NGC Commemorates 9/11 anniversary

August 9th 2007

MonstersandCritics.com

August 9th, 2007

BYLINE: Stone Martindale

The war in Iraq is already among the most devastating events of the still-young 21st century. Now ? six years after al Qaeda?s attack on September 11, almost six years after the phrase ?axis of evil? was coined by President Bush and more than four years after Saddam Hussein was toppled ? those inside the chain of decisions that led us to war are speaking out. How did we arrive at the brink of war? What were the key influences? And ultimately, who is al Qaeda today?

Commemorating the sixth anniversary of 9/11, National Geographic Channel (NGC) airs three shows that together offer a comprehensive perspective on the events leading up to the attacks on the Twin Towers and Pentagon, the decisions that instigated the invasion of Iraq and the current state of al
Qaeda.

On Sunday, August 26, at 7 p.m. ET, NGC encores an updated version of the critically acclaimed special Inside 9/11, which deconstructs the events of that horrible day, starting from the earliest roots of al Qaeda.

New details that have come to light over the past year have been incorporated into the special, including the plot by five British citizens to bomb U.K. targets; the slamming of an explosive-laden SUV into Glasgow Airport; Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?s confession on March 10, 2007 where he said he
was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center attack, the shoe bomber, the killing of ?Wall Street Journal? Reporter Daniel Pearl and the Bali Nightclub bombing; and the discovery of human remains at the World Trade Center site.

Then, on Monday, August 27, NGC premieres Road to War: Iraq at 9 p.m. ET/PT and Inside al Qaeda at 10 p.m. ET/PT. From the producers of Inside 9/11, Road to War: Iraq provides frank, behind-the-scenes insight into the decisionmaking process that led to the invasion of Iraq, still occupied by American forces today.

Included are original interviews from key players with firsthand knowledge of the internal debate within the U.S. government as well as intelligence regarding the threat posed by Iraq and its suspected link to al Qaeda. Inside al Qaeda dissects the current state of the terrorist organization: how the
movement has continued to evolve, its recruitment of homegrown and distant extremists, as well as its foothold around the world following the ongoing military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Road to War: Iraq reveals that the planning to potentially oust Saddam Hussein was initiated within the administration of President George W. Bush just a month after the attacks of 9/11.

The show offers firsthand insight from within the inner circles of the U.S. government that details the internal debate and controversy surrounding making a seismic shift in American foreign policy. The show draws back the curtain on the internal reaction to Vice President Cheney?s public claims that
Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, as well the rift between the Pentagon and the State Department regarding their differing assessments of an effective military force.

Road to War: Iraq also details the use of intelligence to help rationalize a public case for war by policymakers, including CIA director George Tenet, who called it a ?slam dunk.?

?There were some tidbits of information that al Qaeda members or those affiliated with al Qaeda had been in Iraq,? said John Brennan, former CIA deputy director. ?And I think those individuals within the administration who wanted to pursue an aggressive policy against Iraq were trying to make that connection.?

Road to War: Iraq includes candid, original interviews from key administration officials, among them Andrew H. Card, former White House chief of staff; Richard Armitage, former deputy secretary of state; Sen. Bob Graham, former D-Fla.; Richard Perle, former chairman, Defense Policy Board; David
Frum, former presidential speechwriter; Lt. Gen. Mike DeLong, former deputy commander, United States Central Command; Gen. Victor Renuart, former director of operations, United States Central Command; Nick Calio, former assistant to the president for legislative affairs; and Mary Matalin, former counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney.

Inside al Qaeda details the new face of this resurgent terrorist movement ? its global metastasis, its recruitment of militants selected and trained to blend into Western society and its evolution into a worldwide jihadist movement. The show also illustrates how the organization has continued to morph
in response to assaults on its leadership and infrastructure, propagating into independently capable cells and philosophically aligned subgroups.