Clint Eastwood: "I Was Against Going Into the War in Iraq"

"I was against going into the war in Iraq since I figured we would probably trip over ourselves in some way," Clint Eastwood revealed after screening his new film American Sniper on Saturday at the Academy of Motion Picture Artists and Sciences' Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

"I had a big question when we went into Afghanistan," he also said, explaining, "Did anybody ever study the history of Afghanistan, not only with the British, but the Russians? There was a Russian general named Vivikov, who was the commander for 10 years there, and I thought, 'Did anybody ever...?' So I called a friend of mine who was over there for many years and knew this general. I said, 'Did anybody from our government ever go and research it like you would a movie? You know, can we film here?' And they said, 'No, they never did.' Vivikov is deceased now, but at the time I thought, 'Wouldn't a logical person go out and do a little research and say, 'How would you do this, Mr. Vivikov? What did you do wrong? And what are we doing wrong? Give us at least a hint.'"


Sniper, which Warners will open in limited release Christmas day, profiles Chris Kyle (played by Bradley Cooper), a Navy SEAL who was the most effective American sniper during the Iraq War. It is already provoking considerable debate, with some asserting that the movie — and particularly the shocking way it ends — serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of war. But others have suggested that it is the politically conservative Eastwood's attempt to glorify and defend the Iraq War that was initiated by fellow Republican George W. Bush.

The 84-year-old filmmaker — who could become the oldest person, by five years, ever to land a best director Oscar nom— is usually a man of few words, but he took the issue head-on, embarking on a passionate soliloquy, of sorts as he spoke about his own experience of war during a Q&A I conducted with him in front of hundreds of Oscar voters

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