Alex Gibney & Amblin TV to Adapt The Post’s Afghanistan Papers Story

Amblin Television has secured a deal with The Washington Post for the rights to At War with the Truth, the newspaper’s report on The Afghanistan Papers, with Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney attached as executive producer.

The six-part report was the result of a three-year investigation and a battle between the news organization and the U.S. government to have the documents released under the Freedom of Information Act. It tells the secret history of the war in Afghanistan, exposing behind-the-scenes frustrations, concerns, and blunt acknowledgments of failures from military and government insiders who were publicly proclaiming confidence and progress.

Amblin and Jigsaw Productions will work in close association with The Washington Post and have access to files, recordings, research and materials obtained as part of their investigation. They will work with investigative journalist Craig Whitlock, who uncovered the story.

The idea is to develop the project as both a limited documentary series and limited scripted series.

Amblin Television’s co-presidents, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, said: “The opportunity to definitively tell this extraordinary and important story is an exciting one. Thanks to the efforts of Craig Whitlock and all the journalists at The Washington Post, the public finally learned the truth about what has been going on behind closed doors in Washington as it relates to the war in Afghanistan, which has spanned almost two decades, three administrations and cost trillions of taxpayer dollars. Alex, Stacy and the team at Jigsaw are the very best at what they do, and we can imagine no better partner to work with in bringing this story to television audiences.”

Gibney said: “This is a vital story at a critical moment. For once we will hear an honest, intimate account from insiders of the epic tale of the forever war: politicians regale us with victory speeches while day by day, casualties mount and the battle for hearts and minds are lost. Why? Because no one bothered to wonder why we are there.”

Marty Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post, said: “When Post reporter Craig Whitlock became aware that senior U.S. officials had given confidential interviews about the war in Afghanistan, we knew it was imperative to examine them. When the government sought to maintain secrecy, The Post felt it had to challenge a policy of concealment. The public had a right to a full accounting of why this war has been the nation’s longest, with such a heavy cost in lives, injuries and money. Central to journalism’s role in a democracy is holding government accountable and giving citizens the information they need and deserve to know. In documenting how the public was misled about the war, we believe this work was faithful to that mission.”