Frontline Season 26, Episode 16: The War Briefing

Cheney's Law

For three decades, Vice President Dick Cheney has waged a secretive, and often bitter battle to expand the power of the presidency. Now in a direct confrontation with Congress, as the administration asserts executive privilege to head off investigations into domestic wiretapping and the firing of U.S. attorneys, FRONTLINE meticulously traces the behind-closed-doors battle within the administration over the power of the presidency and the rule of law.

56 min

Showdown With Iran

As the U.S. and Iran compete for influence across the Middle East, FRONTLINE examines how U.S. efforts to install democracy in Iraq have served to strengthen Iran’s position as an emerging global power.

55 min

On Our Watch

The world vowed “never again” after the genocide in Rwanda and the atrocities in Srebrenica, Bosnia. Then came Darfur. In On Our Watch, FRONTLINE asks why the United Nations and its members once again failed to stop the slaughter.

54 min

The Medicated Child

Millions of U.S. children are taking psychiatric drugs, most never tested on kids. Good medicine - or an uncontrolled experiment?

116 min

Growing Up Online

What does it mean to be part of the first generation coming of age in the Internet era? This report received a 2009 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Informational Program.

54 min

A Dangerous Business Revisited

Five years ago, FRONTLINE and The New York Times joined forces to investigate death and dismemberment in one of America's most dangerous industries -- the iron pipe foundry business. One company stood out, the McWane Corporation. It had more health and safety violations than all of its competitors combined, and there were a number of environmental violations as well. In the five years since our original broadcast, federal prosecutors obtained indictments against and juries convicted the company in five cases in four states. Today McWane says it has made a dramatic turnaround and that worker safety and environmental protection are now high priorities. FRONTLINE revisits its original broadcast with correspondent Lowell Bergman who then reports on what has changed at McWane and whether the company has become a less dangerous business.

Rules of Engagement

What happened that November day in Haditha, Iraq gets to the heart of the war U.S. troops are fighting. This report received a 2009 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Investigative Journalism - Long Form.

116 min

Bush's War (1)

On the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, FRONTLINE unfolds the full saga of the war in a two-part, definitive broadcast.

145 min

Bush's War (2)

The inside story of the war that will define a presidency -- a war that no one expected, and no one planned for.

114 min

Bad Voodoo's War

FRONTLINE captures the realities of war through a "virtual embed" with a National Guard platoon serving in Iraq.

56 min

Sick Around the World

In the debate over health care, what might the U.S. learn from the successes and failures of five other capitalist democracies?

56 min

Storm Over Everest

As darkness fell on May 10, 1996, a fast moving storm of unimaginable ferocity trapped three climbing teams high on the slopes of Mount Everest. The climbers, exhausted from their summit climb, were soon lost in darkness, in a fierce blizzard, far from the safety of High Camp at 26,000 feet. World-renowned climber and filmmaker David Breashears, who aided the rescue efforts back in 1996, now returns to Everest to tell the fuller story of what really happened on that legendary climb. Through remarkably intimate interviews with the climbers and Sherpas many who have never spoken before on American television Breashears sheds new light on the worst climbing tragedy in Mount Everest s history.

105 min

Young & Restless in China

A remarkably intimate look into the lives of nine young Chinese coming of age in a society changing as fast as any in history.

108 min

The Choice 2008

This two-hour program examines the rich personal and political biographies of John McCain and Barack Obama and goes behind the headlines to discover how they arrived at this moment and what their very different candidacies say about America.

115 min

Heat

For years, big business -- from oil and coal companies to electric utilities to car manufacturers -- have resisted change to environmental policy and stifled the debate over climate change in America and around the globe. Now, facing rising pressure from governments, green groups and investors alike, big business is reshaping its approach to the environment. With the election looming, FRONTLINE producer Martin Smith investigates what some businesses are doing to fend off new regulations and how others are repositioning themselves to prosper in a radically changed world.

116 min

Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story

In the wake of yet another hard-fought and bitter presidential campaign, FRONTLINE presents a spirited and revealing biography of Lee Atwater, the charming, Machiavellian godfather of modern, take-no-prisoners Republican political campaigns. Through eye-opening interviews with Atwater's closest friends and adversaries, the film explores the life of the controversial political operative who mentored Karl Rove and George W. Bush, led the GOP to historic victories, and wrote the party's winning playbook. The story tracks Atwater's rise from his beginnings in South Carolina as a high school election kingmaker all the way to the White House and his subsequent battle with cancer and final search for forgiveness and redemption. To Democrats, Atwater was a political assassin who one Congresswoman dubbed "the most evil man in America," but to Republicans he remains a hero for his deep understanding of the American voter and his unapologetic vision of politics as warfare.

The Hugo Chavez Show

FRONTLINE looks at Venezuela's controversial and outspoken president Hugo Chavez and the revolution he claims is turning his country into an anti-capitalist beacon for Latin America and the world. Through the lens of his unique weekly program "Al Presidente" and the eyes of the Venezuelans who know him well, FRONTLINE digs below the surface of his presidency and his personality to try to understand the mercurial leader.

84 min