National Geographic Channel Goes 'Inside 9/11' to Reveal a Clearer Picture of the Day That Redefined Our Nation

National Geographic Channel Goes 'Inside 9/11' to Reveal a Clearer Picture of the Day That Redefined Our Nation

Four-Hour Mini-Series Offers New Insights Into the Worst Terrorist Attack on American Soil

WASHINGTON, July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- We will never forget September 11, 2001 -- a day of unimaginable tragedy, forever altering history and our place in the world. Since the attack we have been barraged with information, creating a cloud of confusion for many. Details continue to come to light and patterns continue to emerge even after the 9/11 Commission released its report.

Now, the National Geographic Channel presents "Inside 9/11," a four-hour mini-series event of unprecedented scope that goes beyond what's been widely reported to reveal a clearer picture of events. With meticulous attention to detail and firsthand storytelling, this series presents a comprehensive and compelling perspective on that tragic day. Currently in production, "Inside 9/11" will premiere over two nights, Sunday, August 21, and Monday, August 22, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

"Inside 9/11" follows the footsteps of the terrorists as they formulated their plans, infiltrated our country and executed their suicide missions. Tracing the timeline that led up to the deadly attacks, the mini-series deconstructs the events of that fateful day, tracking the movements of all four terrorist teams and patching together the ad hoc response of government. It draws from a wide range of sources, including newly declassified documents from the 9/11 Commission investigation; over 60 original interviews with experts, whistleblowers, investigators and survivors -- some speaking out for the first time; eyewitness materials including footage culled from a rarely seen 400-hour archive; and chilling audio recordings from on board the doomed planes and inside air traffic control.

"Inside 9/11" also paints an unvarnished picture of fear and bravery, recounted in the first person. Heartbreaking interviews include that of Richard Picciotti, a battalion chief for the New York City Fire Department who was buried under the rubble for four hours and eventually rescued; Stanley Praimnath, who was in the South Tower when the plane hit, the wing smashing right into his office; and the widows of the fallen heroes of United Airlines Flight 93, who share their final conversations with the passengers right before they attempted to overtake the hijackers.

The show spans decades and circles the globe to lay bare the roots of al Qaeda, beginning with the 1978 Soviet-Afghan War and the transformation of Osama bin Laden from fundraiser to terrorist mastermind. Viewers will delve into the inner workings of al Qaeda and come to know the architects of the plot as they plan and execute the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole.

"Inside 9/11" also tackles the difficult questions about our intelligence efforts and their failure to protect us despite early warning signs that pointed to al Qaeda terrorists living in Tucson, Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City, Atlanta and Brooklyn as early as 1988. Expert analysis comes from inside the intelligence community, including Michael Scheuer, former CIA senior intelligence analyst and bin Laden expert, who says in the mini-series, "America has never had an enemy who has been more precise in warning us what we're in for."

The show also includes testimony pinpointing missed opportunities, such as that of former senator and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Bob Graham, who laments that "early on there was an FBI agent who had suspicions about flight centers in Arizona ... none of those recommendations was followed ... the fact is that the FBI, from 1998 onward, had several of its own people saying that there was a very real, very specific threat involving Middle Eastern men in U.S. flight schools."

Investigative journalist and terrorism expert Steve Emerson adds, "9/11 occurred with 19 guys living here under their own names, registering their own driver's licenses, and yet able to outmaneuver a 30 billion dollar law enforcement intelligence agency network."

Why did the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suppress information on security lapses identified by its own investigators and not take action after receiving 52 warnings that specifically mentioned attacks intended by bin Laden? "Inside 9/11" includes the first-person recollections of an FAA whistleblower, whose testimony to the 9/11 Commission was omitted from the final report. He testified that, "although we breached security with ridiculous ease up to 90 percent of the time, the FAA suppressed these warnings. Instead we were ordered not to write up our findings (in some cases) and not to retest airports where we found particularly egregious vulnerabilities to see if the problems had been fixed."

"Inside 9/11" asks the important questions: How did this happen? How can we make sure it never happens again? The mini-series looks at the work of the men and women who must answer these questions and figure out what's next in a much-changed world. This is the story of individual lives touched by tragedy, and of a nation that was forced to move in a few hours from delusions of invulnerability to belated vigilance.

"Inside 9/11" is produced for the National Geographic Channel by Towers Productions, Inc. Jonathan Towers is the executive producer for Towers Productions. Alex Flaster, Lance Hori, Rachel Milton and Bernie Dudek are producers. Nicole Rittenmeyer is supervising producer. For National Geographic Channel, supervising producer is Collette Beaudry; executive producer is Michael Cascio; executive in charge of production is John Ford.

Visit http://www.inside911.com/, launching August 9, for more information.

Based at National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channel is a joint venture between National Geographic Television & Film (NGT&F) and Fox Cable Networks. National Geographic Channel debuted to an initial 10 million homes in January 2001, and has been one of the fastest growing networks in history. The Channel has carriage with all of the nation's major cable and satellite television providers, making it currently available to 55 million homes. For more information, please visit http://www.nationalgeographic.com/channel.

Source: National Geographic Channel

CONTACT: Russell Howard of National Geographic Channel, +1-202-912-6652,
RHoward@natgeochannel.com; or National Broadcast: Alanna Zahn of National
Geographic Channel, +1-212-852-7093, AZahn@natgeochannel.com, or Cathy Saypol
of CSPR, +1-212-288-8496, Saypolpr@aol.com, for National Geographic Channel;
or National Print: Chris Albert of National Geographic Channel,
+1-202-912-6526, CAlbert@natgeochannel.com, or Nord Wennerstrom of the
Fratelli Group, +1-202-496-2124, NWennerstrom@fratelli.com, for National
Geographic Channel; or National & Local Radio: Clare Hertel of Clare Hertel
Communications, +1-845-340-0731, CHertel@aol.com, for National Geographic
Channel; or Local Print: Licet Ariza of the Fratelli Group, +1-202-496-2122,
LAriza@fratelli.com, for National Geographic Channel; or Photos: Matthew Royse
of National Geographic Channel, +1-202-912-6707, MRoyse@natgeochannel.com

Web site: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/channel
http://www.inside911.com/

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