THE ROADS TO TERROR 1979-2001 (THE TERROR ROUTES) EP1 1980-1993: THEY WERE ON THE SIDE OF THE ANGELS

Through the perspectives of major witnesses, this film provides a thorough analysis of international relations and the factors that led to the attacks of 9/11.

Ten years after 9/11, this fascinating investigation revisits the morning's events in the light of the two decades that preceded them, retracing twenty years of secret wars between Washington, Europe and the Arab-Muslim world, from the Iranian revolution to the rise of fundamentalism and terrorism, via the first Gulf War.

This first chapter explores the spiral of events and errors of judgement that led to the first attack on the World Trade Center, on 26 February 1993. It all started with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. Former heads of the CIA explain why they took the risk of arming Bin Laden's Arab Mujahideen and speak of their pact with the Islamist "devil". FBI agents tell of their first investigations into Islamist terror in the United States. The first and only member of the FBI to infiltrate Al Qaeda provides his account.

Politicians, diplomats and intelligence agents go back over in detail the unofficial story they helped to write, reconstructing the maze of tensions and Al Qaeda's path through them. From the tragic errors committed by some, to the blind violence imposed by others, this well-documented film interprets the unstoppable cycle of terror and counter-terror.