The Roots of War…the Road to Peace
airs Wednesday, June 17
on KERA-TV

The Roots of War… the Road to Peace, provides an intriguing look at the complexity of terrorism and the events that led to 9/11. The 90 minute documentary examines Islamist radicals and their brand of terrorism and its impact on the world stage. Through the eyes and voices of key experts, scholars and those most affected, Roots examines history, facts and analysis and gives perspective on the social and political reasons behind most acts of terrorism. It looks at the conflicts in the Middle East that have created a breeding ground for these acts of violence and the role the United States plays.

At a time in history when we are still fighting the “war against terror” the McCuistion team (Niki/ Dennis (producers of the McCuistion Program, now in its 20^th year with KERA, Channel 13), takes an in depth, non-partisan and balanced look at terrorism. “Our purpose was to give historical context and as balanced a perspective as possible on the social, human, geo-political and economic costs of terrorism, whose seeds were sown throughout history in the varied conflicts between the great civilizations and religions of the world.” says Niki McCuistion, executive producer- director of the documentary. “We believe we succeeded in presenting an objective look at a complex issue that continues to dramatically impact our everyday lives.”

Shot on location in Baghdad, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and the US, the documentary includes excerpts from over 300 hours of interviews and footage. The documentary presents perspective on many sides of the issue through the opinions and views as expressed by the everyday ‘man” on the street , students, and experts, from Hezbollah, military, spiritual leaders, government officials, academics and scholars and those who set public policy. Among others, the experts include, two former US Ambassadors to Saudi Arabia, The Honorable Robert W. Jordan, on assignment during 9/11, The Honorable James C. Oberwetter, Dr. Dore Gold, former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, the Grand Ayatollah Muhammed Hussein Fadlallah, Former Associate Deputy Director of the FBI, Oliver” Buck” Revell, Dr. Eran Lerman, Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee in Jerusalem, and two of the leading Islamic experts in the world, Dr. Akbar Ahmad, and Dr. John Esposito.

The Roots of War… the Road to Peace was initially funded by a grant from the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation Inc. for the Study and Teaching of the Science of Self- Government., and present funders of the McCuistion Program. The team: Niki McCuistion: producer-director and co-interviewer, Dennis McCuistion, narrator and co-interviewer and Phil Smith, lead camera and co-editor, started the Roots of War odyssey in 2004 when they first journeyed to the Middle East. “We wanted to see and explore the ways in which the roots of war were being fertilized with money, power, and ideology throughout the Middle East and examine the geo-political implications of these conflicts,” says Dennis McCuistion. Their first stop- Baghdad. Within hours of their arriving and only 2 blocks from their hotel, they encountered a suicide bombing which took out several city blocks.

Their unexpected immersion in terrorism as well as encounters with everyday citizens, in the various locations they went to quickly showed them that what you see on most news’ programs is not the full story. “We were striving for balance and wanted people to understand there are more than just”two” sides to it all,” said Niki. “Based on what is on our “news” I don’t believe any of the factions are treated “justly” by mainstream media, and consequently we as Americans, “tend to polarize.” We wanted more than just CNN sound bites and to truly get at the roots that have grown this escalating conflict.”

The team spent March of 2004 on location. When the two men returned home Niki stayed on in Israel, going to Turkey for additional interviews before returning home. In September of ’04 Niki returned to Lebanon and Syria, at the time of the Hezbollah pullout from Lebanon, “to capture the feel of the country’ and the true story. The interviewers, Niki and Dennis, continued their interviews in the United States throughout 2004 and 2005, with Niki revisiting Saudi Arabia in ’05.

The documentary was originally scheduled to air on KERA, January 29, 2006, with an initial private screening at the Dallas- Angelika Theatre on January 23. The doc, originally two hours in length, was well received and so it was a shock to get feedback protesting its views a few days after the private screening. The protest, from the Freedom and Justice Organization and several Muslim community leaders claimed a lack of balance, views from only a small number of Muslim scholars as well as some perceived inaccuracies. For several reasons, airing was postponed until the “claims” could be more closely examined.

After several meetings with Channel 13, members of the Muslim community, and the McCuistion crew, the decision was made to shorten the doc from its original two hour length to 90 minutes and revisit several areas. This involved re-editing, revetting the documentary, and continuing to update footage and interviews so it could stay current. Since the original funding had been put to good use in the first documentary- subsequent work was funded by the producer and co- editors; Niki and Phil Smith, and included several visits by Niki to the Middle East to conduct new interviews and continue conversations with key experts and scholars on the topic.

Niki states,” I stand by my original work, much of which is included. As I had clearly said the premise is and was sound. The result is a 90 minute documentary that brings the original premise of the documentary , that of examining the roots of war that were sown in the conflict between and among the great religions of the world and explore the ways in which those roots have been fertilized with money, power , ideology and the geo-political changes throughout the Middle East”.

For more information: contact: Niki NicastroMcCuistionNikin@nikimccuistion.com, 214-750- 5157 and visit, www.therootsofwar.com for more of the story.

###