“Green Zone” Truth?
A top military adviser on the newly released war thriller “Green Zone” has written an editorial slamming the film’s assertion that a massive conspiracy led us into the Iraq war. Richard “Monty” Gonzales states his surprise and disappointment that some people are trying to twist the fictional depictions in the movie into reality. He says his role in advising on the movie, which was directed by Paul Greengrass, had absolutely nothing to do with political statements. He says his most important role, in fact, was to push the drama further away from the reality of the war. “Paul asked me to distinguish which elements of the film were factual and which were pure fantasy. As I watched the plot develop into a larger than life, unrealistic conspiracy theory, I felt there could be no mistaking it for anything other than a great Hollywood action thriller. But, as some have pointed out, Green Zone is not a typical thriller. There are a number of assertions throughout the film that have caused some, on both sides of the political spectrum, to react disproportionately to this fictional film.”