The world changed forever on September 11, 2001, in ways that still reverberate some 15 years later. Filmmaker Miles O'Brien's PBS-aired NOVA documentary examines how the war on terrorism has been influenced by new technologies (employed by both sides). For the jihadi terrorists, the new social media is an invaluable tool, initially used to encourage would-be terrorists to come to the battlefields, and more recently as a means of reaching self-radicalized extremists, urging them to "kill where you live." For the Western countries, it's a constant struggle to connect the dots, tracking down people who are often hiding in plain view—isolated men and women living between two worlds, who sometimes are also coping with drugs, domestic violence, and low self-image. Homeland officials try to pinpoint potential terrorists before they commit mayhem, but as is often remarked: governments must be successful all the time, while terrorists only need to succeed once. The film presents the case of Omar Hammami, an American who went to Somalia and used rap lyrics to promote jihad on social media, only to run afoul of the terrorist group al Shabaab, who eventually tracked down and killed Hammami in 2013. Western experts have compiled a psychological profile of terrorists as individuals who are looking for certainty in a chaotic world, are susceptible to group think, and feel humiliated and diminished by society. But whether it's possible to successfully stage terrorist interventions is open to question. Featuring input from terrorist expert Peter Bergin and others (including a reformed terrorist), this documentary offers an intriguing look at how we are facing a decades-long struggle against extremism, both in the real world and online. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)
15 Years of Terror
(2016) 60 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS Video. ISBN: 978-1-62789-911-6. Volume 32, Issue 2
15 Years of Terror
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