Would have been better without the video (SPOILERS)

I saw this movie back in 2002 and saw it a few weeks ago on Showtime. Both times, I somehow missed the part of the film where the National Security Advisor watched the video showing the protestors shooting at the embassy. So, because I thought that what was on the tape was unknown, it made the opening sequence in Vietnam more powerful, adding a morality component -- what is justified in war when you are trying to save your comrades?

Without the video clearly (and unbelieveably) showing every member of the crowd firing at the Marines in the embassy, you get to evaluate the merits of what the movie seems to be arguing with the inclusion of the Vietnam sequence. It opens the door for real debate on what is essentially a no-win situation for the platoon commander. And in presenting this situation, the movie could have had a real courtroom debate about the true nature of warfare.

Instead, the writers took the easy way out. Instead of actually exploring the question they posed in the Vietnam scenario, and taking it to its logical conclusion in Yemen (Marines were dying, and they had to get the snipers to abandon what they were doing), you get an obvious cheat: all the Yemenis were terrorists. And for that, what could have been a four-star flick, in my opinion, becomes two star fair (and only that based on the weight of the performances of Samuel Jackson and Tommy Jones).