Well, at least ABC didn't chicken out and pull The Path to 9/11, despite calls from supporters of former President Clinton to pull the show. However, the movie, which aired part one last night, did not escape unscathed.This AP article compares the version of the movie that was sent out to critics and the version that aired last night. Interestingly, the edits were in the exact places that got the Clinton supporters hot under the collar. In the aired version of the movie, the connections between the Lewinsky scandal and Clinton's inaction towards Osama bin Laden were de-emphasized, and the blame for not attacking OBL when we had the chance were shared amongst the administration and the intelligence community. Whether you believe or support any of these versions of the movies, it's interesting that ABC made the cuts it made while still defending the movie because it was a docudrama and not a documentary. I think that's what is called "Talking out both sides of your mouth."
Part two airs tonight, interrupted by President Bush's address to the nation.















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-11-2006 @ 12:50PM
miche1le said...
I watched last night and I will watch the conclusion tonight. I would never take the info from this show as fact but I can read, research, and learn enough to come to my own conclusions. Mistakes were made and not by only Democrats or Republicans. You would think that with the threat of terrorism, the political parties in this country could meet, face the facts, and work together to make sure the mistakes aren't repeated.
I would think all the liberals at TVSquad would be happy with the changes. De-emhpasize Clinton's responsibilty at all costs, ya know...
It appears that OBL was 'in their sights' and nothing was done on at least one occasion. Not that Clinton would ever admit it.
And Bush diverted attention away from OBL to attack Iraq. Not the best decision.
With all the in-fighting I am beginning to believe that we may never find OBL let alone win the war on terrorism.
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9-11-2006 @ 1:35PM
courtney said...
To change or alter one finding from the 9/11 Commission Report is unconscionable. What? The day wasn't horrific enough for ABC that they had to fiddle with the findings? If they want to do a movie on 9/11, that's one thing but to use the Commission's report as the basis for their so-called docudrama, making up conversations, etc. and then infuse it with changes, additions or alterations is nothing but a shameful political ploy on this day of memorium and reflection.
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9-12-2006 @ 12:09PM
Bill Mishler said...
Yes, Bush's torture rationalizations and the ABC miniseries supposedly based on the 9/11 Commission's report are outrageously false.
But I say let Disney-ABC run it, but make sure everyone knows specifically
the lies it contains.
As dumb as America has become(you can fool some of the people all of the time),
most folks (you can't fool all of the people all of the time) will see it
deliver a huge blow to the credibility of corporate media and the far-right
disinformation machine.
Meanwhile it's terror! terror! terror! from the White House. Bush's implied message
Wednesday was that, yes, we tortured, and it works to keep America safe.
This is the biggest lie so far from the most dishonest administration in
U.S. history.
When it comes to specifics on exactly what plot got stopped, the White House
cannot deliver.
Instead, Bush mumbles vaguely about bombs and anthrax etc.
Instead we get the nitwits in Miami who spelled Al Qaeda with a backward K
and asked for army boots and clothing from the FBI undercover dude posing as
Al Qaeda -- not explosives or funding -- but footwear and glad rags. The Miami group should be called the Shoe Pavilion Seven.
The not-so-actual-after-all airline
plot in Britain was cracked because folks, who had observed the nitwits
there engage in openly suspicious behavior, walked in and told police. The
"centerpiece'' war (in/on/with?) Iraq was not a factor in breaking this
case. The Bush administration's pressure on Britain to prematurely publicize
the investigation cut short efforts to learn more about the plotters'
methods and connections.
But that's Bush: politics ahead of all else, including security.
Bid Laden has gotten what he wanted: the WTC towers are gone, and Bush
pulled our military out of Saudi Arabia in 2003.
Oh, yes, bin Laden also is free, and Pakistani officials, in a true display
of their respect for Bush, have roped off the region where bin Laden hides!
The 9/11 attacks succeeded because Bush, disdaining all things Clinton
(politics ahead of all else), ignored a flood of warnings and got caught
with his pants down. Hence the bizarre Iraq misadventure (politics ahead of
all else; war presidents always win), the Hitler-esque abandonment of our
most cherished values (Geneva Conventions) and rights (Fourth Amendment),
and now the shameless ABC/Disney/Fantasyland attempt to blame 9/11 on
Clinton!
To the extent another -- actual -- attack plot forms, its potential to
succeed will have everything to do with the fact we're squandering $5
billion a month on the Iraq occupation while utterly failing to address
gaping holes in our real defenses: shipping containers, unsecured nuclear
materials, airport screening, port security, police preparedness and
hospital emergency-response capacity.
It's all there in the actual report by the 9/11 Commission, members of which are
crying foul over the ABC/Disney/Goofy concoction of lies.
Sincerely,
Bill Mishler
748 Northrup St., #334
San Jose CA 95126-3778
bill@stragglyrs.com
www.stragglyrs.com
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9-11-2006 @ 10:12PM
RAB said...
Joel, I would object to your description of the controversy over the tv-movie on purely factual grounds. It wasn't merely that "supporters of President Clinton" were offended by something that made their guy look bad.
At least two other people depicted in the film both complained that what they were shown doing simply never happened. One was former UN ambassador and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; the other was Richard Clarke...a national security adviser to Reagan and both Bush administrations as well as Clinton. The docudrama was described as being based on the 9/11 Commission Report, but several members of that commission from *both* parties said it was wildly inaccurate and disagreed with their findings. The only member of the commission who stepped forward to endorse the film as accurate was also a *paid consultant* to the production.
So it wasn't just blind partisanship for Clinton here: people from both sides were stepping forward to say "you're lying about what we said and/or did." You may choose to believe that all those people are now lying and that the movie was accurate...but even if that's the case, this was several people making complaints on their own behalf, not just a bunch of soreheaded Clinton worshippers rallying to defend him.
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