National Geographic's Inside 9/11: War on America

Another great resource from Walter Ego's 9/11 Video Blog.

"War on America" opens with the dramatic 1993 World Trade Center bombing and tracks terrorist activities aimed at U.S. targets throughout the 1990s leading up to the horrific morning of September 11, 2001. With each successful attack, terrorist networks become more emboldened. The organization and the legend of Osama bin Laden grow. Meet Osama bin Laden as a young Saudi businessman who arrives in Afghanistan to raise funds to help those hurt by the war. Follow this wealthy and privileged son of a self-made billionaire as he rises through the ranks of Islamic terrorist society and remakes himself into a mujahedeen warrior. Hear how bin Laden is schooled in the teachings of radical Palestinian leader Dr. Abdullah Yusuf Azzam as Azzam calls for violent jihad, or holy war, against all enemies of the Islamic state, including the United States, most Western nations and Israel. The extreme hatred for those outside the Islamic faith becomes the cornerstone of al Qaeda's ideology from the mid 1990s until today and is the basis of bin Laden's power. As terrorist activities and organizations continue to increase in power and strength, "War on America" charts the response of the U.S. intelligence community and details the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security Council, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and at least two U.S. presidents. Featured in the program are interviews with terrorism experts from the intelligence community, including former CIA and FBI agents who witnessed the growing threat. Listen as U.S. government whistleblower Bodgan Dzakovic recounts how he—as part of the FAA'S "Red Team"—was able to breach airport security almost 90% of the time with very little problem in the months prior to 9/11. Feel the frustration mount as bin Laden, time and time again, keeps a step ahead of U.S. intelligence efforts to capture him. With each new attack—the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the U.S.S. Cole—the numbers of dead and wounded grow. It becomes obvious that al Qaeda's goal is to stay under the radar, attack with small numbers and kill on a large scale. Follow the trail and review the evidence that led former CIA Director George Tenet to remark in hindsight, "The system was blinking red… [the danger] could not get any worse."