Violence & War Videos - The Documentary Network

Drone wars: Recruited video gamers become killers

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 12:14:14 +0000

In tiny bunkers in the United States, young pilots are operating unmanned drones targeting 'bad people' in Pakistan. The military visits video game fairs to recruit video players. Through specially developed games they try to reach young players. The traumatic experiences that these people are going through stay. Often the young new soldiers have no idea what to expect. This video highlights the effects on their actions

See The Most Bombed Place On Earth

Documentary.net staff — Sat, 13 May 2017 13:53:29 +0000

Building The Bomb: Extremely rare access to the Nevada test site for nuclear weapons. From 1951, over four decades, the US government carried out almost a thousand nuclear tests at this test site, earning it the nickname of the “most bombed place on Earth”. Here, they took the crude nuclear weapons that had been dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and honed their destructive power. A hundred of these tests, known as atmospheric shots, took place above ground, creating the characteristic mushroom clouds that have become synonymous with nuclear detonations. The government still carries out classified work on the site, and access is limited to a small number of carefully vetted visitors each year, who are not allowed to take photographs.

Fighting the Islamic State with Iraq’s Golden Division: The Road to Fallujah

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 15:44:35 +0000

In 2014, Islamic State militants swept into Western Iraq's Anbar Province, overrunning Iraqi security forces, enslaving minorities, and causing thousands to flee for their lives. The jihadist group captured Iraq’s largest city, Mosul, and the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, where hundreds of US troops died fighting the Islamic State’s predecessor. Now, two years later, the Iraqi security forces, with help from Iranian-supported Shiite militias and US military advisors and warplanes, are fighting to take back towns and cities in Anbar, one battle at a time. But it’s a difficult task: Anbar has been the crucible of Iraq’s insurgency, and is the country’s Sunni heartland — long marginalized by and hostile to the Shiite-led government in Baghdad. VICE News embedded with Iraq’s Golden Division Special Forces unit as they fought their way into the villages surrounding the city of Hit, where they encountered ambushes, sniper fire, and tried to sort suspected Islamic State operatives and sympathizers from innocent Iraqi civilians.

Eagles of Death Metal Discuss Paris Terror Attacks

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 26 Nov 2015 10:51:53 +0000

During Eagles of Death Metal's November 13 show at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, gunmen entered the venue and opened fire on the crowd, leaving at least 90 dead. The band spoke to VICE about the tragic events that took place that night. Cliquez sur "CC" pour les sous-titres français.

Fear & Loathing: Albino Africans Survival in Tanzania

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 24 Nov 2015 16:15:49 +0000

People can be so afraid that they're even willing to kill. They say giving birth to such a "creature" is a curse. Some believe that owning a part of their body will make them rich. And all because of the color of their skin. The video reveals the reality of life for white Africans in Tanzania. Josephat Terner conquered his own fears and prejudice and then devoted his life to fighting injustice.

Thai Meth Epidemic and Vomit Rehab

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 14:36:56 +0000

Thailand is in the midst of epidemic. Due to its affordability, 'yaba' has supplanted heroin as the golden triangle's main product and now Thailand is dealing with a generation hooked on this new and dangerous form of meth. We went to investigate and visit a monastery running a rehab program that involves daily group vomiting sessions.

El Chapo: CEO of Crime

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 13:32:41 +0000

The documentary presents a riveting look at the life of the world's most powerful drug trafficker, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. More powerful than Pablo Escobar ever was, and more elusive, this documentary takes viewers behind the scenes to meet the investigative reporters who faced dangerous situations to uncover the story of El Chapo. On the night of July 11th El Chapo Guzman has escaped from prison. This is the second time he has escaped from detainment in Mexico.

Ukraine’s Crowdfunded Military & Weaponized Drones

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 15:44:19 +0000

Crowd-funding campaigns can raise money for some pretty wacky projects, such as asteroid defense or images of brains on LSD. But rarely do you hear of campaigns raising funds for military equipment. Enter the People’s Project, a volunteer-led organization based in Ukraine that has a section currently raising funds for a military drone.

The war in eastern Ukraine has cost the lives of over 6,000 people. And despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary Russia continues to deny its involvement in the war. Although the Ukrainians asked the US for support they have been given very little to fight the russian-backed separatist. Facing another collapsing cease-fire without any serious support from the west, Ukrainian citizens have taken it upon themselves to build and supply their military with proper equipment including crowdfunding surveillance drones and now some have even begun building weaponized drones.

What happened when Portugal decriminalised drugs?

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 10:49:50 +0000

This film looks at new approaches to drugs policy, from Portugal to Colorado. Decriminalization has removed much of the stigma addicts felt and the fear of presection that stopped them seeking help. 90& of Portugals anti-drug resources are now spent on trentment and prevention, only 10% on policing nd punishing. In the United States it is the opposite. Since decriminalization drug-induced deaths have dropped from 80 in 2001 to just 16 in 2012. Over the same period of time the total number of heroin addics halfed. Portugal's experiment defied the fierce opponents and broke a global policy to boom. But for all its success, the new approach did nothing to adress the supply side of the drugs trade. Those citizens were not being arrested for posessing drugs, the police were still chasing their dealers. Globally criminal gangs and drug cartels continued to dominate the drugs trade worth over three hundred billion dollars. The countries where those drugs originated, continue to pay the price they've been paying for over a quarter of a century. In the Colombian capital Bogota the 1990 polls open with a minute of silence for the three candidates killed during the presidential campaign. It was the culmination of weeks of terror.

Peshmerga vs. the Islamic State: The Road to Mosul

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 08:16:19 +0000

A year after the Islamic State's lightning conquest of Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul, the poorly-trained and equipped Kurdish peshmerga forces are the international coalition's only reliable boots on the ground in northern Iraq. The Pentagon's hopes of recapturing the city by spring 2015 have been dashed by the military failures of the Iraqi Army further south, leaving the peshmerga to defend a 600-mile long frontline almost encircling Mosul, fending off constant Islamic State (IS) assaults with insufficient supplies of ammunition and modern weapons. For one month, VICE News embedded with the peshmerga fighters on the Mosul frontline, gaining an insight into the coalition's faltering war against IS through the eyes of the Kurdish volunteers bearing the brunt of the fighting.

The Fallen of World War II – Visualization

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 11:07:53 +0000

The Fallen of World War II is an animated data-driven documentary that examines the human cost of the second World War and the decline in battle deaths in the years since the war. The 15-minute data visualization uses cinematic storytelling techniques to provide viewers with a fresh and dramatic perspective of a pivotal moment in history. The film follows a linear narration, but it allows viewers to pause during key moments to interact with the charts and dig deeper into the numbers. The film was written, directed, coded, and narrated by Neil Halloran. Original music and sound design was created by Andy Dollerson. Editorial feedback and technical consulting by AlteredQualiea. Interative version: http://www.fallen.io/ww2/

Shootings and attacks in Paris – Updates

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 13:54:17 +0000

A gunman seizes hostages at a kosher supermarket in Paris as police in a northern French town corner the two Charlie Hebdo massacre suspects.

The Afghan Interpreters

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 00:53:04 +0000

The interpreters who worked alongside American and NATO forces in Afghanistan are among our bravest and most loyal allies. They played an essential role in sourcing intelligence and educating Western troops about the local culture. Now they're in danger of being abandoned. ... As well as translating for American troops attempting to build relationships with Afghans, the interpreters played an essential role educating foreign forces about the local culture they so badly needed to understand. They were also key sources of intelligence, able to keep an ear out not just for information about the Taliban, but also about the Afghan army and police, who sometimes posed as much of a threat as the insurgents they were supposed to be fighting. The interpreters, or “terps” as they became affectionately known, did this for years on end, going out on every patrol and operation with American forces. It’s no exaggeration to say that the interpreters saw far more combat than the vast majority of American veterans... Download the full eBook from Ben Anderson's "The Interpreters" PDF Download (Free)

Secrets of The Dead – Bugging Hitler’s Soldiers

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 07:45:40 +0000

Spied upon by MI19 in a bugging operation of unprecedented scale and cunning, 4,000 German POW's revealed their inner thoughts about the Third Reich and let slip military secrets that helped the Allies win WWII. Based on groundbreaking research conducted by a German historian, the film tells the story of how those conversations were recorded and how they can now reveal, in more shocking detail than ever before, the hearts and minds of the German fighter. In total, more than 100,000 hours of these secret recordings were made.

Healing Bobby – From the Battlefield to the Comedy Stage

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 06:16:18 +0000

Bobby Henline was the sole survivor of a roadside bombing in Iraq. A third of his body was burned. Now a stand-up comedian, he has turned pain into humor and hope. Bobby, 41, is a veteran of four tours to Iraq and the sole survivor of an IED blast that killed the other four soldiers in his humvee in Iraq in 2007. Henline is now a standup comedian launching a new career with a routine built around his injuries, seen here in his Motel 6 room after performing. Dallas, Texas, 2013. On April 7, 2007, three weeks after Bobby Henline arrived in Iraq for his fourth tour, his humvee was blown up. The four soldiers with him were killed. Henline was the sole survivor of the blast from the improvised explosive device, but he was only so much luckier: bones in his face fractured, burns covered close to 40% of his body, and his left hand later had to be amputated. He spent two weeks in a coma. The early months of recovery were a blur. He put nurses in headlocks and sang, over and over again, “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” Returning home was even harder. Henline, now 42, and his wife of 20 years have three kids. Between his time in Iraq and his six months in the hospital, they had become used to his absence. “They’ve changed, you’ve changed,” Henline says. At home, Henline realized the extent of his injuries. He didn’t want to be a burden on his family. And every day, he was haunted by the lingering memories of war. “You have to live with a different mind-set there that you can’t live with here,” he says. “You need to let it go, but it’s so hard to turn off. PTSD takes you back to that place. When you get home, the kids want to jump on you, climb on you, and you feel like, I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.” Henline prayed for God to take him in his sleep.“You get used to getting stared at and looking at yourself in the mirror. It becomes you. But there are days I don’t want to be stared at . . . Still, I feel sexy. Once you’re cooked, you’re hooked.” While he was rehabilitating with other wounded soldiers, Henline tried to keep their spirits up by telling them jokes. His therapist kept nagging him to get into stand-up comedy, and in 2009 he finally relented, trying his hand at an open-mike night. It was a flop, but Henline loved it. Finally, here was a space where he could acknowledge the first thing people notice when they see him, where he didn’t have to avoid talking about the experience that changed his life. So he kept telling jokes. “On the Fourth of July I always go to a fireworks stand. I run up real excited and ask them, ‘Can you give me the same stuff as last year? It was great!’ ” Another favorite: “In about 10 years I can go to my roast precooked.” Henline started providing comic relief for other burn survivors, greeting new patients at the Brooke Army Medical Center near San Antonio and regularly visiting a 12-year-old who had been burned as a toddler and had undergone dozens of horribly painful skin-graft surgeries. An atheist before the explosion, Henline has come to believe in some sort of higher power. Faith — in a common energy rather than a specific religion — sustained him through his long and difficult recovery. And he credits a vision he had while in the coma with steering him toward comedy. “I was on a giant iceberg at night,” he recalls. “The stars were out. It was comfortable. I heard voices telling me it was going to be O.K. I thought I was in the judgment room, and it was God telling me I was going to go back — that I had a mission, but it would be on his terms.” “The skin on my scalp burned off, so the doctors replaced it with my stomach. When I eat too much I get headaches.” Every comedian is trying to get a laugh, and Henline is no different. But he has a second aim, one that can offer an extra layer of meaning this Veterans Day. More than 51,000 troops were wounded in action during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Department of Defense reports. And not every scar is physical. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Center for PTSD, 11% to 20% of veterans of those conflicts have experienced post traumatic stress disorder. “What I want to do,” Henline says, “is to help more people than the guy that blew me up can hurt.” by Time Magazine