The Kingdom is a high-intensity thriller starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, and Jennifer Garner.
Movie Premise: A team of elite FBI agents are sent to Saudi Arabia to investigate the bombing of an American facility, solve the brutal mass murder, and find a killer before he strikes again.
The Kingdom was inspired by the real-life investigation of the bombing of Khobar Towers when, on June 25, 1996, a truck packed with 5,000 pounds of explosives detonated outside a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 service members and wounding hundreds more.
I recall watching the film for entertainment purposes several years ago. It’s an action-packed adventure. More recently, I watched it once again, this time looking for teachable moments to discuss FBI programs, policies and procedures.
As portrayed in The Kingdom, following the deadly attack, a contingent of FBI personnel were immediately deployed Dhahran to work with Saudi investigators. FBI agents and forensic experts were on the scene to gather evidence of the bombing.
The film depicted this accurately. FBI investigators, SWAT operators, and Evidence Response Team (ERT) members can be deployed around the world with only a moment’s notice.
Extraterritorial jurisdiction provides congressional authorization for the FBI to investigate terrorist acts in which Americans are harmed or killed, no matter where the acts occur.
However, not without State Department approval and host country clearance. In the movie, a U.S. Senator attempts to stop FBI ERT deployment. However, it is the U. S. Ambassador who would have had the authority to deny FBI entry into Saudi Arabia.
To evaluate the accuracy of the post-blast crime scene actions of the agents with “boots on the ground,” I placed a call to retired agent Kevin Miles.
He was interviewed on FBI Retired Case File Review episode 086: Kevin Miles – Master Bomb Technician, Khobar Towers Attack and was one of the FBI technical advisors for the film. According to Kevin, many of the investigative procedures were accurately portrayed, even the autopsy scene with Jennifer Garner’s character. Kevin explained the ERT collects evidence from wherever they find it, even if that means removing shrapnel embedded in the bodies of victims, alive or deceased.
He told me, despite being a thrilling subplot in the film, the FBI did not have any agents kidnapped or held hostage in Saudi Arabia during the Khobar Towers investigation.
In the film, the agents were not allowed to carry their weapons while in country. Kevin noted they did not surrender their weapons to a foreign police force and there were exceptions that allowed some agents to be armed.
I enjoyed the film despite the over-the-top gun battle in the streets of Riyadh at the conclusion, where the film’s fictional elements were a bit implausible. In reality, Kevin said that FBI investigators and ERT members were forbidden to leave the Khobar Towers compound. Can you imagine foreign law enforcement officers shooting up a neighborhood in the U.S. and then returning to their home country the next day without reprisal?
Five years after the Khobar Towers bombing, terrorism charges were brought against 13 members of the pro-Iran Saudi Hizballah, or “Party of God.” Those charges included conspiracy to kill Americans and employees of the United States, to use weapons of mass destruction, and to destroy U.S. property, as well as bombing and murder. (Credit FBI Website)
To learn about another FBI to deployment of agents to respond to the bombing of an American facility overseas, listen to FBI Retired Case File Review episode 223: Jacques Battiste – Nairobi US Embassy Bombing, WFO JTTF.
The Kingdom is available for rent on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Fandango. You can view the movie trailer here.
(This updated review was originally published in my September 2019 Reader Team email.)
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