Arte - The Terror Routes (2011)

This film explores the causes of the evil that led to the 9/11 attacks, by documenting 20 years of relations between Washington, the Arab countries, Pakistan and Europe, with the invaluable participation of those who witnessed events (politicians, diplomats, secret agents and former members of Al Qaida).
On Tuesday 11 September 2001, all eyes were riveted on New York. Television channels the world over broadcast live the mind-blowing images of the attack. The odd absolute certainty and a handful of urban legends sustained by distorted truths and bloody mindedness. What do we really know about the pilots? Who exactly were they? Whose orders were they acting under? Could they have been stopped? How did the situation escalate to the point it did? The 11 September attacks - a major event at the dawn of a new century - has profoundly and lastingly changed the world political situation and international relations.
This two-part enquiry sheds new light on the geopolitical and historical background to the attacks and attempts to provide a more precise answer to these questions. The two thematic and chronological documentaries explore the official history (that of the witnesses, specialists, diplomats and politicians) and compare it with the unofficial history (the one that is not documented in school books, and told by agents from the various secret services, investigators and police officers).

A Film by Jean-Christophe Klotz and Fabrizio Calvi ; ARTE France and MAHA Productions

Part 1: 1979-1993: They Were on the Side of the Angels
Through the perspectives of major witnesses, this film provides a thorough analysis of international relations and the factors that led to the attacks of 9/11. Ten years after 9/11, this fascinating investigation revisits the morning's events in the light of the two decades that preceded them, retracing twenty years of secret wars between Washington, Europe and the Arab-Muslim world, from the Iranian revolution to the rise of fundamentalism and terrorism, via the first Gulf War.
This first chapter explores the spiral of events and errors of judgement that led to the first attack on the World Trade Center, on 26 February 1993. It all started with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. Former heads of the CIA explain why they took the risk of arming Bin Laden's Arab Mujahideen and speak of their pact with the Islamist "devil". FBI agents tell of their first investigations into Islamist terror in the United States. The first and only member of the FBI to infiltrate Al Qaeda provides his account. Politicians, diplomats and intelligence agents go back over in detail the unofficial story they helped to write, reconstructing the maze of tensions and Al Qaeda's path through them. From the tragic errors committed by some, to the blind violence imposed by others, this well-documented film interprets the unstoppable cycle of terror and counter-terror.

Part 2: 1993-2001: The Countdown
The second chapter in this investigation into the factors that led to the 9/11 attacks, with a reconstruction of the pursuit of Al Qaeda between 1993 and 2001. This episode pieces together the puzzle of Al Qaeda's whereabouts, highlighting the missed opportunities that led inexorably to the events of the morning of 11 September 2001.
This second part is dedicated to the race against the clock that began following the first attack on the twin towers in 1993. The film goes back over a major mystery of 9/11. More than a year before the attacks, the CIA was monitoring two of the hijackers, as they prepared to enter the US. And yet, the CIA did all they could to stop the FBI finding out.
This documentary pieces together the puzzle of the pursuit of Al Qaeda, highlighting the missed opportunities that spiralled inexorably into the events of the morning of 11 September 2001.