Cheney, Kissinger, Rice, Gates— talk right before the bombs drop.
If you’ve ever wondered how America actually decides to go to war, this doc leaves the door cracked just wide enough to make your stomach turn.
Thanks to the IDA for putting this back on my radar. This one stuck with me.
Trailer for “The Corridors of Power”
You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up
- President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize just days into office—then went on to authorize more drone strikes than Bush and expand war efforts in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and Yemen.
- During the Rwandan genocide, the U.S. refused to call it a genocide—for fear that doing so would legally require intervention under the Genocide Convention.
Watch “The Corridors of Power”
You can watch “The Corridors of Power” by renting or buying on Amazon Prime or check JustWatch for the latest streaming options.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 89/100
- IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 78/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note: Directed by Dror Moreh, the Oscar-nominated director of “The Gatekeepers” (I rank that 92/100). He specializes in moral complexity and diplomatic brinksmanship. This one runs about 135 minutes.
Release Date: Premiered at Telluride Film Festival in September 2022. Now available for home viewing.
My Review of “The Corridors of Power”
The Setup
This is the documentary that answers one of the hardest questions in foreign policy: When should America use force to stop atrocities abroad?
It’s told by the very people who had to decide. You get firsthand testimony from Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell, Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Leon Panetta, Samantha Power, and more—nearly every U.S. Secretary of State since the Cold War.
The film moves chronologically from the Holocaust to Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and beyond. Every time: Should we go in or stay out? Either way, people die.
More Highlights from the Doc
- After 9/11, a think tank called “Project for the New American Century” successfully pushed the Iraq War plan. Many in the group had written about it years before the towers fell.
- Colin Powell breaks down crying in the doc when talking about his UN speech justifying the Iraq invasion. He calls it one of the biggest regrets of his life.
- Madeleine Albright admits she once said 500,000 dead Iraqi children from sanctions were “worth it”—then later said she regretted those words deeply.
- Samantha Power, who literally wrote the book on genocide prevention, confesses that even with the right intel, the system still drags its feet when lives are on the line.
- Henry Kissinger says U.S. credibility matters more than moral clarity. To him, power is always about perception, not just principle.
Cameos
- Interviews include 7 former Secretaries of State: Kissinger, Shultz, Baker, Albright, Powell, Rice, Clinton.
- Leon Panetta (former CIA Director and Secretary of Defense) shares a blunt view on the gap between intelligence and decision-making.
- Samantha Power reflects on her time in the Obama White House trying to push action in Syria.
- Rare archival footage of Bill Clinton wrestling with inaction in Rwanda and Bosnia.
Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Powell says that the “Pottery Barn Rule” (if you break it, you buy it) was misattributed to him, but he stands by the principle—especially in Iraq.
- The doc covers how Russia blocked any real UN action during the Syrian civil war—exposing how even clear-cut moral crises get stuck in geopolitics.
- Samantha Power kept a whiteboard in her office tallying mass atrocities by country, updated weekly. She admits it felt performative after a while.
- Kissinger once advised Nixon to avoid intervening in Bangladesh in 1971, despite knowing 300,000+ people were dying—because it would risk relations with China and Pakistan.
Wrap Up
“The Corridors of Power” is a doc for anyone who thinks foreign policy is black and white. It shows that even the most powerful people can be paralyzed by uncertainty—and haunted by their choices either way.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc