The Power of Nightmares was possibly the last great documentary series produced by the BBC. A decade after it was first broadcast I look back at the series, offering a brief review before using this as a basis for analyzing recent events. I discuss the criticism of the filmmaker Adam Curtis for his superficial take on 9/11, before exploring the 'defection' of Jamal Al Fadl, an associate of Osama Bin Laden. I also examine author Jason Burke's claim that 'Al Qaeda doesn't exist' and thus that there is no guiding force behind the globalization of Islamism. I round off by picking up some of the elements that have emerged in the comments section about the attacks in Paris, including the arrest of a mysterious Montenegrin arms dealer on his way to Paris and the emergency service exercise on the morning of the attacks.(Read more...)
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