This post refers to two episodes about the CNN reporter Michael Ware and shows much unseen footage dealing with the Afghanistan/Iraq Wars. This footage should illustrate some of the complexities he observed and the resulting PTSD he is now enduring.

Some notes to aid in understanding:

Michael is introduced by his law professor. Yes, he has a degree in law. but so far that has no been his calling.

Michael got his start in Timor. It was a smaller civil war that almost claimed a Nobel Peace Prize winner as a victim. Jose Ramos Horta barely survived an assasination attempt. We still have soldiers there.

He is  currently spending much time in Brisbane working on a book and taking some time to recover from the effects of severe PTSD. It seems the contradictions he has experienced in the war zone will take him some time to "figure out". He appears to value the mateship experienced in a warzone, but is fully aware of war's horror and wants others to experience that horror. Maybe those people won't be so fast to pull the trigger next time if they have that experience. 

Below find footage of the war  from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Learn about the time he was kidnapped and prepared for execution in front of his own camera. And meet Michael, his sister, his mother, a couple of co-workers, and his team from Afghanistan and Iraq. Plus meet the solder who fought along side Michael in Faluja.

All of those people have been to a hell of American making ... modern American War in the 21st century.

Both episodes are 28 minutes long. Get a diet Coke and be prepared for a "ride". 

Prisoner of War: Part I

Prisoner of War: Part II

Click on the links above and start the video clip viewer by pressing "Continue" found just below "Australian Story".