The ABC 9-11 lie fiasco to date: A collection of revelations and links

[Ian_rd]

This is a short history of the revelations surrounding ABC's campaign to lie to the American public about 9-11 and promote these lies as history lessons in our schools.

Make no mistake: None of this controversy would have ever come to light if it weren't for the liberal blogosphere. Without us, ABC would have aired this trash and it would have been accepted without question into the minds of countless millions. Think Progress, Media Matters, and DUer Kpete have been especially vigilant in tracking this story and raising hell about it.

At the bottom of this post are resources to contact ABC in a last ditch effort to pull these lies from our airwaves.

Media Matters: Right wing uses ABC docudrama to push debunked claim blaming Clinton administration for 9-11

Summary: In anticipation of ABC's docudrama The Path to 9/11, the right-wing media have resurrected a debunked claim that attempts to place blame for the 9-11 attacks on the Clinton administration. Specifically, a review of the miniseries on the right-wing website Human Events Online asserted that the Clinton administration erected a "wall" to prevent information-sharing between government agencies. In fact, the "wall" long predated Bill Clinton's presidency.

Link to Story

Think Progress: Under Fire, ABC Yanks Official Blog of 9/11 Docudrama

On September 10 and 11, ABC is planning to air a “docudrama” called “Path to 9/11,” billed as “an objective telling of the events of 9/11.” In fact, the film was written by an unabashed conservative who twists the facts to blame President Clinton.

The show’s official blog attracted many comments from the public criticizing the film for its inaccuracies. In response, writer Cyrus Nowrasteh and director David Cunningham posted a number of strikingly defensive blog posts.

Link to Story

FireDogLake: Outrageous Deception (ABC provides right-wing bloggers with advanced copies of Path to 9/11)

So, let’s review. This very high-profile movie is airing next weekend, and all five of the listed contacts were out all day yesterday, making it impossible to get advance copies? This, after ABC made the mini-series available to a plethora of wing-nut bloggers and media personalities like Mr. Limbaugh? How very, very odd.

These are the exact words that ABC’s Alison Row (not sure that’s the correct spelling, but pronunciation rhymes with “cow”) left on my voicemail at 5:07 pm PT:

"We are certainly happy to send <a copy of "Path to 9/11"> to you. It’s a ... there’s no, you know ... we’re not sending it to only specific partisan groups, or, um, bloggers who lean a certain political way. We would love to get it to you as well. Unfortunately, everyone is gone today, but we can get it out to you Tuesday for Wednesday."

I’m sure advance copies are currently sitting with reviewers at major MSM outlets, and that they are timing their pieces to run and air closer to the air dates for “Path to 9/11. But with the early advance materials going exclusively to "friendly" right-wing partisan media, ABC was certain to get a first wave of favorable, sycophantic coverage from Limbaugh and the right-wing blogs, to perhaps—wink, wink—influence other reviewers.

Link to Story

Rep. Louis Slaughter: Slaughter Calls for ABC to Come Clean on New 9-11 Docudrama

"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 September 11th attacks," Rep. Slaughter said. "Disclaimers noting that The Path to 9/11 is a docudrama should be shown throughout its airing. We have yet to establish the impartiality and accuracy of the people behind this film and the claims it advances, and the American people need to know that."

Link to Story

New York Times: 9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased

In particular, some critics — including Richard A. Clarke, the former counterterrorism czar — questioned a scene that depicts several American military officers on the ground in Afghanistan. In it, the officers, working with leaders of the Northern Alliance, the Afghan rebel group, move in to capture Osama bin Laden, only to allow him to escape after the mission is canceled by Clinton officials in Washington.

In a posting on ThinkProgress.org, and in a phone interview, Mr. Clarke said no military personnel or C.I.A. agents were ever in position to capture Mr. bin Laden in Afghanistan, nor did the leader of the Northern Alliance get that near to his camp.

“It didn’t happen,” Mr. Clarke said. “There were no troops in Afghanistan about to snatch bin Laden. There were no C.I.A. personnel about to snatch bin Laden. It’s utterly invented.”

Mr. Clarke, an on-air consultant to ABC News, said he was particularly shocked by a scene in which it seemed Clinton officials simply hung up the phone on an agent awaiting orders in the field. “It’s 180 degrees from what happened,” he said. “So, yeah, I think you would have to describe that as deeply flawed.”

<snip>

But Richard Ben-Veniste, a member of the Sept. 11 commission, said genre confusion would not be a problem for commission members, several of whom saw part of the miniseries last week.

“As we were watching, we were trying to think how they could have misinterpreted the 9/11 commission’s finding the way that they had,” Mr. Ben-Veniste said. “They gave the impression that Clinton had not given the green light to an operation that had been cleared by the C.I.A. to kill bin Laden,” when, in fact, the Sept. 11 commission concluded that Mr. Clinton had.

Link to Story

CQ Weekly: ABC Docudrama Sparks 9/11 Spat

So when the post-screening question-and-answer session began, Ben-Veniste stood to say that the Berger-bashing scene didn’t square with the research he and the other commissioners conducted. “There was no incident like that in the film that we came across. I am disturbed by that aspect of it,” Ben-Veniste, a loyal Democrat, told the panel, which included both the producer and the commission’s GOP chairman, former Gov. Thomas H. Kean of New Jersey.

Berger, reached by phone after the screening, seconded Ben-Veniste’s criticism. “It’s a total fabrication,” he said tersely. “It did not happen.”

That is not likely to prevent the film from being embraced far and wide among Bush supporters. Even before its airdate, the show is being hailed as a breakthrough in the conservative blogosphere. One blogger marveled in an interview with scriptwriter Cyrus Nowrasteh that “one unbelievable sequence shows how . . . Sandy Berger . . . actually hung up the phone on the CIA agent on the ground.”

Link to Story

Housedemocrats.gov: House Democrats Demand Accuracy in ABC 9/11 Film

These two examples alone create substantial doubt about the overall accuracy of this program. September 11th is a day of mourning and remembrance for every American. We do not believe that it is appropriate for it to be tainted by false assertions of blame or partisan spin.

To avoid that occurrence, we urge you to review this film and correct these and other inaccuracies. We appreciate your prompt attention and reply to this time sensitive matter.

Link to Story

From DUer Acmejack: ABC Issues Response to Complaints

Dear Acmejack,

I have received several emails concerning the dramatization, "The Path to 9/11" and our network, ABC, has issued the following response for your review and consideration:

Statement from an ABC Spokesperson:

The Path to 9/11 is a dramatization, not a documentary, drawn from a variety of sources, including the 9/11 commission report, other published materials and from personal interviews. The events that lead to 9/11 originally sparked great debate, so it's not surprising that a movie surrounding those events has revived the debate. The attacks were a pivotal moment in our history that should never be forgotten and it's fitting that the discussion continues.

Link to Story

New York Times: Ex-Clinton Officials Slam 9/11 Mini-Series

One of the officials, former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, said in her letter to the Disney executive, Robert A. Iger, that although she had requested a copy of the film, ABC had not given her one. But, Ms. Albright said, she has been told by people who have seen it that it “depicts scenes that never happened, events that never took place, decisions that were never made and conversations that never occurred.”

“It asserts as fact things that are not fact,” she wrote.

<snip>

The series, which cost almost $40 million, is to be broadcast without commercials, but Ms. Hartman said this had been planned, as a public service, and had nothing to do with any pressure that might have been brought on prospective advertisers.

Ms. Hartman said she could not confirm that Ms. Albright, Mr. Berger or the Clinton Foundation had requested any advance copies of the movie. She said such copies had been provided to “accredited media and educational institutions,” including talk shows.

<snip>

“Sept. 11 is not ‘entertainment,’ it is reality,” Ms. Albright wrote Mr. Iger. “Before you air your broadcast, I trust you will ensure you have the facts right.”

Mr. Berger (played by Kevin Dunn) said a scene in which he is shown refusing to authorize a strike to kill Mr. bin Laden in Afghanistan “flagrantly misrepresents my personal actions” and will serve “only to grossly misinform the American people.”

Mr. Berger’s character is also seen abruptly hanging up during a conversation with a C.I.A. officer at a critical moment of a military operation. In an interview yesterday with KRLA-AM in Los Angeles, Cyrus Nowrasteh, the mini-series’ screenwriter and one of its producers, said that moment had been improvised.

“Sandy Berger did not slam down the phone,” Mr. Nowrasteh said. “That is not in the report. That was not scripted. But you know when you’re making a movie, a lot of things happen on set that are unscripted. Accidents occur, spontaneous reactions of actors performing a role take place. It’s the job of the filmmaker to say, ‘You know, maybe we can use that.’”

Link to Story

TPM Cafe: Full Text Of Letter From Bill Clinton Lawyer To ABC Obtained

By ABC’s own standard, ABC has gotten it terribly wrong. The content of this drama is factually and incontrovertibly inaccurate and ABC has a duty to fully correct all errors or pull the drama entirely. It is unconscionable to mislead the American public about one of the most horrendous tragedies our country has ever known.

Despite several requests to view the miniseries, we have not been given the courtesy of seeing it. This is particularly troubling given the reputation of Cyrus Nowrasteh, the drama’s writer/producer. Mr. Nowrasteh has been criticized for inaccurately portraying historical events in the past. In response to previous criticism, he has even said, “I made a conscious effort not to contact any members of the Administration because I didn’t want them to stymie my efforts.” Indeed, while we have not been given the courtesy of a viewing, based upon reports from people who have seen the drama you plan to air, we understand that there are at least three significant factual errors.

Link to Story

Think Progress: FBI Agent Who Consulted On Path to 9/11 Quit Halfway Through Because ‘They Were Making Things Up’

James Bamford, an author and journalist who has written about security issues, appeared on MSNBC to discuss “The Path to 9/11.” Bamford revealed that an FBI agent who worked as a consultant to the film quit halfway through production of the mini-series because he believed the writers and producers were “making things up.”

Link to Story

Think Progress: ABC Insider Assures Right-Wing Bloggers: ‘The Message of the Clinton Admin Failures Remains Fully Intact’

ABC won’t give President Clinton, Madeleine Albright or Sandy Berger a copy of its 9/11 docudrama, “The Path to 9/11.” But there is virtually nothing about the film ABC won’t share with the right-wing blogosphere.

For example, an ABC insider sent this missive to right-wing blogger Hugh Hewitt about potential edits to the film:

The Disney execs met all through the weekend - unheard of in this business - debating what changes would be made and what concessions should be given. Here is what looks to be the conclusion:

- There will be a handful of tweaks made to a few scenes.

<snip>

- The average viewer would not be able to tell the difference between the two versions.
- The message of the Clinton Admin failures remains fully intact.

Link to Story

Media Matters: ABC's Path to 9/11 partly based on information from Bush administration PR official

However, in addition to co-writing The Cell: Inside the 9/11 Plot, and Why the FBI and CIA Failed to Stop It, Miller is also a member of the Bush administration, serving as the assistant director of public affairs for the FBI, as blogger Digby has noted.

Link to Story

Reuters: Democrats urge ABC to withdraw 9/11 movie

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada denounced the television movie, set to air in two parts on Sunday and Monday nights, as "a work of fiction."

"Yes, they should pull it," Reid said as he unveiled Democrats' latest proposals to improve domestic security and reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq.

Link to Story

PR News Wire: Scholastic Replaces 'The Path to 9/11' Classroom Guide With New Discussion Materials

Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company, today announced that it is removing from its website the materials originally created for classroom use in conjunction with the ABC Television Network docudrama, "The Path to 9/11," scheduled to air on the ABC Television Network on September 10 and 11, 2006. A new classroom discussion guide for high school students is being created and will focus more specifically on media literacy, critical thinking, and historical background.

"After a thorough review of the original guide that we offered online to about 25,000 high school teachers, we determined that the materials did not meet our high standards for dealing with controversial issues," said Dick Robinson, Chairman, President and CEO of Scholastic.

Link to Story

America Blog: Senate Democratic leadership threatens Disney with legal and legislative sanctions

Dear Mr. Iger,

We write with serious concerns about the planned upcoming broadcast of The Path to 9/11 mini-series on September 10 and 11. Countless reports from experts on 9/11 who have viewed the program indicate numerous and serious inaccuracies that will undoubtedly serve to misinform the American people about the tragic events surrounding the terrible attacks of that day. Furthermore, the manner in which this program has been developed, funded, and advertised suggests a partisan bent unbecoming of a major company like Disney and a major and well respected news organization like ABC. We therefore urge you to cancel this broadcast to cease Disney’s plans to use it as a teaching tool in schools across America through Scholastic. Presenting such deeply flawed and factually inaccurate misinformation to the American public and to children would be a gross miscarriage of your corporate and civic responsibility to the law, to your shareholders, and to the nation.

The Communications Act of 1934 provides your network with a free broadcast license predicated on the fundamental understanding of your principle obligation to act as a trustee of the public airwaves in serving the public interest. Nowhere is this public interest obligation more apparent than in the duty of broadcasters to serve the civic needs of a democracy by promoting an open and accurate discussion of political ideas and events.

Disney and ABC claim this program to be based on the 9/11 Commission Report and are using that assertion as part of the promotional campaign for it. The 9/11 Commission is the most respected American authority on the 9/11 attacks, and association with it carries a special responsibility. Indeed, the very events themselves on 9/11, so tragic as they were, demand extreme care by any who attempt to use those events as part of an entertainment or educational program. To quote Steve McPhereson, president of ABC Entertainment, “When you take on the responsibility of telling the story behind such an important event, it is absolutely critical that you get it right.”

Unfortunately, it appears Disney and ABC got it totally wrong.

Despite claims by your network’s representatives that The Path to 9/11 is based on the report of the 9/11 Commission, 9/11 Commissioners themselves, as well as other experts on the issues, disagree.

Link to Story

DU's EarlG: "ABC History Project" same as fundamentalist "Untitled History Project"?

This morning, an interview with Harvey Keitel (who stars in "The Path to 9/11") reveals the following:

Keitel: Yea, I had questions about events – material I was given in the Path to 9/11 that I did raise questions about. Yes, I had some conflicts there.

Q: How was that met?

Keitel: With discussion... ummm with argument. When I received the script it said ABC history project – I took it to be exactly what they presented to me. History – and that facts were correct. It turned out not all the facts were correct and ABC set about trying to heal that problem. In some instances it was too late because we had begun.

Yesterday, DUer shewhomustbeobeyed discovered that David Cunningham, director of "The Path to 9/11," is the son of Loren Cunningham, founder of the worldwide evangelical group Youth With a Mission.

Youth With a Mission has an "auxiliary branch" called The Film Institute.

Members of The Film Institute write:

"TFI's first project is a doozy: simply being referred to as: The Untitled History Project, it is already being called the television event of the decade and not one second has been put to film yet. Talk about great expectations!

Our goal is to help filmmakers, actors, technicians, etc. realize their God given potential and purpose in perhaps the most influential sphere of modern culture - film and television."

Link to Story

Working for Change: ABC: Cancel Biased 9/11 "Docu-drama"

Since publishing our original action alert regarding ABC's inaccurate and biased "docu-drama" to be broadcast on Sept. 11th, we've learned even more disturbing details about the show - which is scheduled to occupy six hours of prime time television, less that two months before an important national election.

* The film - written by an avowed conservative activist - was provided in advance to approximately 900 right-wing bloggers and media personalities such as Rush Limbaugh. However, former President Bill Clinton and two of his cabinet officials were denied when they requested preview copies of the film. Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright has called the film - which includes several scenes with no basis in reality -- "false and defamatory."

* In response to mounting pressure, the film's producers are making some small changes...but according to conservative blogger Hugh Hewitt, "blame on the Clinton team is in the DNA of the project and could not be eradicated."

* ABC has teamed up with Scholastic Inc., a company that sells textbooks, to send letters to 100,000 teachers across the country offering free copies of the film and "study guides," despite the fact that the film is a "docu-drama" in which important facts and events have simply been invented out of thin air.

From these latest developments, it's become clear that this film was intended from the start to convince unknowing viewers that a false and conservative view of history is in fact the truth; lay blame at Bill Clinton's feet (while completely omitting mention of the dozens of antiterrorism measures he tried to enact); and propagandize America's schoolchildren with fiction masquerading as fact. It's simply unacceptable.

Link to Story

ABC'S Phone number: 818-460-7477

or send them a message via Think Progress here or via MoveOn here.

[Karenina]

1. Richard Clarke cuts to the chase...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2811809

Barbara Bodine says BULL!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2081023

[Sydnie]

2. kick n/t