Thirdly, and where the crux of the matter lies for What If? Ehud Barak on War and Peace, the narrator takes the viewer through the 2000 Camp David Summit. The U.S. hosted this meeting, in which an agreement with Arafat was almost reached that would have established a Palestinian homeland and mapped out a shared Jerusalem between the Arabs and Israelis. Ultimately, of course, Arafat proved intractable with his final demands, despite Barak having proposed concessions that were unprecedented in Middle Eastern history.
The world would have changed forever if that deal could have been closed, and this notion makes Barak take this moment to consider what impact one man can have on the world, on the flow of events over time on the global stage. Unfortunately, Arafat died three years after the Camp David summit, and the golden moment was lost.
“…an extraordinary, rare analysis…”
Barak speaks of being a man of action. He points out that those with the will almost always supersede those who can generate workable solutions to complex political issues intellectually to act. Even with incomplete information, with only the certainty that action must be taken, they implement the best plan they have on hand, leaving history to judge the rightness of the decisions made.
As with McNamara in The Fog of War, What If? Ehud Barak on War and PeaceWhat If? Ehud Barak on War and Peace is an extraordinary, rare analysis by a man who took action, who arguably committed atrocities to achieve his goals, believing that the ends would justify the means, and who is disillusioned by the outcomes. Ehud Barak is calm, thoughtful, compassionate, and speaks with an articulate sense of ease and comfort with himself that is astonishing for a man who has seen and done what he has. Barak talks of the alternative world that would have existed if even slightly different decisions had been made in those critical times.
World events are often scary and unsettling while they are in progress and then boring when taught years later. If you, like me, spent your social studies classes thinking about Star Wars, documentaries like this are a great way to shore up your education. Tal’s film is engrossing and never dull. Everyone would benefit from seeing and pondering What If? Ehud Barak on War and Peace, especially given the current global political landscape. It should be considered required viewing.
For more information about What If? Ehud Barak on War and Peace, visit the Film Movement website.
"…consider what impact one man can have on the world..."
