The rivalry between FBI and CIA caused 9/11! ‘The Looming Tower’ explores what caused the tragedy!

September 11, 2001, or widely known as 9/11 is a day etched in history. On this day four passenger airliners were hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists, and two of them crashed into the North and South towers of the World Trade Centre complex in New York City causing both 110-story towers to collapse. Thousands died in this tragedy, and this was forever marked as the darkest day in American history. Since then, countless speculations, theories and conspiracies have sprouted across every form of media regarding the attack. There have been many movies and TV shows produced based on 9/11 which have shown the incident from different perspectives.

But the most perplexing thing about 9/11 is HOW DID IT HAPPEN? How could a group of terrorists successfully carry out such a devastating attack on the most powerful country in the world? This single question has given birth to the wildest conspiracy theories that will make even the most mentally resilient of us utterly uncomfortable. But one miniseries called ‘The Looming Tower’ based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name busts all of these myths by realistically portraying the events preceding the 9/11 attack that were responsible for the tragedy.

The show features two government agencies – The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The premise of the show revolves around the power struggle, withholding of information and general non-cooperation between CIA and FBI which eventually turns into America’s Achilles heel allowing al-Qaeda to carry out their attack.

Now, all of these scenarios and plot details might make the show seem a little chaotic. But that’s where ‘The Looming Tower’ excels extraordinarily with its gripping storyline and nuanced performances. The show brilliantly portrays the animosity between two of the most powerful government agencies in America that lead to 9/11.

Now, a lot of you might be wondering about the difference of role between CIA and FBI. So, let’s take a quick look the core differences between these two agencies.

• The CIA operates mostly out of the USA to gather intelligence through field agents and other resources. The FBI on the other hand predominantly operates within the USA to gather intelligence as well as to tackle federal crimes.
• Unlike FBI, the CIA has no law enforcement function in the USA.

However, both of these agencies do cooperate with each other on certain cases and occasions. One such occasion arose due to the threat of a massive attack by al-Qaeda on American soil. The White House Officials were certain that an attack will be carried out by the terrorist organisation in the near future and therefore called both the CIA and the FBI for a counter-terrorism briefing in 1998. Unbeknown to them, this very collaboration would lay the foundation for 9/11. But who is to blame for this failure? Is it the CIA or the FBI? Who plays the antagonist or the protagonist? If such questions are raising a storm in your mind, then you can watch ‘The Looming Tower’ exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

Click here to watch ‘The Looming Tower’ or go to your Prime Video app.

This is a partnered post.