Published on Jan 15, 2013 This documentary studies the suspicious death of Dr. David Christopher Kelly, an internationally recognized British authority on biological weapons, after his claims before the Iraq war.

Published on Jan 20, 2016

Features Robert Baer, former CIA Agent and the man whose book See No Evil was the basis for the film Syriana, and the man George Clooney’s character in the film is based upon. Their devastating and deadly actions punctuate the world news almost nightly, yet they remain faceless figures amidst the violence and turmoil that engulf the Middle East. And, whether it’s the C4-laden martyrs of Hezbollah or the car bombing insurgents of Iraq, what could possibly compel a suicide bomber to voluntarily take their own lives, along with those of hundreds of innocent victims? There is perhaps no one better equipped to investigate this terrifying practice than Robert Baer, a decorated, former Middle East CIA Agent and the man George Clooney’s character was based on in the Academy Award®-winning film, Syriana. Robert Baer returns to his former center of operations, the Middle East, to trace the origins of the modern day bomber. In this poignant documentary, Baer reveals the fascinating story of the world's first suicide bomber, 13-year-old Hossein Fahmideh–who was martyred in the Iran-Iraq war and is now a hero in Iran; and visits his highly decorated grave in the graveyard of martyrs just outside Tehran.

Summary•

Iraq’s  higher  education  sector  has  the  potential  to  play  an  important  role  in overcoming  the  country’s  widening  sectarian  divides  and  fostering  long-term peace and stability. As a leading actor within Iraq’s civil society, it could offer an institutional venue for resolving the country’s political, social, and economic problems  while  promoting  respect  for  human  rights  and  democratic  principles both on campus and in the wider society.• Iraq’s universities flourished in the 1960s and 1970s. However, after the rise of Sad-dam Hussein to power in 1979, they gradually lost their intellectual dynamism and became increasingly politicized in the service of the regime. UN sanctions imposed after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 helped to isolate and impoverish the higher education sector.• 

Universities, many of which were already in poor physical shape, were looted in the chaos that accompanied the invasion of 2003. Hundreds of millions of dollars are needed to rehabilitate campuses, but the budget for higher education is meager and most is earmarked for wages and salaries. Universities have also been hit hard by the violence that has followed the invasion. Hundreds of university professors and administrators have been killed and thousands have fled abroad.