Oscar award-winning director Oliver Stone's next film will be an account of the United States invasion of Afghanistan and the hunt for Osama bin Laden, Paramount Pictures said Monday (Oct 16th).

The film, titled "Jawbreaker," is based on a recent book of the same name that was written by Gary Bernstein. Bernstein is a decorated CIA officer who led the "Jawbreaker" paramilitary unit that helped bring down the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Stone and Paramont, which released "World Trade Center" in August, optioned the book rights months ago, said a Paramount spokeswoman.

Stone told the Hollywood trade newspaper Daily Variety the book deal was kept under wraps to prevent "World Trade Center" from being caught up in controversy about a memoir that suggests the U.S. military botched a chance to capture or kill bin Laden.

One of Bernstein's more controversial claims is that bin Laden was at Tora Bora during the U.S.-led assault on the region in 2001 but managed to get away.

Bernstein wrote that his paramilitary unit could have killed or captured bin Laden if military officials had agreed to his request for 800 more U.S. troops that were never sent.

His account contradicted public statements by President George W. Bush and retired Army Gen. Tommy Franks, former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, that U.S. officials were never certain bin Laden was at Tora Bora.

"World Trade Center" largely avoided political overtones by focusing on heroics of two policemen who became trapped in the rubble of the Twin Towers after hijackers crashed airliners into the buildings.

Stone called it "the least political film I've made." And he insisted his objective with "Jawbreaker" similarly would be to "create compelling drama, not a polemic."

But the movie is certain to spark debate about the Bush administration's conduct of its war on terror, especially if the movie ends up being released in 2008 before the next presidential election.

Directing a film with a military theme returns Stone to familiar ground. He earned his two Academy Awards as best director for his work on a pair of Vietnam War-themed movies, "Platoon" and "Born on the Fourth of July."

Editor: Donald