Posted on 09/09/2006 2:18:40 PM PDT by upchuck
Bill Clinton assails 9/11 TV drama
Former President Bill Clinton has dismissed as "indisputably wrong" a US TV show that suggests he was too distracted by a sex scandal to confront the Islamic militant threat that culminated in the Sept. 11 attacks, his spokesman said.
"The Path to 9/11," a miniseries due to be broadcast on Sunday and Monday nights, charts the run-up to the attacks that occurred five years ago and killed 2,992 people.
The show portrays Clinton's former national security adviser, Sandy Berger, and others as having bungled an opportunity to capture Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in the 1990s.
Clinton administration officials complained that parts of the miniseries were fabricated.
Jay Carson, a spokesman for Clinton's office in New York, said: "We don't claim the scenes are wrong. They are indisputably wrong. ABC says so. The 9/11 commission report says so. Tom Kean (the Republican chairman of the 9/11 commission and a consultant on the film) says so. The writer of the show says so."
Clinton handed over power to President George W. Bush about eight months before the 2001 attacks.
On Friday, The Washington Post reported ABC was making minor changes to its docudrama in response to complaints by Clinton administration officials and other Democrats.
The network would not confirm those changes were being made, but issued a statement saying, "For dramatic and narrative purposes, the movie contains fictionalised scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogueue, and time compression.
"No one has seen the final version of the film, because the editing process is not yet complete, so criticisms of film specifics are premature and irresponsible."
Kean told The Washington Post he asked for changes that would address complaints raised by the former Clinton officials. He told the paper the network was considering his request.
The newspaper quoted one unidentified ABC executive as saying changes were "intended to make clearer that it was general indecisiveness" by federal officials that left America vulnerable to attacks, "not any one individual."
The show has added fuel to the election-year debate over who is tougher on terrorism, and US congressional Democrats urged ABC this week to cancel the miniseries.
Materials that publishing company Scholastic intended to use in conjunction with the program have been pulled from Scholastic's web site.
"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," Dick Robinson, head of Scholastic, said in a statement.
The producers of "The Path to 9/11" say the miniseries is based on information collected at commission hearings.
Starring Harvey Keitel, it traces the roots of the Sept. 11 plot, depicting missteps, ineptitude, political decisions and bureaucratic intransigence that thwart investigative efforts.
"The American government let us down," Kean told Reuters. "Not only didn't they stop the plot, they didn't even slow it down."
Kean said he saw the show as a way to raise awareness of the recommendations made by the 9/11 commission, which issued its report in 2004.
Kean said he expected criticism. "People in both parties didn't particularly like the commission report, and I think people in both parties aren't going to love this one."
Ping
Thanks for the ping. But what is it for?
Looks like it's time to drag ole Hillary around on the beach again and pretend to be dancing and where is his five pound bible,all his warplanes and the tank from Waco? The props folks, he needs all his props again to cover his ineptitude as President.
I've said all along that the Clinton legacy is in several categories:
1) A war thrust upon us with 3,000 killed in a sneak attack on our soil.
2) A sh!^^y economy.
3) A vulgarization of the presidency (how many of us had to answer our kids' questions about oral sex?)
Chinese campaign money for missile technology should have put the POS in the slammer!
Poor Bill. Always caught with his pants down.
The Clinton body count...
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/POLITICS/BODIES.html
The rapist speaks.
What did he do between 1993 and the end of 1998?
Thank you for posting that. That is the first time that I saw that clip.
I think I need a drink after watching that.
Godspeed Kevin.
You have to wonder sometimes, don't you...
That is the best depiction I have ever read. I'll bet it is so on-point and accurate that you would be amazed! Good job!
I wonder which party really is running this country?
LOL - That is evident by the many, many lost opportunities that the Republicans have let go by. The Democrats, led by the Comrades Clintoon, have so much dirt on so many people, Republicans in particular, that they are firmly in charge. Make no mistake about it.
I thought I would croak when he said on t.v. the other day, "All I want them to do is TELL THE TRUTH!" Isn't he a great adviser?
The list is almost endless.
Truly, one of the most disgusting persons to ever come to prominence.
Ranks right up there with Pee Wee Herman and Charlie Manson.
Yes, the list of things not looked into that should have been and are for all others is as long as the "Little List" of Gilbert and Sullivan's but the gold bull icon that has been made of Clinton must always be pure of any bad report.
I think the truth went into Sandy Berger's socks and pants, then to the fire.
Who cares?
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