// War Literature

I found Syriana to be a bit of a letdown and quite a bit confusing.  There were so many different characters and subplots that don’t quite fully connect by the end.  While expecting an action-packed thriller, I found the movie’s focus to be more about power and oil.  The main big shot oil companies are Killen and Connex and these big businesses seem to control the vast population.  It is comparable to the how wars begin.  The top officials never get their hands dirty but call the shots, like declaring war.  The big businesses tend to be the real decision makers.  Killen made bribes to get the sole rights to dig in oil fields in Kajikistan.  Due to this expansion, the merger of Killen and Connex took place.  While Jeffrey White acts as the scrutinizing lawyer to uncover any ambiguities about the merger between the two oil companies, he is unable to stop the corruption.  They end up framing a lawyer in the law firm that was hired to get the merger approved by the government. 

An interesting part of the movie is that the younger brother receives the Gulf emir throne over his older activist brother.  While the younger prince favors relations with the United States, the older prince is trying to maximize profits by accepting the highest offer from the Chinese for the oil.  The older prince wants to revolutionize Iran by creating a diplomatic government and giving women the right to vote.  He wanted to run oil pipelines to Europe to get oil to them at a cheaper price and higher profit.  Eventually, the younger prince receives the title as king.  Meanwhile, the CIA had hired George Clooney to kill the older prince for their best interests.  Yet, because he failed the CIA had someone else finish the job.  This movie displays how much corruption takes place.  Since the younger prince was a friend of the USA and provided them the best option for oil, the older prince was considered an enemy.  The rivalry between the two brothers would probably eventually lead to the murder of one of them.  I believe the CIA wanted to wipe out the older prince to prevent his revolutionary ideas from taking place.

Simultaneously, a ton of Pakistani oil field workers are laid off in the Persian Gulf.  A lot of people have nowhere else to go so they join these Islamic schools where they are fed and given shelter.  Consequently, one of the young workers, Mazhar Munir, with nowhere else to turn joins an Islamic school that is run by extremists.   The young boys are taught about Allah and the Koran, discussing the bridge between religion and politics.  These radicals believe that it shouldn’t be separate because the answer is always in Koran.  Their view is that all political decisions should be based on faith and the Koran.  They preached that this is the reason why the West has not succeeded because we keep our religion and politics as separate entities.  One of the missiles George Clooney sells, under the supervision of the CIA, mistakenly ends up in the hands of a leader for this terrorist group.  That same leader intrigues Munir and his friend by showing “them something really cool.”  It is an American-made missile, shows them how to use it, and warns them of its power.  It becomes evident how content the leader is with these boys’ interest and fascination with the dangerous weapon.  The leader continues to mold these young boys and eventually, into jahadists.  He gives Munir a prep talk advising him that he is ready, as in to die to “spread the true faith.”   Munir and his friend begin their suicidal mission as they got onto a boat with the missile loaded onto it and intentionally drive right into an oil tank.  It is dreadful to see these young boys’ demise.  It is clear that initially Munir display characteristics of honor, loyalty, and strong family values.  He showed that he was a hard worker as he persisted to find a job to support his family and defends his father.  However, the radical groups spread their message so effectively that they completed brainwashed him.