Coming Soon: 'The Surge — The Untold Story'

Earlier this year, I met with Washington’s Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a non-partisan, non-profit public policy research organization, with some of the most accomplished academics in the field of military affairs. ISW wanted to produce a military history in the form of a documentary film. The purpose was to bring greater understanding of the real story behind the Surge in Iraq — the story the mainstream press often misses, or simply doesn’t have time to tell. Surprisingly, though there were a handful of good books on the Surge, there hadn’t yet been a definitive documentary film. Now, The Surge: the Untold Story is the only documentary of its kind giving audiences a look into the Surge, as told by top U.S. military commanders. Here’s the trailer:

Understanding the Surge – The Trailer from ISW on Vimeo.

The short film features never-before-seen interviews that move beyond Washington politics to tell the truth of how a failing mission was transformed into one of the most successful military operations in a generation. Audiences will watch rare interviews from high profile figures like General David Petraeus, General Raymond Odierno, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker – among many others. The documentary reveals the personalities of a new generation of U.S. military leaders and explains how they successfully implemented a counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq that brought the country back from the brink of civil war and catastrophe.

The documentary will be released on Monday, November 9th, and available as a free download at UnderstandingTheSurge.org, as a generous gift by The National Philanthropic Trust and the Ware Family Foundation. This way, everyone can hear the real story of the Surge. As the director and co-writer of this film, I hope audiences will take a look and see for themselves, there are some important lessons to be learned.

Here’s hoping our elected leaders are tuning in.

Learn more at www.understandingthesurge.org