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The CIA and the Myths of the Bin Laden Raid
If you read the sketchy New York Times article on the Delta Force raid into Syria a few days ago -- how an ISIS leader was killed when he "tried to engage" American commandos while his fighters used women and children as shields, and an 18-year-old slave was freed with no civilian casualties thanks to "very precise fire" -- you can be forgiven for thinking, "Haven't I seen this movie before?"
May 19, 2015
If you read the sketchy New York Times article on the Delta Force raid into Syria a few days ago -- how an ISIS leader was killed when he "tried to engage" American commandos while his fighters used women and children as shields, and an 18-year-old slave was freed with no civilian casualties thanks to "very precise fire" -- you can be forgiven for thinking, "Haven't I seen this movie before?"
You probably have, and it was called "Zero Dark Thirty," the film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, written by Mark Boal and backed with gusto by the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA provided Bigelow and Boal with privileged access to officials and operators behind the hunt for Osama bin Laden -- and not coincidently, their movie portrayed the CIA's torture program as essential to the effort to find and kill the leader of Al Qaeda. It grossed more than $132 million worldwide.
"Zero Dark Thirty" was criticized by a number of writers (including me) when it came out in 2012, and now it is being treated as a political farce in a new Frontline documentary scheduled to be broadcast by PBS on Tuesday, May 19th. Titled "Secrets, Politics and Torture," the show explores the CIA's effort to persuade Congress, the White House and the American public that its "enhanced interrogation methods" were responsible for extracting from unwilling prisoners the clues that led to bin Laden and other enemy targets.
Watch the trailer for documentary:
Jane Mayer, the New Yorker writer whose work on CIA torture has been exemplary, explains that the team behind "Zero Dark Thirty" were conned by the CIA.
"The CIA's business is seduction, basically," she says in the documentary. "And to seduce Hollywood producers, I mean they are easy marks compared to some of the people that the CIA has to go after."
Another journalist, Michael Isikoff, connects the final dots by pointing out the harm caused by political lies that find their way into blockbuster films.
"Movies like 'Zero Dark Thirty' have a huge impact," he says. "More people see them, and more people get their impressions about what happened from a movie like that than they do from countless news stories or TV spots."
The Frontline documentary could not come at a better moment.
Read the full article at The Intercept.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
© 2023 The Intercept
Peter Maass
Peter Maass is a staff journalist for The Intercept and has written about war, media, and national security for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post. Follow him on Twitter: @maassp
If you read the sketchy New York Times article on the Delta Force raid into Syria a few days ago -- how an ISIS leader was killed when he "tried to engage" American commandos while his fighters used women and children as shields, and an 18-year-old slave was freed with no civilian casualties thanks to "very precise fire" -- you can be forgiven for thinking, "Haven't I seen this movie before?"
You probably have, and it was called "Zero Dark Thirty," the film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, written by Mark Boal and backed with gusto by the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA provided Bigelow and Boal with privileged access to officials and operators behind the hunt for Osama bin Laden -- and not coincidently, their movie portrayed the CIA's torture program as essential to the effort to find and kill the leader of Al Qaeda. It grossed more than $132 million worldwide.
"Zero Dark Thirty" was criticized by a number of writers (including me) when it came out in 2012, and now it is being treated as a political farce in a new Frontline documentary scheduled to be broadcast by PBS on Tuesday, May 19th. Titled "Secrets, Politics and Torture," the show explores the CIA's effort to persuade Congress, the White House and the American public that its "enhanced interrogation methods" were responsible for extracting from unwilling prisoners the clues that led to bin Laden and other enemy targets.
Watch the trailer for documentary:
Jane Mayer, the New Yorker writer whose work on CIA torture has been exemplary, explains that the team behind "Zero Dark Thirty" were conned by the CIA.
"The CIA's business is seduction, basically," she says in the documentary. "And to seduce Hollywood producers, I mean they are easy marks compared to some of the people that the CIA has to go after."
Another journalist, Michael Isikoff, connects the final dots by pointing out the harm caused by political lies that find their way into blockbuster films.
"Movies like 'Zero Dark Thirty' have a huge impact," he says. "More people see them, and more people get their impressions about what happened from a movie like that than they do from countless news stories or TV spots."
The Frontline documentary could not come at a better moment.
Read the full article at The Intercept.
Peter Maass
Peter Maass is a staff journalist for The Intercept and has written about war, media, and national security for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post. Follow him on Twitter: @maassp
If you read the sketchy New York Times article on the Delta Force raid into Syria a few days ago -- how an ISIS leader was killed when he "tried to engage" American commandos while his fighters used women and children as shields, and an 18-year-old slave was freed with no civilian casualties thanks to "very precise fire" -- you can be forgiven for thinking, "Haven't I seen this movie before?"
You probably have, and it was called "Zero Dark Thirty," the film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, written by Mark Boal and backed with gusto by the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA provided Bigelow and Boal with privileged access to officials and operators behind the hunt for Osama bin Laden -- and not coincidently, their movie portrayed the CIA's torture program as essential to the effort to find and kill the leader of Al Qaeda. It grossed more than $132 million worldwide.
"Zero Dark Thirty" was criticized by a number of writers (including me) when it came out in 2012, and now it is being treated as a political farce in a new Frontline documentary scheduled to be broadcast by PBS on Tuesday, May 19th. Titled "Secrets, Politics and Torture," the show explores the CIA's effort to persuade Congress, the White House and the American public that its "enhanced interrogation methods" were responsible for extracting from unwilling prisoners the clues that led to bin Laden and other enemy targets.
Watch the trailer for documentary:
Jane Mayer, the New Yorker writer whose work on CIA torture has been exemplary, explains that the team behind "Zero Dark Thirty" were conned by the CIA.
"The CIA's business is seduction, basically," she says in the documentary. "And to seduce Hollywood producers, I mean they are easy marks compared to some of the people that the CIA has to go after."
Another journalist, Michael Isikoff, connects the final dots by pointing out the harm caused by political lies that find their way into blockbuster films.
"Movies like 'Zero Dark Thirty' have a huge impact," he says. "More people see them, and more people get their impressions about what happened from a movie like that than they do from countless news stories or TV spots."
The Frontline documentary could not come at a better moment.
Read the full article at The Intercept.
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