Inspired by Dwight Eisenhower's legendary farewell speech (in which he coined the phrase military industrial complex ), filmmaker Eugene Jarecki surveys the scorched landscape of a half-century's military adventures, asking how - and telling why - a nation of, by, and for the people has become the savings-and-loan of a system whose survival depends on a state of constant war. The film moves beyond the headlines of various American military operations to the deeper questions of why - why does America fight? What are the forces - political, economic, ideological - that drive a people to fight against an ever-changing enemy?Why We Fight won the Grand Jury Prize (Documentary) at the Sundance Film Festival. It is an unflinching look at the anatomy of the American war machine, weaving unforgettable personal stories with commentary by a who's who of military and Washington beltway insiders. Featuring John McCain, Gore Vidal, William Kristol, Chalmers Johnson, Richard Perle and others, Why