The documentary's cover

WASHINGTON, December 20 (IslamOnline.net) – A U.S. anti-Iraq war documentary has received a positive feedback for offering an in-depth look at the "spin and hype" presented to the Americans on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, once the central rationale for going to war.

The 'Uncovered: The Whole Truth about the Iraq War' documentary takes you behind the walls of government, as CIA, Pentagon and foreign service experts speak out, many for the first time, detailing the lies, misstatements and exaggerations that served as the reasons to fight a "preemptive" war that wasn't necessary.

The 56-minute film, which has been launched since November, has become very much sought-after, with university professors, politicians and artists hailing it as "powerful and must see".

"When we first offered it on our site, we expected to just do a couple thousand copies," said Eli Pariser, the director of MoveOn organization, which co-finances the campaign with the Center for American Progress.

"But when 23,000 people asked for it, we knew there was something significant about this movie," Pariser added.

He estimates more than 50,000 people watched in gatherings that took place in private homes, bars, restaurants, church basements and even yoga salons, raising nearly $800,000.

The movie's filmmaker, Robert Greenwald, and MoveOn further decided to distribute the film online in order to foster a "real-time" debate about Bush’s role in the war instead of pushing for a traditional theater or TV release, urging a rampant and unauthorized copies.

"You have my permission to give it away. This film is meant to be a tool, so you will take it and do with it as you will," said Greenwald.

Shortly after the online announcement, more than 2600 people across the United States signed up through the MoveOn website to host screenings of the film and to participate in a conference call with Greenwald.

The film presents interviews with more than 20 experts, who all attack the Bush administration for "sexing up" the threat posed by former captured Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Among those interviewed are former Ambassador Joe Wilson, weapons inspectors Scott Ritter and David Albright, anti-terrorism expert Rand Beers, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and former CIA operative Robert Baer.

There's also John Dean, Nixon’s White House counsel, who reminds viewers that, "It's a federal felony [for elected officials] to deliberately mislead".

McGovern, a 27-year veteran of the CIA, summed up the Bush Administration's case as "a very successful, very deliberate, and very immoral use of PR to mislead the people of this country".

'Impeachment Campaign'

With a glimpse at the feedback the documentary has received, the most striking of all is a call by Martin Gettelman, a professor of clinical psychology, to begin an "impeachment campaign" against George W. Bush similar to the Watergate impeachment.

"We should repeatedly ask members of congress to bring articles of impeachment. We need a million signatures," said Gettelmen.

Mike Farrell, actor and co founder Artists United warned said that "in universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act," citing the saying of famed British novelist George Orwell.

But he urged the Americans to become "revolutionary truth-tellers" and model themselves after Greenwald.

"'Uncovered,' by exposing the rot at the roots of political power in Washington, has created a document of the most profound patriotism.

"In laying bare the lies of an American administration bent on gaining, maintaining and abusing power through deceit, the film arms our citizens with the weapons necessary to take back their democracy," said Farrell.

Others, led by Katrina Van Den Heuvel, the editor of The Nation magazine, said the film is a compelling call to action in the coming Presidential elections in 2004 to change "our country's leadership".

"I don't see how anyone, Republican or Democrat could even think about voting for Bush after watching this documentary," said one of the viewers.

The representative of Presidential hopeful John Kerry, Jennifer Hidges, said that the documentary is "a rare show of unity".

"We agree that we were lied to ... so there's a sense of betrayal among a lot of Democrats," said Hidges.

The movie is the latest in a series of diatribe from U.S. celebrities against the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Famed U.S. filmmaker Michael Moore used his Oscar win on March 23, to launch a diatribe on wartime Bush, saying that "fictitious election" results in "fictitious presidents", referring to Bush's controversial 2000 election victory.