Live Blogging The Path to 9/11
Warning: Spoiler Ahead…
Last Segment, September 11th, 2006:
See below for commentary regarding yesterday's segment.
Impressions:
- The NSC, headed by "Sandy" Berger, clearly places the blame for failure to protect the country on the CIA.
- Politically correctness is a theme that prevents most FBI agents and counter-terrorism officials from acting in a meaningful way.
- The portrayal of Condoleeza Rice is awkward.
(Break: Presidential address.)
The rest of the series seems to be fairly accurate according to the 9/11 commission report as well as other accounts I've read. Aside from the original Lewinsky footage that was edited out I can't see what all the fuss by liberals was all about. Nothing in this docu-drama was new.
Perhaps our liberal friends just didn't want the American people to see that our enemies are really at war with us. Maybe they believe the war on terror is an invention by George Bush to conquer the world. Bush's administration may have invented the phrase "war on terror", but they certainly did not invent the war.
Perhaps the ex-Clinton cadre were simply trying to preserve a political legacy where there really isn't one. Who knows… But overall, The Path to 9/11 was indeed a good film. The cinematography was excellent. The scenes involving Ahmed Shah Massoud, the FBI and other public servants was inspiring. This movie also showed us who the enemy is and how committed they are to wage war against us.
First Segment, September 10th, 2006:
So far, I've seen the first hour and forty-five minutes of The Path to 9/11.
The movie opens with scenes from the early morning of 9/11, the hijackers boarding plane's and getting settled… Followed by the sequence of the 1993 WTC bombing.
First impressions:
- Historically glossed over in some respects but altogether not bad.
- The movie definitely depicts the Jihadist's as America's sworn enemy.
- There are many scenes that you would expect to see footage of former president Clinton (press conferences, speeches, etc.)
Strangely enough, Clinton isn't present in the movie at all so far. (With the exception of his image on a television set in the NYC FBI office.)
Update (10:00 PM EST):
Concerning the scene showing Osama bin Laden surrounded by field agents and Ahmed Shah Massoud's men…
- A shorter scene involving the meeting between Berger and the NSC was shown. The decision to scrub the operation was implied.
- Most of the footage showing bin Laden's camp being surrounded was edited out. Massoud's men approach Tarnak farms, FBI agents await orders and the scene cuts to the NSC meeting. Following that, the film cuts back to Massoud's quote "Aren't there any men left in Washington, or are they all cowards."
- The scene showing Clinton giving the press interview about his Lewinsky testimony was completely cut. Instead there were at least two "we'll get 'em…" type speeches, one after the NSC meeting and the other five or so minutes later during the Nairobi embassy bombing sequence.
Other Impressions:
- Scenes involving FBI agents investigating or arresting a suspect, or suspects, are pretty cool. There's almost a CSI feel to the movie.
- FBI agents, notably Agent John O'Neil, come across as heroes frustrated by the bureaucracy and the Clinton administration.
The first part of the mini-series wraps up by revisiting the scenes of the 9/11 hijackers preparing for their takeover of the first plane…