Into the Vault: Controversy Over Kill Team Filmmakers’ Access

We Call Everything a Vault, CIA Insists

A flurry of complaints have erupted today after the announcement that filmmakers Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal, of “The Hurt Locker” fame, were given access to people involved in the assassination of Osama bin Laden to prepare for there movie about it.

Rep. Peter King (R – NY) railed against the “dangerous collaboration” between the Obama Administration and the two, while others claimed that the move was politically motivated, designed to capitalize on the assassination in the upcoming election.

At particular issue were claims that the two were given access to “the vault” in the CIA, and shown a mock-up of bin Laden’s house, before being given off-the-record interviews with the commander of the “kill team.

The CIA downplayed the significance of this, with one official saying that they call pretty much everything a “vault” in the CIA, and that in this case it was basically an empty conference room that they’d held some meetings in long before.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.