A missile disappears in Iran, but the CIA has other problems: the heir to an Emirate gives an oil contract to China, cutting out a US company that promptly fires its immigrant workers and merges with a small firm that has landed a Kazakhstani oil contract. The Department of Justice suspects bribery, and the oil company’s law firm finds a scapegoat. The CIA also needs one when its plot to kill the Emir-apparent fails. Agent Bob Barnes, the fall guy, sorts out the double cross. An American economist parlays the death of his son into a contract to advise the sheik the CIA wants dead. The jobless Pakistanis join a fundamentalist group. All roads start and end in the oil fields. Written by {jhailey@hotmail.com}

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If you’re wondering whether “Jarhead” is a message movie, you’ll find your answer in a line from the film. When the Marines in his sniper unit begin discussing the reason behind America’s involvement in Desert Storm, Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) says, “To hell with politics. We’re here now.” That sentiment sums up what “Jarhead” the movie is all about. To hell with politics, arguments over whether or not America should have been involved in protecting Kuwait from Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi troops, and other concerns over the justification of sending Americans to fight in Desert Storm.

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