Dirty War (ATOM Study Guide)

Dirty War (Alan Carter, 2005) is a 52-minute documentary warning about the possible impact of American joint training bases on the Australian people and environment.

It looks at the state of the former American bases of Clark Airfield and Subic Bay in the Philippines, and Vieques in Puerto Rico, revealing the health disasters created by the United States' accumulation of and then failure to remove toxic substances associated with a full range of military activities in these places.

The film focuses on Australia's 2004 agreement with the United States to expand its joint training activities with that nation's military forces at Queensland's Shoalwater Bay training facility. It warns that vigilance and strength will be needed if the disastrous mistakes of the past in such places as the Philippines and Puerto Rico are not to be replicated in Australia.

It is a committed and passionate film that calls on Australians to be aware of developments that may be in the making, and that will need determined action to avoid.