Did the turf war between Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was responsible for al Qaeda executing the horrific 9/11 terror attacks in 2001? The Looming Tower, a TV show shows what transpired in the events leading up to the coordinated terror attacks on US soil that changed the world.
I was barely 11 years old, studying in sixth grade when two planes crashed into the World Trade Centre in New York 23 years ago. I saw the relentless TV news coverage of the terror attacks that killed 3,000 people in US. As someone who takes keen interest in national security, geopolitics and counter-terrorism, I was intrigued and wanted to know how a superpower could not prevent such a massive terror attack.
Until I found this TV show based on Lawrence Wright’s book of the same name. The Looming Tower first aired on Hulu and later premiered on streaming platform Amazon Prime Video.
The Looming Tower plot and cast
The Looming Tower features Jeff Daniels as John O’Neill, the chief of New York FBI’s counter-terrorism centre called I-49. The series depicts the rise of al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda in the late 1990s. Founded by Laden, al Qaeda came under radar after it carried out bombings in the US embassies of Kenya and Tanzania, resulting in the deaths of more than 200 people.
Signal: Past meets present in this thrilling K-drama. Should you watch it?
John O’Neill died while helping others to evacuate from the South Tower after it was hit by a United Airlines Flight 175 during the 9/11 attacks. According to a New Yorker report, he was among the few top managers in the FBI who recognised early the threats posed by al Qaeda to the US.
Ali Soufan, a Muslim Lebanese FBI agent is a part of O’Neill’s I-49 counter terrorism squad who goes undercover in terrorists’ circles to hunt al-Qaeda and prevent terror attacks. The role of Ali Soufan was played by Tahar Rahim.
In the show, O’Neill is pitted against Martin Schmidt, who runs a CIA desk dedicated to similar probes but defies orders to share information with the I-49 team. The relentless turf wars between the CIA and FBI suggests that a better coordination could have prevented the brutal terror attacks.