Did the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, allow certain Republican leaders to put policies and legislation into effect that they knew would be rejected by their colleagues and constituents at nearly any other time? That's the question posed by this documentary, which offers a detailed look at the thoughts and deeds of a number of figures close to the George W. Bush administration. During Ronald Reagan's presidency, a number of neo-conservative theorists proposed that the United States should abandon its support of certain international treaties, take a more aggressive approach in taking military action against nations deemed uncooperative with U.S. interests, enact legislation that would curtail civil liberties at home, and increase military budgets by a massive margin. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and others were able to bring about these changes, either in whole or in part. But was all of this in the best interests of the American public, has the risk of terrorist attacks truly been curtailed, and what will the long-term effects of these actions be? Narrated by Julian Bond, Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear and the Selling of American Empire features interviews with Norman Mailer, Noam Chomsky, Scott Ritter, Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatowski, William Hartung, and Jody Williams.