How will the film end up portraying early U.S. military and intelligence efforts exploring and implementing what is now sometimes referred to as "transcendent warfare?"

George Clooney may have something to say about it.

He stars in the movie along with Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges. Grant Heslov is director. Heslov and Clooney formed Smoke House Pictures in 2006 and they are also producers of the film.

Peter Straughan wrote the script, based on the book of the same name by UK journalist Jon Ronson.

Ronson's 2004 non-fiction book included both ridicule and dark warnings about some of the unconventional activities of the U.S. military and intelligence community.

However, did Ronson miss important aspects of these early attempts to utilize new discoveries and ancient knowledge about human consciousness?

LESSONS LEARNED

Ronson's book explored innovative programs within the U.S. Army, beginning in the 1970s, that included elements of the human potential movement, discoveries about extrasensory perception, ancient martial arts techniques, non-lethal weapons, advances in the understanding of the human mind and other unique areas of study.

Efforts on several fronts within the U.S. military and intelligence communities included activities aimed at learning more about these developments and training U.S. personnel in possible understanding and applications.

Ronson was probably accurate to point out that some of these activities may have been questionable, unethical or unrealistic.

He may also be correct that some of this knowledge was used for the "dark side" of U.S. military and intelligence activities.

Yet, many of the programs investigating these phenomena and possibilities did lead to significant results that, decades later, seem to be bearing fruit in ways we may not fully comprehend.

This body of knowledge can be termed transcendent warfare.

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