Power of Nightmares, The (3 Parts)

Synopsis: Three documentaries about the use of fear for political gain, with particular reference to the American Neoconservatives and radical Islamists.
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Year of release: 2007
Year of production: 2005
Notes: Broadcast in 3 parts over successive days on BBC2, beginning 18/1/2005.
Although the programmes are available online via the Internet Archive and Google Video, these are not copyright-cleared, so the only legitimate way of obtaining copies is via ERA off-air recording schemes.
Subjects: Politics & government
Keywords: Afghanistan; terrorism; United States of America; political issues; Neoconservatives; Islamic radicals

Title: Baby It’s Cold Outside
Synopsis: This first programme looks at how Western politics is increasingly dominated by the myth, propagated by the American neoconservatives, that we are threatened by a hidden and organised terrorist network. The story begins in 1949 with two men, an Egyptian Islamist called Sayyid Qutb and American political philosopher Leo Strauss, whose ideas led to two opposing movements
Duration: 60 mins
Title: Phantom Victory, The
Synopsis: This second progamme looks at two groups, the American Neoconservatives and the Radical Islamists, who came together to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Subsequently, the Neocons focussed their ire on Clinton while the Islamicists continued a cycle of violence to try to win support. The machinations of these two groups has led to the climate of fear we live in today.
Duration: 60 mins
Title: Shadows in the Cave
Synopsis: Last of three documentaries about the use of fear for political gain. This edition looks at how the neoconservatives reconstructed the Islamists as a sinister worldwide terrorist force run by bin Laden in his lair in Afghanistan. The film makes it clear that while dangerous groups inspired by extreme Islamist ideas do exist, the nightmare vision of a uniquely powerful hidden organisation waiting to strike our societies is an illusion.
Duration: 60 mins

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