PBS series looks at the big picture in Iraq

The documentary's title is "The Case for War," and the focus is Richard Perle , former Bush administration adviser, architect of the war in Iraq, unflinching defender of the neoconservative perspective.

But in this hourlong installment of "America at a Crossroads," the ambitious PBS documentary series that airs next week, Perle hardly trumpets his views from a tower. Largely, he talks to people who disagree -- including soldiers' relatives he meets at an antiwar protest in Washington, D.C. They question his motives, hurl epithets, then treat him to a round of quiet applause.

"That was actually quite moving," Perle said in a telephone interview. "There were people who said that no one who held my view had been willing to talk to them. No one in the administration had talked to them. Some of them were, I think, genuinely appreciative for an opportunity to say what was on their mind."

It was also vindication, in a sense, for the high-profile series, which begins six nights of films Sunday with "Jihad: The Men and Ideas Behind Al Qaeda."

In 2004, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which channels federal funding to public television stations, put out a call for proposals, saying it would devote $20 million in federal money to a broad look at post-9/11 challenges. From the start, critics complained that the costly initiative would drain resources from existing public television series. And when CPB chairman Kenneth Tomlinson resigned in 2005, after reports that he had overstepped boundaries when investigating a perceived liberal bias on public TV, some saw the "Crossroads" series -- and Perle's inclusion in it -- as a political statement in itself.

Most of those complaints have dissipated, in part because of steps PBS has taken: bringing Washington-based station WETA on board to oversee the series, and calling on journalist Robert MacNeil to host a set of introductions.

"I think the transition from the theoretical -- the request for proposals -- to the reality . . . has really put aside the concerns with respect to the stations' anxiety," said John Wilson, PBS's senior vice president and chief TV programming executive. The series, Wilson said, "was conceived to bring out diverse viewpoints, multiple perspectives, different producers. I think it's achieved that."

In all, more than 400 submissions were whittled down to the 11 that will air next week. (A few more, which also received production money, will air on PBS at later times.)

The films cover a range of subjects, from the lives of soldiers in Iraq to struggles within the Muslim community worldwide. Some take the straightforward style of standard TV documentaries. Others use striking cinematic techniques; "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience" uses animation and fantasy to dramatize soldiers' writings.

Tuesday's pairing of films, Wilson said, is meant to explore the ideas and realities of the war in Iraq. Wednesday's explores the consequences of 9/11 for Europeans and for Muslims in America. Thursday's examines dissent within the Muslim world. And Friday's weighs the balance between security and freedom.

The series seemed an opportunity to give Americans a global perspective, said Canadian Muslim writer Irshad Manji , the focus of the film, "Faith Without Fear."

"As a Canadian, I'm actually very comfortable -- even proud -- to be part of this series," Manji said in a telephone interview. "PBS has avoided a mistake that so many American institutions make, which is insularity."

PBS has also launched an outreach campaign, with promotional events in at least 15 cities. In Boston this week, Manji spoke at Simmons College and Perle sat on a panel at Emerson College.

In an interview, Perle said "The Case for War" evolved over the course of several years. First conceived as a film version of "An End to Evil," a book he co-wrote with former Bush speechwriter David Frum , it became a "traveling dialogue," following Perle to cities across the world -- as well as the emotional Washington protest -- to argue his point of view.

Perle said he didn't get to have every conversation he wanted; the filmmakers tried, and failed, to set up meetings with filmmaker Michael Moore, Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, and "a rock group called Green Day."

Still, he takes his share of criticism, not least from the angry-but-appreciative protesters on the Washington Mall. "We set out to make a film in which issues were argued," Perle said. "And it wasn't intended to give me the last word on everything. The only last word I got was at the very end."

Joanna Weiss can be reached at weiss@globe.com. For more on TV, go to viewerdiscretion.net.