FRONTLINE

http://www.pbs.org/frontline/

- This Week: "The Dark Side" (90 minutes),
Tuesday, Jun. 20 at 9pm on PBS (check local listings)
- Inside FRONTLINE: Some rare interviews
- Live Discussion: Chat with producer Michael Kirk Wed., June 21, at 11
am ET

In a series of films presented by FRONTLINE over the past few years,
veteran producer Michael Kirk has taken us inside the struggles at the
highest levels of the Bush administration over how the war on terror
would be defined and fought.

In our report this Tuesday, "The Dark Side," Kirk gets to the heart of
one of the most important internal conflicts whose outcome would result
in what a former insider says is a CIA that "has lost its shine."

It was Vice President Cheney who used the phrase, 'the dark side,' in a
frank description of what would have to be done to fight the war on
terror. Shortly after 9/11 he said: "We'll have to work the dark side,
if you will. We're gonna spend time in the shadows of the intelligence
world. A lot of what needs to be done here will have to be done
quietly, without any discussion...."

What we didn't understand at the time was that a battle was brewing
inside the administration between Cheney and the then-CIA director,
George Tenet, over the gathering of intelligence and how that
intelligence would be used to define the terms of the war that would
soon be underway. Producer Kirk notes he has rarely seen so many
insiders coming forward, "CIA officers aren't often willing to talk on
the record to the press. In this broadcast we have the top echelon that
worked directly for George Tenet, and many field operatives who were
willing to share their experiences and insights into the war on terror.
That told me something significant was happening, and that 'something'
turned out to be what some have called a 'covert war' between the Office
of the Vice President and the CIA."

As we present the insider view of what happened to George Tenet and the
CIA, we also recall the historical context for the Vice-President's lack
of confidence in that agency and why he was determined to both go around
it and bend it to his will.

We invite you to join us this Tuesday night and afterward, visit our web
site where we offer the extended interviews with top members of the
intelligence community and more background on the issues and people
covered. And, take the opportunity to watch our report again online and
express your opinion about it at http://www.pbs.org/frontline/darkside/

Louis Wiley, Jr.
Executive Editor

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+ Live Online Discussion on Washingtonpost.com ...

Producer Michael Kirk will be online this Wednesday, June 21, at 11am
ET, to discuss "The Dark Side"

For details, see:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/06/12/DI2006061201204.html

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