Documentary: Spies Declassified – Zarqawi: Father of ISIS

Spies Declassified: Episode 3 (Aired July 6, 2016), CNN Documentaries Series.

The military’s hunts for Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein, and al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers hosts this CNN original documentary series, and covers missions set in fascinating locations and time periods from Cold War era Moscow to modern day Iran, from the streets of 1980’s Cuba to today’s bustling Beijing.

These are the true stories of America’s most covert missions, pulled from classified information you’ve never heard…until now.

Season One – Episode Three:

CNN original series is an eight-part look at complex true stories of America’s covert operations.

Rogers was quoted in a recent interview as saying, “In many ways, truth is stronger than fiction. You’ll get to know Sunday night the first woman CIA officer in Moscow. It has all the elements of a great spy movie. Not only does it stand up, it will bring some level of realism to all these fiction shows, which I think are great, by the way. This gives you the real flavor of why those shows are interesting.” [01]

The newly declassified missions are recounted firsthand by agents from all 16 U.S. intelligence bureaus, providing viewers with unprecedented access to a secret world of espionage. The missions span time periods from Cold War-era Moscow to modern-day Iran, from the streets of 1980’s Cuba to Beijing of today. Among the stories covered are the military’s hunts for Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein, and al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.