KOPPEL ON DISCOVERY:

Background

Ted Koppel begins his groundbreaking Discovery Channel series with a three-hour primetime special on the eve of the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11. Koppel's world premiere,The Price of Security, uses interviews with current and former administration members and military and security experts to explore the dilemma the government faces in the war on terrorism.

On one hand, the administration has national security as its first obligation and has been criticized for not "connecting the dots." At the same time, the government is being assailed by civil libertarians for undermining the freedoms on which the United States was founded. Koppel will also explore the growth of technology that makes it possible to collect and sort through detailed personal data. Commercial interests now track buying and travel habits, personal tastes and reading habits through credit card data and Internet usage. The broadcast examines the debate over whether there should be limits on how that information can be used by law enforcement to preempt terrorist attacks.

Following the broadcast of KOPPEL ON DISCOVERY: The Price of Security, Koppel will host a live town meeting at the National War College with 9/11 family members, civil libertarians, administration officials and members of Congress. The town meeting will involve not only people in the audience, but also people at home. Viewers will be given the opportunity to have their own questions answered by the panel at discoverychannel.com.

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More Discovery Channel Specials

• KRAKATOA: Volcano of Destruction
  June 11, 2006
• GLOBAL WARMING: What You Need To Know with Tom Brokaw
  July 16, 2006
• SURVIVING KATRINA: Go to the heart of the storm
  August 27, 2006
• KOPPEL ON DISCOVERY: The Price of Security
  September 10, 2006