HUNTING FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT BIN LADEN.

Byline: David Kronke Television Critic

How does one explain the monstrous hatred that dwells within Osama bin Laden, a man responsible for the murders of more than 3,000 complete strangers and who envisions killing millions more? As the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 2001 looms, CNN's ``In the Footsteps of bin Laden'' earnestly grapples with that question.

As Christiane Amanpour reports tonight - and, as is somewhat well-known - bin Laden hardly fits Central Casting's notion of an unhinged jihadist. His father was one of Saudi Arabia's wealthiest men, and as a child, bin Laden was shy and unremarkable; as an adult, he embraced an ascetic lifestyle. From that background, Amanpour attempts to connect the dots leading to his role today as al-Qaida's figurehead, hellbent on decimating Western culture.

As Amanpour reports, 1979 was a pivotal year in the formation of bin Laden's worldview - unrest in Iran, Mecca and Afghanistan thrust him into a revolutionary Islamic fundamentalist mindset. His inner need for bloodlust increased when American troops set up camps in Saudia Arabia during the first war with Iraq in the 1990s - blasphemy, in his eyes.

Much of ``In the Footsteps of bin Laden'' is devoted to a well-traveled timeline charting the years between the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the horrific events of Sept. 11. We're told that there was some criticism of those latter attacks even within al-Qaida, as it resulted in the loss of the group's home base in Afghanistan. More ominously, CNN notes that bin Laden has received permission from a religious leader to kill up to 10 million Americans.

Amanpour and her producers spoke to many who knew him in his formative years and dig up fascinating documents, such as one at the meeting where al-Qaida was born, which demanded ``good manners'' of its members.

Peter Bergen, who helped arrange the West's first interview with bin Laden (with Peter Arnett on CNN), provides much useful context and insight here. But if the path bin Laden took from child of privilege to avowed terrorist can't be fully explained -- perhaps because most of us can't fathom such a journey. We see the signposts, but not the exits into madness.

Meanwhile, next week, National Geographic Channel's ``The Final Report: Osama's Escape'' takes a fairly simplistic and, at times, overheated approach to examining how bin Laden eluded American forces and Afghani warlords seeking him in the mountains around Tora Bora in late 2001.

``Questions. Answers,'' the special's breathless narrator promises around frenetically edited sequences and soundbites. The questions tumble willy-nilly during the first half of the report, which feels borderline incoherent.

The second half, however, offers answers - or, at least, reasoned conjecture - in an urgently and, finally, cogently reported manner that compresses much of the information CNN's documentary provided into a quarter of the time.

Not enough U.S. troops took part in the search, the film asserts, echoing conventional wisdom; bin Laden probably paid off an Afghani to allow his flight into Pakistan. Now, it's been reported that the U.S. is no longer even actively seeking bin Laden. The disquieting thing is, that's probably reasonable policy: Larger threats from the man's disciples loom on our horizon.

David Kronke, [phone]

[e-mail]

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BIN LADEN - Three stars

What: Christiane Amanpour presents Osama bin Laden's biography, examining his life both before and after Sept. 11, 2001.

Where: CNN.

When: 9 tonight (6 tonight on some satellite services); 4 and 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

In a nutshell: Solid, if sometimes familiar, reporting.

THE FINAL REPORT: OSAMA'S ESCAPE - Two and one half stars

What: How bin Laden evaded U.S. and Afghani forces who had trapped him at Tora Bora.

Where: National Geographic Channel.

When: 10 p.m. Tuesday; 1 a.m. Aug. 30; 6 p.m. Sept 5.

In a nutshell: A disjointed first half is rescued by an urgently reported second half.

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Photo:

Christiane Amanpour reports on the life of the al-Qaida leader in ``In the Footsteps of bin Laden,'' airing tonight on CNN.