Americans have yearned to see current geopolitical realities portrayed in popular culture ever since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Before then, Islamic terrorists were a staple, albeit a stereotypical one, of action films such as "Executive Decision," "Back to the Future" and "True Lies." But after Sept. 11, the arbiters of political correctness, fearing that fiction hit too close to home, all but erased such terrorists from the public eye.

Hollywood finally started coming around in the last year or so with films directly related to Sept. 11, such as "United 93" and "World Trade Center." But television preceded Hollywood by several years. Beginning in late 2001, shows such as "The Agency," "Jag," "Navy NCIS" and "The Unit" (all from CBS) have attempted to portray the war on terrorism through the eyes of those on its front lines.

None represent this burgeoning trend more than Fox's "24." Centered on a fictional CIA Counter Terrorism Unit based in Los Angeles, the show has become a favorite of those seeking "good guy vs. bad guy" moral clarity in America's battle against Islamic terrorism.

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