Could the '08 Mumbai Attack Have Been Prevented? (American Terrorist) (full documentary) | FRONTLINE
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Published 2023-11-28
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When Edward Snowden exposed the U.S. National Security Agency’s secret mass surveillance programs, defenders of the NSA said the spying was necessary, and they produced an example: David Coleman Headley, an American recruited by Pakistani terrorists to help plan the 2008 Mumbai attack known as “India’s 9/11.” But was Headley’s capture an intelligence success? ProPublica reporter Sebastian Rotella investigated those claims, unearthing evidence of how intelligence agencies didn’t stop the 2008 attack in which 166 people were killed. “American Terrorist” is an updated and expanded version of 2011’s “A Perfect Terrorist.”
“American Terrorist” was a FRONTLINE production with Left/Right Docs in association with 2over10 Media in partnership with ProPublica. It was written, produced and directed by Thomas Jennings. The correspondent was Sebastian Rotella. The co-producers were Anna Belle Peevey and Sabrina Shankman. The reporters were Sebastian Rotella, Jeff Larson, Thomas Jennings, and Anna Belle Peevey. The senior producer was Frank Koughan. The deputy executive producer of FRONTLINE was Raney Aronson-Rath. The executive producer of FRONTLINE was David Fanning.
Explore additional reporting related to "American Terrorist" on our website: www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/american-te…
#Documentary #Terrorism #NSA #Mumbai
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Prologue
1:16 - David Coleman Headley: Reconnaissance for Al Qaeda in Copenhagen, Denmark
12:17 - David Coleman Headley: From Drug Smuggler to Informant
21:43 - David Coleman Headley’s Path to Terrorism
33:34 - David Coleman Headley Helps Plan 2008 Mumbai Attack
44:44 - The Plotting of the 2008 Mumbai Terror Attack
53:32 - Attackers Target Mumbai in 2008 and Kill 166 People
01:03:20 - Did Mass Surveillance Programs Stop American Terrorist David Coleman Headley?
1:21:57 - Credits
All Comments (21)
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Stop sending military packages to Pakistan, that's the simple answer.
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How in the hell did David Headley only get a 35 year sentence?! Idc who he gave up or how valuable his information was, he should've been given at least a life sentence for his involvement.
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The report is exceptional and spectacular in details... But really calling 26/11 - Mumbai attack spectacular is a bit offensive, we never call 9/11 spectacular, rather horrific!!!
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I fail to understand why US Intelligence is not allowing Indian Intelligence to question him. After all Indians died in Mumbai attack
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26/11 hurts even today…. 15 years on 😢
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Why always Pakistan gets hounorable mentions when its case of terrorism?
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What's the reason why he was not extradited to India to face the consequences for his crimes? If US expected something from international community for the search of terrorists and to curtail terrorism they should be ready to hand over the terrorist (even if the terrorist is an US citizen) who did it. Rather they are wasting their resources to extradite Snowden for exposing it... They must revisit their priorities...
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In a way mumbai terror attacks were a joint pakistani American project.
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PBS is way better than the BBC when it comes to making documentaries.
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And then Pakistani's complain about extra checkings at Airports and play Islamophobic card!
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The fact that US knew about his terrorist activities, and that he got exonerated multiple times after getting arrested (in "unusual" ways as the documentary put it) , means he was working for CIA , and not just the DEA. He "could get away with anything" as the narrator notes at 34.50 minutes.
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he was not just an american terrorist....but was an asset of DEA and CIA and they knew exactly what was going to happen, still they did not informed Indian counterparts, just to save their asset from being exposed. Rather they informed Indian ambessy in low priority notice about some minor attack that could happen.
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Top shelf documentary. In my opinion, this is the sort of content that makes large media organizations still relevant. Bravo.
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Finally something we knew all along is out in the western public media. Just imagine how betrayed India and indian intelligence agencies feel about this whole fiasco. Clearly Denmark weighed in as high pedestal compared to Mumbai….what a shame!
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Sajid mir died few days ago , he was poisoned by unknown men while in Pakistan Jail ( ISI safe house)
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islam , Pakistan and terror never ending drama
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PBS consistently exceeds expectations, and this documentary is a prime example of their exceptional standards!
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I'll never understand why people seem to think Americans are exempt from being terrorists.
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Excellent documentary. One thing missed out was that Ilyas Kashmiri (Al Qaida ops director and Headleys boss), was an ex Pakistani special forces soldier. These guys were first trained by US Navy SEALS (or their predecessors) in the 70s. This training was internalised by Pakistan then given consistently to Lashkar E Taiba terrorists. This is what India has been dealing with for decades. Till recently they had Border Action Teams (BAT) which was an unholy mix of Pak special forces and highly trained terrorists who used to raid Indian army posts to kill and / or behead soldiers. So thanks for picking jihadi Pakistani terrorists as allies America. You got it wrong, again.
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Absolutely fantastic documentary. Riveting. I feel that not only did US intelligence fail here, somehow, but we failed our friends in India. This documentary reads like a spy novel you couldnt conceive. EXCELLENT work.
