It’s no secret that members of the US Armed Forces screen The Battle of Algiers before deploying to the CENTCOM area of operations. The 1966 black and white film, which depicts the brutal Algerian war of independence, was even shown at the Pentagon in the early aftermath of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a means of examining the methods and operating practices of a classical Muslim insurgency. Although the utility of the film may have been proven as educational tool, screenwriter Robert Avrech at Big Hollywood argues that The Battle of Algiers was even more useful as a propaganda tool — designed to fit the quintessential leftist narrative on terrorism.