The film Zero Dark Thirty is opening
country-wide this week,amid some controversy about alleged CIA torture
and one woman's obsession about finding Osama bin Laden. Although
considered a good film and possible favorite at the Oscar's, the film
misses the point that finding OBL was a ten-year search by thousands of
CIA case officers, analysts, and other key personnel. The torture scenes
are Hollywood make believe. Enhanced
interrogation ended in 2003 and no one was ever treated by CIA as
depicted in the film. The character Maya is a composite of thousands
through whom the story is told. She is a good choice because many women
in the Counterterrorism Center "deserve a disproportionately large share
of the credit for tracking" OBL. It is worth seeing, I am told, and
intend to see it for myself. In the meantime it is worthwhile to pay
attention to the views of some of the men who were there, e.g. Jose
Rodriguez, a 31-year CIA veteran, who headed the Counterterrorism Center
and National Clandestine Service. He wrote a comprehensive review of
the movie published in The Washington Post on January 3. See the movie with an
open mind.
(Other blog entries here.)
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