TERRORISM
BEHIND THE HATRED
VCR No. 4026-4028, 2003, 50 mins. each.
Understand the long history of terrorism in the Middle East and the historic
role America
has played in negotiating for peace in this thorough examination of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Co-produced with BBC News, New York Times
Television and NBC News, this program offers a fresh perspective on the
history, politics and social issues behind the conflict, including suicide
bombings. Through expert interviews, archival footage, and in-depth historical
studies, learn why cooperation has been so elusive and
what barriers still exist to peace. 3 epsiodes on 3
videos, 50 minutes each.
THE ROOTS OF CONFLICT (VCR No. 4026)
Through interviews with renowned historians, key historical figures and
archival footage, uncover the roots of conflict in the Middle
East, noting the parallels between past and present. Understand
the role America
has played in the peace process and the challenges of negotiation.
MORTAL ENEMIES (VCR No. 4027)
Through the interwoven life stories of Sharon and Arafat, examine the current
chaos in Israel and the West Bank through the lens of two men's antagonism: their
shared experiences, their ambitions, betrayals and moments of triumph. In original interviews, the closest comrades-in-arms and the
fiercest of enemies paint vivid portraits of these two extraordinary figures.
MIDDLE EAST: THE FIGHT FOR PEACE (VCR No. 4028)
Peace in the Middle East has long seemed an
unattainable goal. Delve into the Middle East
peace initiatives from the Oslo Accords in 1993 to the present to see how a
stumbling peace process has dashed the hopes of both peoples. Examine the
apparently immutable obstacles to peace, from land to borders to security to
refugees.
FRONTLINE: INSIDE THE TERRORIST NETWORK
VCR No. 4023, 2003, 55 mins.
This documentary explores the
factors that motivated those men who carried out the attacks on America on
September 11. It traces their movements
across four continents, follows clues they left behind, and links their direct
connection to bin Laden’s terror network. How could these conspirators have plotted for
years and gone basically undetected?
Former New York Times Washington Bureau Chief Hedrick Smith connects the
dots, interviews their friends, teachers, classmates, and acquaintances. In a documentary/dramatic fashion we
experience their final hours, and their final minutes. Hedrick Smith’s closing words capture the
underlying tone of this documentary:
“The enduring shock of September 11 is that we did not understand the
world we live in . . . understand that young men with bright futures would burn
with such hatred, that they would die to destroy us. They succeeded by commitment and cunning, we
failed of complacency and poor imagination.
They caught us by surprise because we did not dream that this could
happen here. Part of what lies buried
beneath the ashes at Ground Zero are America’s delusions.”
FRONTLINE: LOOKING FOR ANSWERS
VCR No. 4021, 2003, 60 mins.
Investigates the roots of
the Islamic terrorist network, and the anti-American hatred that feeds it, and
traces how the trajectories of bin Laden and al-Zawahiri
met in the mountains of Afghanistan. The roots of the hatred are not found in Afghanistan but in the lands of two crucial U.S. allies in the Islamic world: Egypt
and Saudi Arabia.
Although this documentary was produced approximately a year ago (2001), the background
material and assessment by government and congressional officials of
intelligence failings are valid today.
FRONTLINE: TRAIL OF A TERRORIST
VCR No. 4022, 2003, 55 mins.
On Dec. 14, 1999, a 32-year-old
Algerian named Ahmed Ressam was detained at the
U.S./Canadian border when an alert customs agent became suspicious of Ressam's hesitant answers to her questions. When the trunk
of his car was opened, agents discovered a powerful bomb and a plot for a
millennium attack on America.
Ressam said nothing at his trial but, facing 130
years in prison, decided to testify against an accomplice. His chilling testimony
reveals his motives, his methods, and his connection to an Algerian terrorist
group that had already carried out bombings in Europe.
Ressam described his training at the Osama bin Laden
camps in Afghanistan,
where he became skilled in urban warfare, sabotage, and covert operations.
THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN REPORTING: SEARCHING FOR THE ROOTS OF
9/11
VCR No. 4029, 2003, 52 mins.
Join three-time Pulitzer
Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman as he tries to answer
two of the most puzzling questions to come out of 9/11: What drove 19 young,
middle-class Muslim men to give up their lives to murder almost 3,000 people?
And - perhaps more important - why does their violent act elicit so much
support from millions of ordinary Muslims throughout the world?
The answers lie deep in the Middle
East, where the contradictory feelings of so many Muslims are laid bare: deep
admiration for America's
freedom and standard of living, combined with profound anger at what they see
as our arrogant behavior in that part of the world. Travel to Indonesia and Qatar
where Muslim students bristle at the notion of increased U.S. support
for Israeli violence against Palestinians, and yet gleefully express their
eagerness to enroll in American universities. Watch as Friedman - who boasts 25
years of experience reporting on the Muslim world - debates a radical
Palestinian on Al Jazeera television, then takes
viewers on a grim walk through the streets of the very same Cairo neighborhood that produced Mohammad Atta - the leader of the September 11 attacks.
And, yet, change is afoot. Journey
to the tiny Arab nation of Bahrain
where a free, parliamentary election is underway - complete with women
candidates - and meet the editors of an independent newspaper that's free from
government censorship. Friedman's investigative work reveals that there is a
true and undeniable yearning for freedom in the Muslim world. Could it be that
the most profound effects of 9/11 will be felt - not in America - but in the Middle
East, where the shock waves released since those two towers went
down have jump started an urgent conversation about reconciling Islam with
democracy? 50 minutes.
TO HONOR AND REMEMBER: SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
On the Front Line
VCR No. 4114, 2001
Updated: February 2008
