In 2011, the combat cameraman Miles Lagoze arrived in Helmand province, Afghanistan, tasked with manufacturing propaganda-friendly visuals and audio. In 2018, Lagoze released Combat Obscura, his documentary bringing together 70 minutes of recorded footage of his fellow marines, all originally left on the cutting room floor. The result was inconvenient enough for the U.S. government that it threatened (but ultimately abandoned) legal action. Van and Lyle discuss the film’s most endearing and vicious moments, as well as everything in between. They also reflect on their own roles in the war machine around the same time. 

Further Reading

Whistles from the Graveyard (2023), by Miles Lagoze

No Good Men Among the Living (2014), by Anand Gopal

“The Other Afghan Women” (2021), by Anand Gopal

“The Afghan Women Left Behind” (2022), by Rozina Ali

“‘How Did This Man Think He Had the Right to Adopt This Baby?’” (2022), by Rozina Ali

“The Civilian Casualty Files” (2021), by Azmat Khan, et al.Song credit: “Dumpster Fire,” by The Great Heights Band, feat. Rauli V.

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