Film on Osama raid stirs US row

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WASHINGTON: Hollywood filmmaker Kathryn Bigelowhas been allegedly given confidential access by the Obama Administration to make a film on the sensational raid that killed Osama bin Laden, prompting an American lawmaker to question the reported move for jeopardising national security, the Times of India reported.

Drawing attention of the administration to a media report that Sony Pictures and Bigelow have been given access to confidential information, New York Republican Congressman Peter T King has said it is the duty of authorities to inform public and lawmakers before declassifying such matters.

He demanded an inquiry into the Pentagon’s alleged collaboration with the Oscar-winning filmmaker. “I write to express concern regarding ongoing leaks of classified information regarding sensitive military operations,” said King, chairman Committee on Homeland Security, said in a letter to the Defence Department and the CIA.

“As reported in a New York Times on August 6, 2011, administration officials may have provided filmmakers with details of the raid that successfully killed Osama bin Laden,” the letter said.

King said leaks of classified information regarding the Osama raid have already resulted, according to a June 15, 2011 article in the Washington Post, in the arrests of Pakistanis who were believed by local authorities to have assisted the CIA with the May 2 raid in Pakistan’s garrison city of Abbottabad.