Targeted: Osama bin Laden; The War Against al-Qaeda

Reviled in the West, revered by some Muslims as a true defender of the faith, Osama bin Laden is the world's most wanted fugitive. After being ignored by the U.S. government for almost a decade, the 9/11 attacks revealed that bin Laden's al-Qaeda ("the base") could well be the greatest threat to world peace in the early 21st century. Two new History Channel documentaries focus on the man and his movement. Targeted charts bin Laden's experiences (he was born in 1957 as one of the lesser heirs to the bin Laden construction empire in Saudi Arabia) in the 1979-1989 war triggered by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, during which time the U.S. funded, trained, and equipped Islamic radicals such as bin Laden, who distinguished himself for his organizational talents and personal bravery. After the Saudis invited the Americans into their country following Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, an enraged bin Laden mobilized his followers, but his fiery rhetoric and al-Qaeda terrorist training camps quickly led to his exile in the Sudan and Afghanistan. Chronicling bin Laden's road to jihad, his alliance with the fundamentalist Taliban government in Afghanistan, and his ever-increasing campaign of terror against U.S. interests, culminating in the worst attack ever on American soil, Targeted offers insights into both bin Laden's career and the man himself (the few outsiders who have met him describe bin Laden as polite, rather shy, and passionate in his beliefs). With a $50 million price tag on his head, many believe that bin Laden is surrounded by friendly tribesmen and supporters in the vast, remote no-man's land of the Hindu Kush mountains. Featuring expert testimony combined with solid dramatic recreation, this timely, riveting program is highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P.The War Against al-Qaeda, which covers much of the same ground as Targeted, shifts its focus a bit to describe U.S. efforts to track down and eliminate al-Qaeda cells and their supporters (no easy task, as it's estimated that 20,000-50,0000 terrorists have passed through al-Qaeda camps and the organization may have cells in up to 80 countries). Looking at cover ops against al-Qaeda, how bin Laden "slipped the noose" (escaping from the Tora Bora region in late 2001), and the intricate connections between money and terrorism, the program makes the very questionable assertion that the war against al-Qaeda has been a "big success." Still, the documentary also amply illustrates the perils of this long twilight war, as well as the nightmare scenario that would follow if nuclear weapons fell into the hands of bin Laden's followers. Recommended, but given the duplication of material found in the superior Targeted, this should be considered a second choice. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)