Film about bin Laden Is Making a Stir in the U.S.

Film director Kathryn Bigelow was able to interview senior Pentagon officials to trace the tracks of U.S. Special Forces. Republicans deplore this privileged access and denounce Obama’s publicity stunt.

Are the Pentagon and Hollywood playing dangerous liaisons? The answer is yes, if we are to believe some Republicans, who are offended at an ongoing project by Bigelow, who last year won an Oscar for her film “The Hurt Locker.” At the heart of disagreement is this: A film about the hunt for bin Laden, for which the film crew might have had access to some items classified highly confidential.

In order to write the screenplay, the director and her screenwriter, Mark Boal, have indeed met with some senior Pentagon officials, such as Michael Vickers, a former CIA paramilitary operations officer and member of the Special Forces, now Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. This was access that was too privileged, in the eyes of some Republicans, who particularly fear that details of the raid conducted last May against the former leader of al-Qaida may have been revealed. Peter King, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, has very solemnly requested an investigation from the Inspectors General of the Pentagon and the CIA.

This move comes as a surprise to the White House, as King used to work with directors to give technical advice or provide them with military equipment or bases. Recently, the Pentagon was consulted in a similar way for the “Transformers” saga and for “Iron Man 2.” “It is common practice,”* explains Phil Strub, who is in charge of liaisons with Hollywood for the Department of Defense. For her film “The Hurt Locker,” which paints a portrait of a member of the U.S. Army bomb squad during the War in Iraq, Bigelow sought advice from the Pentagon as well.

A Publicity Stunt?

“We do not discuss classified information. And I would hope that as we face a continued threat from terrorism, the House Committee on Homeland Security would have more important topics to discuss than a movie,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. “The most specific information we’ve given from this White House about the actual raid I read to you from this podium,” he confirmed to reporters.

But the controversy does not end there. The film’s schedule has also been singled out by Republicans. If it is only now being written, it is anticipated that it will be released in theaters in October 2012. That is a month before the presidential election in which Obama runs for another term. Since bin Laden’s death is one of the Democratic president’s biggest successes, it is enough for his opponents to see it as a publicity stunt by the White House.

This is an accusation to which the filmmakers wanted to respond. In a statement, Bigelow and Boal stressed that the story spans over three successive U.S. presidencies: Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama. They also maintained that their film will contain no partisan elements.

*Editor’s Note: This quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.