The Al Qaeda Files

Five years after the fact, it's clear that the 9/11 terrorist attacks will rank as the defining moment of our time. The double-disc The Al Qaeda Files compiles seven hour-long PBS-aired Frontline documentaries in a comprehensive review of the evolving story of Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, chronicling how the man and his organization rose from obscurity to become the world's biggest public enemy. The earliest entries here, made even before 9/11, underscore the fact that Bin Laden made his intentions to wage war on America devastatingly clear long ago, and are full of ironies and "what ifs?" In the 1980s, America lent complete support to the jihadis waging holy war on the Russians in Afghanistan, but after the Soviets pulled out, the U.S. government lost interest in the Muslims, who were now well-equipped and trained. But the U.S. maintained a military presence and in the early 1990s, Bin Laden—outraged that the Saudis allowed the American "infidels" to be stationed in their country—began to use his considerable financial resources to train terrorists in the lawless lands of Afghanistan. Yet, even the 1993 bombing in the underground parking garage below the World Trade Center failed to truly awaken America to the long reach of the new Islamic threat. The Al Qaeda Files looks at Bin Laden's mission, from the early attacks on American embassies in Africa, revealing a disturbing pattern of warnings overlooked and opportunities missed (it also makes the chilling point that Bin Laden views his quest as an epic war to the death). Other episodes here look at "sleeper cells," FBI special agent John O'Neill's heroic but futile efforts to warn the government about Bin Laden (ironically, O'Neill was killed in the 9/11 World Trade Center bombing), and the changing role of al-Qaeda in the years since 9/11. A&E's Targeted: Osama Bin Laden (VL-3/05) offers a more compact version of the essentials, but this wider-ranging compilation is still recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)