, why did I say that?). Notice how calm I am now? Even if you people are just kidding and trying to piss the sane folks off, it is not working on me! I am happy as hell right now, even though I just paid the mechanic to fix two cars and spent all my firggin money, so what? I live in the land of opportunity and can make plenty of money again, why? Because these people go out and kill or be killed to keep what we have and others crave for. Tony blair summed it up best when questioned about his relations to america who is not popular. He said something along the lines of "I judge a country by the number of poeple who are trying to get out versus the number of poeple who are trying to get in". The only americans sneaking into mexico and canada are fugitives.

Reviewer: mr_loophead - - August 16, 2007
Subject: agreeing with
what lifemare said...

Reviewer: theshowpodcast.com - - February 7, 2007
Subject: this film shows it how it is
thanks for posting this

Reviewer: lifemare - - December 30, 2005
Subject: The single most brain
Please stop! The only thing this kind of movie is good for is self-pity.
Am i expected to feel sorry for a soldier who lost his hand and his heart-breaking story of how the most basic things in life are now challenging?
Come on! How about the people who lost their sons? their parents? their lifes? where's the other side of this story? how many people did he kill before that hand got severed???
How can u make a movie condemning war by parading those who were responsible for waging it as victims???
Im only sorry there are people stupid enough to go to war. Just joining the military is already bad enough! how can one even see the atraction in following the retarded chain of command and blindly following orders? How can one become so brainwashed by red blue and white spirals to the point were one will go to war without questioning why and knowing that means having to pick up a weapon and shoot another human being?
But the most retarded thing is after a soldier has done it, he returns either a hero or a victim, never a criminal!
Wake up!

Reviewer: hoolu - - August 7, 2005
Subject: Driving home a point.
Fear iis an emotion - first. When it is used - as a tool - it is a crime. this work (in "progress") shows a perfect example that "20/20 is hindsight" and our freedom of thought has been terribly breached by a "system" clinically known as the "competitive compulsory institutional indoctrination system". The "managers" and "manipulators" of our corporate fear have used our irrational beliefs to their advantage once again. In 1933 Marine Corp General Smedley Butler wrote:
War is just a racket.

A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.

I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.

I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.

There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its Âfinger men to point out enemies, its Âmuscle men to destroy enemies, its Âbrain men to plan war preparations, and a ÂBig Boss Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.

It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

This video is one more piece of evidence and thus far well done... how much do you people need.

Credits

Directed and produced by Patricia Foulkrod

Segments

Part One
Part Two

Shotlist

soldiers' stories