I mentioned this in a post below, but wanted to give it more some more time. The BBC has put out an absolutely excellent documentary series about the terrorist myth, and how it was intentionally created and perpetuated as a means to gain and hold power. It is the history lesson that everyone desperately needs on the topic of how and why it serves the interest of American leaders to keep their subjects in a manufactured state of fear. It is called “The Power of Nightmares” and so far 2 of the 3 hour long episodes has aired. The next is due to air tomorrow night in the UK. Here is a review of it from the Guardian.
- The Power of Nightmares seeks to overturn much of what is widely believed about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida. The latter, it argues, is not an organised international network. It does not have members or a leader. It does not have “sleeper cells”. It does not have an overall strategy. In fact, it barely exists at all, except as an idea about cleansing a corrupt world through religious violence.
Curtis’ evidence for these assertions is not easily dismissed. He tells the story of Islamism, or the desire to establish Islam as an unbreakable political framework, as half a century of mostly failed, short-lived revolutions and spectacular but politically ineffective terrorism. Curtis points out that al-Qaida did not even have a name until early 2001, when the American government decided to prosecute Bin Laden in his absence and had to use anti-Mafia laws that required the existence of a named criminal organisation.
With my slow internet connection here, I was only able to download an audio-only version of part 2 in the documentary [download zipped mp3 file here]. But even hearing just that was phenomenally good. I have managed to track down another blog which has some additional sources where broadband users should be able to download the actual videos themselves (directly or through bitTorrents). Also, the infamous bitTorrent site SuprNova.org has a bunch of torrents of both episodes for you to grab.
This is probably the most important documentary that’s come up so far, based on what I’ve heard of it. It is the atom bomb to Farhenheit 9/11’s backyard firecracker show. It’s also vitally important that this is coming from the BBC itself, and not somebody who could easily be dismissed by most as conspiracy theorist, like Mike Ruppert. I urge everybody to check it out, no matter what your political persuasion is, as we move forward into whatever our next phase is.
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