Manhunt Dvd

Manhunt: The Search for Bin Laden is a 2013 documentary film directed by Greg Barker that explores the Central Intelligence Agency’s investigation of Osama bin Laden, starting from 1995 until his death in 2011. It premiered on HBO on May 1, 2013, two years after the mission that killed bin Laden.

Synopsis

The Sisterhood
The first section of the documentary interviews a crew of female CIA analysts, known as the Band of Sisters,about their involvement in tracking down Osama bin Laden. They include Susan Hasler, Cindy Storer, Nada Bakos, Gina Bennett, a 25-year veteran of the agency, and Barbara Sude, a senior Al-Qaeda analyst. It also features John E. McLaughlin who oversaw the CIA analysts and worked for staff training. The documentary mentions that the CIA started the Bin Laden Issue Station in 1995 with the code name “Alec Station.”

Downrange
This section of the documentary interviews Peter Bergen who has been reporting in Afghanistan for over 30 years and briefly mentions the insignificance of bin Laden in 1984.

An Analytic Judgement
Cindy Storer discusses the analysis work and conclusions built around the early intelligence related to the Jihad movement and mentions that she wrote the CIA’s first warning to the President of the United States about bin Laden.

A Declaration of War
This section of the documentary covers interviews with bin Laden by Peter Bergen and Peter Arnett, after bin Laden had declared a war against United States, and includes clips of the interviews. Storer and McLaughlin mention that though the CIA paid enough attention to bin Laden’s attack warnings, it failed to determine the date and timing of planned attacks. Storer notes that it was a “difficult” task because al-Qaeda was a “clandestine organization.”

The Blame
Storer discusses the criticism and accusations of negligence made against the CIA by the United States Congress. The documentary also mentions an internal CIA investigation that cast blame on some of the original members of “Alec Station” for their failure to inform the FBI, which was also investigating al-Qaeda. Later, former FBI agent Ali Soufan narrates his experience of interrogating bin Laden’s bodyguard.

Dismantlement
McLaughlin mentions the “World Wide Attack Matrix,” a war declared by the U.S. against al-Qaeda. Philip Mudd, then deputy of the CIA’s counter-terrorism center, notes the CIA’s task was to understand al-Qaeda and then to “dismantle” it. He also discusses changes in “Alec Station” following the 9/11 attacks. Jose Rodriguez, who ran the CIA’s counter-terrorism center, and Marty Martin, who ran spies in the Middle East and who led the CIA’s war on al-Qaeda, discuss their involvement in the project. Martin describes how the CIA became “more aggressive” with its changed “rule-book.” Rodriguez identifies the CIA’s focus on capturing Abu Zubaydah and White House approval for “enhanced interrogations” involving twelve “defined” techniques.

Kill/Capture
One of the CIA officers indicates that some of the original members of “Alec Station” were moved to become “targeters” for bin Laden and were sent to war zones with elite military units. The documentary then interviews Stanley A. McChrystal who commanded U.S. Special Operations units and Michael Mullen who was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff about their roles in the project.

The Breakthrough
Noting Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s interaction with bin Laden and the terrorist leader’s association with Hassan Ghul, CIA agents then cite the importance of Abu Ahmed Al-Kuwaiti, a pseudonym for bin Laden’s courier and his only point of contact to the outside world.

End Game
Michael Hayden, who became director of the CIA in 2006, notes his involvement in tracing bin Laden’s courier and the person behind the pseudonym, Ibrahim Saeed. Joby Warrick, who covered the CIA for The Washington Post, mentions Humam al-Balawi, who was a doctor who treated the number-two leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri and his videotapes from meetings with Zawahiri. Al-Balawi was later shown in his final videotape before killing himself in a suicide bombing at a CIA post in Afghanistan, killing several CIA officers, including Jennifer Matthews.

The documentary ends with the video footage of bin Laden before his capture and Stanley A. McChrystal’s question to the American people, “why is the enemy the enemy?”