TV Series Based on Real Matrix Document

Sept. 21 -- — The Threat Matrix — an alarming top-secret document that warns the president of daily threats against the United States — has always been a mystery to most Americans. But a new ABC prime-time series by the same name could shed more light on just what the document is.

Richard Clarke, former counterterrorism czar for the Bush administration, says the daily Threat Matrix is reserved for review each morning by a very small group, which includes the president.

"I think the first time anybody sees the Threat Matrix they think 'Oh heavens, we're under assault from every direction,' " Clarke said.

Spreadsheet of Threats

The 15-to-20 page spreadsheet of potential threats from around the globe typically focuses on a dozen or so threats.

It was created four years ago when intelligence officials say they started to become overwhelmed by the volume of incoming intelligence on potential threats. The point of the Matrix is to help experts detect critical patterns that might be missed otherwise.

"It's tabular. It looks like an Excel spreadsheet … which is what it is," Clarke said. "It has the various columns — what's the threat — where's it come from, how credible is it, who is doing something about it?"

Author James Bamford's recent book, Body of Secrets, details how these potential threats come together.

"It's the picking up of a telephone call some place in Malaysia or a tip from somebody in Pakistan," Bamford said. "The Threat Matrix is all the different threats that might be happening around the world all put together then turned into an equation."

At one stage, the CIA put the Matrix together. Now it's a multi-agency effort, in an attempt to make sure nothing is missed simply because bureaucracies might not be talking.

These days, the threat crunching takes place at the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, or TTIC, created after Sept. 11, 2001, in an effort to bring together the FBI, the CIA, the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Security Agency, and any other relevant bodies that might have important information.