HIV and AIDS changed the United States and the world. In this series, we reveal untold stories from the defining years of the epidemic, and we’ll consider: How could some of the pain have been avoided? Most crucial of all, what lessons can we still learn from it today? Blindspot is a co-production of The HISTORYⓇ Channel and WNYC Studios.
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/blindspot
episode 7: Episode 7: The Falcon Hunt
It’s the late 1990s and the question tying policy makers at the highest levels of the U.S. government into knots: How should we respond to a relatively scattered group that is pulling off bloody attacks on our foreign installations and soldiers? In other words, how to deal with Al Qaeda? This is the group responsible for terror attacks such as the deadly bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. And its leader, Osama bin Laden, has promised more attacks. In this episode, we hear from officials at the center of the debate about what to do. We tell the story of a time when the CIA was sure it had bin Laden in their sights, but couldn’t get the go-ahead from the White House to pull the trigger. It’s a tale of bureaucratic hesitation and excruciating near misses … as the clock winds down toward the biggest attack of all.