People from all over the world come to Washington, D.C. daily to see historic sites. As the documentary “War Game” starts, a man in his car looks out through windshield and after that takes pictures of Washington Monument. He isn’t a tourist posting local landmarks on Instagram; he quietly tells another person traveling with him that he would like American soldiers to “kill patriotic Americans” and burn a section of Pentagon. It is quite frightening. And then when we learn who he actually is and what he plans to do, it becomes truly scary.
On 6th January 2021, trump supporters broke into the Capitol building in an effort to prevent the certification of Joe Biden as president. Some people still claim that they were “visitors” but videos prove that they broke barriers and doors. Some people got hurt or killed because of their activities, during which time others in mob and law enforcement also got injured.. Until order was restored, the congress members had to be evacuated.
It was the first time violence has been used as a means to obstruct peaceful transfer of power upon which democracy rests. This led to criminal proceedings against many of those responsible and participants in addition to unprecedented second impeachment of President Trump who had called on his supporters to go to the capitol (and depending on your perspective protest the legitimacy of election results or prevent their certification by force). It is also for the first time that US investments are being appraised for “political risk.”
These guys we watched inside the vehicle were not planning any attack; rather they were trying to figure out how best they could respond when attacked. On January 6, 2023, a group of veterans and current and former government officials spent the day pretending that a much better organized and more powerful group had attacked the Capitol to prevent certification of the 2024 elections. This was a tabletop exercise or “game” designed to demonstrate how real this threat is, how pervasive is distrust among those who question our democratic government’s legitimacy and what should be done by our elected leaders and military personnel.
The set-up is detailed, serious, and all too believable. There’s even a replica briefing room at White House movie set style.” There are War Game video clips from ‘news broadcasts’ about today’s developments based on what little information there is—and some strategic misinformation—available so far. The enemy makes very effective use of social media, fake footage, manipulation of their followers, and their understanding that any use of force against them will make them more powerful as martyrs.
Every one of the participants has a wealth of experience and it is highly engaging to watch them in action. The role of the President, who has just been re-elected by a margin of less than one percent, is played by Steve Bullock, former Democratic governor of Montana. His advisor is played by former Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-North Dakota).
War Game One of the advisors in creating the fact situation is Alexander Vindman, Former Director for European Affairs for the United States National Security Council, who blew the whistle on then-President Trump’s attempt to, depending on your point of view, persuade or bribe Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to investigate Hunter Biden, the son of the man Trump considered his likely opponent in the 2020 election. It is sobering to learn that the people who put the exercise together are veterans whose own experience in the military made them deeply concerned about the threat from inside. As Senator Heitkamp says, “We’ve always been able to unite this country when we had an external challenge.” However, our assumption that America cannot be targeted through rogue actors with access to advanced weaponry has been supported by dangerous forms-of-exceptionalism.
One twist in the exercise made me gasp aloud because I realized how vulnerable we are: a moment ago, the highest-ranking officials were deciding on whether to send troops to war, and now they do not even know if the Commander-in-Chief can give such an order.
Numerous movies show us world on the brink of total extinction with various men (and sometimes women) sitting at tables in meeting rooms of ultimate importance, and military servicemen or CIA agents looking into computers. However, it’s usually all about action; lots of actors portrayed James Bond and Jack Ryan, another few heroic roles for Steven Seagal or Tom Cruise. Popcorns taste better when you know what is going to happen next. James, Jack, Steve and Tom will always save the day. Therefore it does not matter what type of crisis it is. We receive some information about a certain powerful thing that is bad McGuffin-style only to let our heroes have something for which they would risk their lives performing unbelievable tricks as chases take place around them with explosions unfolding over their heads – it shows us how extremely talented they are no matter what game they play.
There are just a few flicks that address people in suits, ties and uniforms who tell them where to go – especially “Dr.Strangelove” (a wickedly funny classic from 1964, along with serious drama “Fail Safe” having parallel plots released in the same year) as well as “Eye in the Sky”, an underseen story concerning moral implications relating to politics within nations’ security linked up with drones.
“War Game” brings it all home, in my case literally – I live just outside of Washington DC. It’s the scariest movie of the year especially when you consider that this was not orchestrated by Homeland Security or NSA or DOD or Congress. What ran that simulation were ex-military members called VetVoice Foundation who stepped up after their own experience showed them how much we underestimate the threat of armed extremists. The film ends with a note stating that they briefed government on their findings. Let’s hope they listened.
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