My Trip to Al-Qaeda plot
"Behind the Scenes in the War on Terror"
Documentary about journalist Lawrence Wright, probably the westerner with the most knowledge about the rise of Al Qaeda and experience in multiple trips to the area where they operate. He was friends with bin Laden's brother-in-law (until he was assassinated) and spoke regularly with Al Qaeda's mastermind Ayman al-Zawahiri. Wright reflects that the vast majority of Muslims want nothing to do with bin Laden, terrorism has often been fueled by economic backwardness and political impotence, and the US responded to 9/11 just about exactly as bin Laden had hoped.