President Obama inherited a toilet bowl full of problems from his predecessor, to say the least. But tens of thousands of fresh American troops are now on the move and headed to Afghanistan, as part of a reshaped war strategy that is spectacularly ambitious to say the least, given the country’s history (or noted lack thereof) of centralized governance. In Obama’s War, through interviews with the top U.S. commanders on the ground, special embeds with American forces and fresh reporting from Washington, D.C., Frontline producers Martin Smith and Marcela Gaviria get into the nitty-gritty of U.S. counter-insurgency strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan — a fight that promises to take much longer and be more costly than most Americans really understand.

While a lot of current event DVD titles seem to stand astride their subject or area of inquiry (with all apologies to Larry Craig) with a wide stance, valuing generalized consensus for smoother mass consumption, Obama’s War makes no such concessions. This is no dithering title, nor a cursory one, though it slots in at merely an hour. It’s a substantive investigatory piece about where things are headed, and how past (and current) efforts in Afghanistan have been undermined by both corruption and Pakistani intelligence services’ continued cooperation with the Taliban.

After the briefest of set-ups, the title opens with embed footage from a firefight, and a wounded 20-year-old lance corporal being tended to by his Marine colleagues. (He does not survive.) Special diplomatic envoy Richard Holbrooke, current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen and Stanley McChrystal, current Commander, U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, sit for interview chats, but aren’t just given free reign to wander through administration talking points; they’re actually questioned, and respond in detail. Diplomats and authors like Celeste Ward and Alex Thier also get their time, but Smith and Gaviria tie things together in comprehensive (if unnerving) fashion, detailing the systemic culture of Afghan outpost corruption any attempts at lasting peace must markedly erode. It also shows how the heroin and marijuana trades help fund terrorist operations, to the tune of $100 million per year. There’s a lot of meat here, in other words; most notable is Mullen’s detailed assertion about intercepted communication exchanges between Taliban and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency.

Housed in a regular plastic Amaray case, Obama’s War comes to DVD presented in 16×9 widescreen, with an English language stereo audio track that more than adequately handles the disc’s meager aural demands. There are unfortunately no supplemental bonus features. To purchase this DVD, or any other Frontline title, phone (800) PLAY-PBS, or click here. A- (Movie) D (Disc)