The Cleric

An Irish-American priest believed to have been abducted by Hezbollah in Beirut in the mid 80s is discovered by U.S. Special Forces rooting out Al Qaeda and Taliban extremists in Afganistan, post-9/11. The fact that the priest is playing soccer with known Taliban and that he does not readily comply with the orders of his would-be rescuers somehow belie his desperate need to be freed from captivity. Immediately he comes under suspicion for being an Islamic sympathizer at best, and, a terrorist in waiting at worst. Although fictional, The Cleric eerily shadows the current Middle East crisis as it juxtoposes American military zealotry, cultural myopia, and misreatment of prisoners, with the equally reprehensible actions of Islamic jihadists.