In October 2001 the United States launched the war against Afghanistan, with the whole world by its side, in an act of self-defence after the attacks of 9/11. Today, the troops of the coalition are gradually packing up. They lost over 3000 soldiers and leave behind a country on the brink of civil war and bloodshed… The official rhetoric has not stood up to the stark reality on the ground. Bin Laden? Found and killed…elsewhere, in Pakistan.
ISIS or IS, the so-called Islamic State - DAECH in Arabic - controls today a large territory that stretches over Syria and Iraq. ISIS is not just a terrorist movement, it has become something of an out-law state attracting militants and combatants from around the globe. The jihadist start-up born in Iraq under American occupation became a global corporation of terror which succeeded in making Al Qaeda look outdated.
Why are Europeans, children of immigrants like Coulibaly or the Kouachis brothers, attacking their countries of birth? What leads them to reject the values of the nation in which they grew up, to be reborn as extremists of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. What role does religion play and which religion? What propaganda and mental mechanisms are being used to convince this generation of killers that they must turn vigilante on behalf of their victimised Muslim world?
The United Nations celebrates its 70th anniversary in the fall of 2015. Among other innovations, members of the UN devised the novel concept of “soldiers for peace.” But can peace be enforced militarily? The original mission of the United Nations was to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war by maintaining peace and security between states. Now that terrorists and internal conflicts strike far more frequently than traditional inter-state wars, what does international security mean?
This documentary probes the life of Syria's despot, Bashar al-Assad. The country has been in the grip of a bloody civil war for more than six years, and although he's faced challenges from ISIS, the refugee crisis, and foreign governments calling for his removal, Bashar has stayed true to his one goal: to perpetuate his relentless power over Syria.
How has the extremist group Boko Haram, which began as a small Islamic sect, managed to make Nigeria, the richest country in Africa, and all its neighbours, tremble with fear? Who are they and how did they become so powerful? Xavier Muntz spent a month in Northern Nigeria, in the heart of the red zone, to answer these very questions. He met with many people, all directly affected by this religious uprising. Victims, soldiers and even Jihadi sympathisers.
