‘In Search of Al Qaeda’ is involving, incomplete

What happened to Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda followers after the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan?

After Bin Laden’s apparent resurfacing via an audiotape released last week and the FBI’s warnings of possible “spectacular” terrorist attacks, that question has gained renewed emphasis. Tonight’s “Frontline” documentary, “In Search of Al Qaeda” (9 p.m., KCET; 10 p.m., KVCR), seeks the answer, with fascinating but not entirely satisfying results.

For as undeniably brave and determined as producer-writer-reporter Martin Smith and co-producer-director Marcela Gaviria were in pursuing the story, their effort tends to feel more like a series of disconnected vignettes than a structured whole.

Still, it contains considerable insights. Traveling from London to Pakistan to the Gulf of Oman, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, Smith interviews an array of subjects, from villagers to national and religious leaders, on topics ranging from their stances toward Al Qaeda to the difficulties of finding terrorist suspects.

To American ears, many comments can be startling: “I didn’t used to think I could support violence,” says Rahma Hugira, an advocate for Yemen’s detained Al Qaeda suspects. “When I saw the World Trade Center and the Pentagon burn, I cried, I fainted with joy.”

To American eyes, many images can be remarkable: There’s footage from inside Pakistan’s independent Pashtun tribal regions, where many experts suggest Bin Laden could be hiding. The area is closed to outsiders, so Smith trained a Pashtun journalist to film there.

In the end, no one can fault Smith and Gaviria for coming up with more questions than answers, but the program could have used a better framework.