The Path to 9/11 Miniseries Under Fire from Democrats (Updated)
Update (September 9th, 2006):
- Clinton's lawyer pressures ABC to "yank the film". Strangely enough there's also speculation that the letter may be a fake.
- Peggy Noonan recalls the sounds of 9/11.
- Redstate has the video clips from the film that democrats don't want you to see.
Update: Blackfive weighs in with 9/11 Truthers & Clintonistas in the Crosshairs.
Uncle Jimbo says:
On top of this ABC has a miniseries that follows the completely feckless response of Clinton’s national security team to 8 years of provocation by bin Laden and AQ. The Clintonistas are predictably appalled at having the inherent weakness of the current Democrat party on national defense so brutally exposed. They have been coasting on nostalgic feel good memories of peace and prosperity when the stock market soared, there was a Hummer in every driveway, and people worldwide loved us. Except the internet bubble burst draining away all that faux-prosperity, as it turned out we weren’t actually at peace we were just failing to act as our enemies continued to attack us, and trust me nobody loved us then either.
Update: Another e-mail from the executive director of the Democratic National Committee
Note: I'm not a registered democrat and I actually wrote a letter via their website encouraging ABC to air the film as scheduled. They obviously didn't read my letter.
It would seem that the entire demcratic party machine is rallying against this movie. Which begs the question, what are they so worried about, and why are they trying to shield the public from seeing it?
Dear Fellow Democrat,
This is it: crunch time for getting the slanderous ABC television docudrama "The Path to 9/11" yanked off the air. The network schedule has this slanderous attack on Democrats slated to start on Sunday night, September 10, at 8 o'clock — and as long as it stays on the schedule, we have work to do.
http://www.democrats.org/pathto911/send
Here's the good news: the suits at ABC and the Walt Disney Company have started panicking under pressure, thanks to your ferocious response to the outrageous decision to put this irresponsible miniseries on the air. But until Disney quits defending its plan to broadcast conservative propaganda — fraudulently presented to Americans as "based on the 9/11 Commission Report" — the company should plan to keep taking every bit of heat we dish out.
Here's a quick catch-up on developments over the last 48 hours:
- President Clinton, through his attorney, rebuked ABC for producing a "factually and incontrovertibly inaccurate" miniseries — and walked the network through three make-believe scenes in the "the Path to 9/11" that defame people and misrepresent events during his administration.
- Clinton's spokesman later stepped up the pressure, condemning Disney as "despicable" for "airing a fictional version of what is a serious and emotional event for our country. No reputable organization," he said, "should dramatize 9-11 for a profit at the expense of the truth."
- The families of September 11 victims have weighed in on the controversy, telling "entertainers" not to "promote misleading or incorrect information as fact to the public."
- House and Senate Democratic leaders hammered Disney president and CEO Robert Iger, in letters that questioned the company's commitment to its "reputation … as a corporation worthy of the trust of the American people and the United States Congress."
- Scholastic has pulled teaching materials off its website and has scrambled to adopt a plan to help teachers show students "the differences between factual reporting and a dramatization," but is still encouraging teachers to show their students this propaganda.
Thanks for helping to make all this happen by joining over 150,000 Americans who told Disney president Robert Iger to keep this cheap right-wing miniseries off our airwaves. But our work isn't done. Before we deliver your letter today, tell your family, friends, neighbors and colleagues to insist that Disney and ABC live up to its duty to tell the truth:
http://www.democrats.org/pathto911/send
Thank you,
Tom
Tom McMahon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee
Update (Sept. 8th):
Democratic efforts to censor
FREE SPEECH (again)
Below is a copy of an e-mail that is being circulated by the democratic party.
Hi,
The ABC television network — a cog in the Walt Disney empire — unleashed a promotional blitz in the last week for a new "docudrama" called "The Path to 9/11". ABC has thrown its corporate might behind the two-night production, and bills it as a public service: a TV event, to quote the ABC tagline, "based on the 9/11 Commission Report".
That's false. "The Path to 9/11" is actually a bald-faced attempt to slander Democrats and revise history right before Americans vote in a major election.
The miniseries, which was put together by right-wing conservative writers, relies on the old GOP playbook of using terrorism to scare Americans. "The Path to 9/11" mocks the truth and dishonors the memory of 9/11 victims to serve a cheap, callous political agenda. It irresponsibly misrepresents the facts and completely distorts the truth.Join me in telling Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger to keep this propaganda off the air.
http://www.democrats.org/page/
petition/pathto911/ftvalaThanks!
Please allow me to translate the meaning of the langauge used in the e-mail:
The ABC television network — a cog in the Walt Disney empire — unleashed a promotional blitz in the last week for a new "docudrama" called "The Path to 9/11". ABC has thrown its corporate might behind the two-night production…
Translation: We're VICTIMS of "big business" again.
…and bills it as a public service: a TV event, to quote the ABC tagline, "based on the 9/11 Commission Report".
That's false. "The Path to 9/11" is actually a bald-faced attempt to slander Democrats and revise history right before Americans vote in a major election.
Translation: Only WE are allowed to revise history, and only WE are allowed provide a public service.
The miniseries, which was put together by right-wing conservative writers, relies on the old GOP playbook of using terrorism to scare Americans.
Translation: We're being VICTIMIZED by the vast right-wing conspiracy again. And since we're not strong on national security, we'll resort to accusing republicans of scaring the public instead of drawing up an effective plan of our own.
"The Path to 9/11" mocks the truth and dishonors the memory of 9/11 victims to serve a cheap, callous political agenda. It irresponsibly misrepresents the facts and completely distorts the truth.
Translation: We think Fahrenheit 9/11 was a much more accurate and honorable portrayal of the failures that led to the September 11th. So much so, we invited its producer to sit with us at our 2004 national convention.
Also on the story:
- Hotair has a good roundup and more about another democrat-led censorship situation.
- SeeDubya has details about the scene in the movie that has liberals' underpants tied up in knots.
- Rumors that uncut, bootleg copies of the movie is beginning to circulate around Europe.
Good commentary:
Update (Sept. 8th):
Stephen of MediaBlog over at NRO is reporting that senate democrats may have issued a veiled threat regarding Disney's broadcast license if they don't cancel the mini-series.
This is simply outrageous. I guess free speech is only good enough for liberals and terrorist statesmen that agree with their cause. The democrats are making complete jackasses of themselves. You can't revoke a television network's broadcast license because they air a film containing views you don't agree with.
Update (Sept. 7th):
LGF has links showing the democratic party is officially trying to censor ABC network programming.
Update (Sept. 6th):
Hugh Hewitt may have evidence that ABC may have edited the film under pressure from liberals.
I had to interrupt a busy workday to post this example of utter hypocrisy from democrats.
This party has been campaigning as the vanguard of free speech in its opposition to NSA wiretaps, its defense of the New York Times after the paper revealed classified information about counter-terror programs that help to keep us safe, and its opposition to the renewal of the USA Patriot Act.
From UPI :
WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (UPI) — An upcoming TV mini-series about the origins of the Sept. 11 plot is provoking angry complaints from Democrats about the portrayal of the Clinton administration's response to terrorism.
"The Path to 9/11," a five-hour dramatization laying out the history of the Sept. 11 plot from the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, will be aired over two nights on the anniversary of the attack next week by ABC Television.
The movie is billed as a dramatization based on the report of the U.S. commission that investigated the events of Sept. 11 and circumstances leading up to it. According to a disclaimer shown at the beginning of each episode, it "has composite and representative characters and incidents, and time compressions have been used for dramatic purposes."
But a portion of the film showing an aborted effort to capture al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden before the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa has aroused the ire of some of the officials portrayed.
Here's where the hypocrisy begins:
And Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., called on ABC to show disclaimers throughout each episode, not just at the beginning. "ABC has a responsibility to make clear that this film is not a documentary, and does not represent an official account of the facts surrounding the Sept. 11 attacks," she said.
I don't recall democrats calling for disclaimers throughout Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11? Furthermore, the Clinton liberals are doing everything they can to prevent ABC from airing the film "as-is." That in and of itself should tell you this is going to be one good film.
The mini-series is actually an accurate portrayal, albeit re-enacted, of what really happened in the years leading up to the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. It's time the country learned the truth about what happened instead of buying into the liberal myth that it was all George W. Bush's fault.
In one scene, CIA operatives working with Ahmed Shah Masud (sic), the charismatic Afghan mujahedin leader who fought al-Qaida and their Taliban sponsors, are assembled on a hillside above bin Laden's residence at Tarnak Farms. "It's perfect for us," says "Kirk," a composite character representing several of the CIA operatives and analysts involved in the hunt for the terrorist leader.But the team is forced to abort the mission when Berger hangs up on them in the middle of a conference call, after telling them he cannot give the go ahead for the action."I don't have that authority," he says."Are there any men in Washington," Masud asks Kirk afterwards in the film, "or are they all cowards?"
Former national security advisor to President Clinton, Sandy Berger, had this to say:
"The incidents depicted did not happen," said Berger in the statement. "They are not contained in the Sept. 11 Commission report, which is the most authoritative review of the events before and after the attack."
This coming from a man who plead guilty to stealing classified documents from the National Archive. (I wonder what he was trying to hide…)
Read the entire UPI article: Analysis: Sept. 11 miniseries under fire.
Other commentaries: Blackfive, Hugh Hewitt, Little Green Footballs, HotAir, JunkyardBlog, Sticky Notes.