Hugh Humphreys
US Congressman Peter King has called for the CIA and the Department of Defense to look into Kathryn Bigelow’s forthcoming film about the death of Osama bin Laden.
The LA Times says King – who’s the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security – is worried the White House may have given Bigelow access to confidential information.
He says:
“I’m very concerned that any sensitive information could be disclosed in a movie. The procedures and operations that we used in this raid are very likely what we’ll use in other raids. There’s no way a director would know what could be tipping off the enemy.”
Kathryn Bigelow obviously disagrees, saying the finding of bin Laden was a “triumph”.
Here’s what Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal said in a statement:
“Our upcoming film project about the decade-long pursuit of Bin Laden has been in the works for many years and integrates the collective efforts of three administrations, including those of Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama, as well as the cooperative strategies and implementation by the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency. Indeed, the dangerous work of finding the world’s most wanted man was carried out by individuals in the military and intelligence communities who put their lives at risk for the greater good without regard for political affiliation. This was an American triumph, both heroic and nonpartisan, and there is no basis to suggest that our film will represent this enormous victory otherwise.”
The White House says they HAVE been asked by the film’s team for information about the operation, but have rejected all suggestions they would give away classified information. Here’s what press secretary Jay Carney said to the media:
“When people, including you, in this room, are working on articles, books, documentaries or movies that involve the president, ask to speak to administration officials, we do our best to accommodate them to make sure the facts are correct. That is hardly a novel approach to the media. We do not discuss classified information. And I would hope that as we face the continued threat from terrorism, the House Committee on Homeland Security would have more important topics to discuss than a movie.”
All this talk has got me excited to see what Kathryn Bigelow chooses to do with this movie- especially after walking away with the Oscar for 2009’s “The Hurt Locker”. What do you think?
