Meeting Resistance: Iraqi Perspectives

• Meeting Resistance is a documentary focusing on the Iraq war from the perspective of Iraqi men and women resisting the military occupation.

Roots of the Insurgency

• A young cleric explains that Iraqis resist the occupation because they would not accept a foreign army threatening and raiding homes in their own country.

Composition of the Resistance

• The film suggests that "ordinary Iraqis," both Sunni and Shia, constitute the majority of the insurgency, not just Baath Party members or religious extremists.
• One interviewee describes a resistance group formed spontaneously under the banner of Islam, comprised of engineers, officers, teachers, and other cultured individuals.

Voices of the Resistance

• The documentary includes the perspective of a woman involved in the Iraqi resistance who expresses happiness in facilitating missions but also worry about the risks involved.
• She emphasizes her family's patriotism and acceptance of the potential consequences of their actions, including martyrdom or arrest.

Legitimacy of Targets

• The film makers cite Pentagon reports from 2004-2007 indicating 74% of insurgent attacks targeted US-led forces.
• A BBC/ABC poll found that 100% of Iraqis disapproved of attacks on Iraqi civilians, but a majority approved of attacks on US troops.
• One individual clarifies that legitimate targets include military forces and collaborators who work against the Iraqi people and the Mujahideen.

Filmmakers' Experience

• Co-directors Molly Bingham and Steve Connors spent ten months in Baghdad interviewing Iraqi resistance fighters in 2003 and 2004.
• Molly Bingham was previously arrested by Saddam Hussein’s security forces and held in Abu Ghraib for eight days on accusations of espionage, before being released.

Interview Process

• The filmmakers found interviewees by behaving as journalists, spending time in tea shops, and engaging in conversations with Iraqis.
• Potential interviewees emerged over time, after the film makers asked about the reasons behind the resistance, their answer would determine if the interview would commence.
• Some declined to speak, but twelve individuals agreed to interviews, six of whom were interviewed repeatedly.

Risks and Responsibilities

• Interviewees held the filmmakers responsible for their safety, threatening retaliation if anything happened to them as a result of the interviews.
• To mitigate risks, the filmmakers avoided learning the interviewees' real names or addresses and obscured their identities in the film.

Attempted Bombing of Paul Wolfowitz

• The film includes an account of the attempted bombing of Paul Wolfowitz, then Deputy Defense Secretary, during his visit to Iraq.
• "The Traveler" in the film was part of the planning council, relaying information about Wolfowitz's schedule and room number.
• The attack was carried out with the help of someone inside the Rashid Hotel, and Chinese-manufactured rockets were used.

Ethical Considerations

• Filmmakers chose not to accompany the resistance fighters on attacks to avoid the criticism that they were participating in the violence.
• The focus remained on understanding the backgrounds, motivations, and perspectives of the individuals involved in the insurgency.

Sectarianism

• The film features Sunni and Shia characters and addresses the issue of sectarian strife in Iraq.
• The Imam, from a mixed Sunni-Shia family, and the Republican Guard, married to a Shia woman, express hope that civil war can be avoided because of the close ties between the two groups.

Fear of Returning Home

• Molly Bingham expressed fear of returning to the United States, anticipating potential accusations of treason due to her interviews with insurgents.
• She believed that journalism is about understanding communities and sharing those insights with a wider audience, regardless of agreement or disagreement.