Heat Is On
Filmmaker Michael Moore Takes on Factual Challenges to Fahrenheit 9/11
June 20, 2004 — Michael Moore's controversial new movie, Fahrenheit 9/11, opens on screens across the United States on Friday. It's sure to enrage Bush lovers and rally Bush haters. But can it convince any of the unconvinced? This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos visited with Moore in his hometown of Flint, Mich. to talk about it. Moore began the interview, excerpted below, by establishing his motivation for making the film.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Random House defines "propaganda" as information, rumors, et cetera, deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, et cetera. By that definition, Fahrenheit 911 is propaganda, isn't it?
MOORE: Well, it's an op-ed piece. It's my opinion about the last four years of the Bush administration. And that's what I call it. I'm not trying to pretend that this is some sort of, you know, fair and balanced work of journalism, even though those who use the words "fair and balanced" often aren't that, but—
STEPHANOPOULOS: And your goal is to defeat President Bush.
MOORE: I would like to see Mr. Bush removed from the White House.
Saudis Fly Away
Critics of the movie charge that Moore's filmmaking style is deliberately misleading. Stephanopoulos raised two separate issues about the film's accuracy — the first regarding Moore's assertions about the movement of the bin Laden family in the week following 9/11.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Take the issue of the Saudi planes. You make a big issue, a big chunk in the film about this issue where a few days after Sept. 11, many members of the Osama bin Laden family, Saudi nationals, were taken out of the country. It was helped, arranged by the White House. You suggest it was done when the airspace was closed. You suggest that these people were not screened. And you also [suggest] there's a whole sinister subtext there that this was because of the Bush family ties to the bin Laden family. But the 9/11 commission report found that they didn't fly until the airspace was open, that they were screened by the FBI. In fact—
MOORE: That's not true. That's not true. And in fact … there's an FBI agent who was on the al Qaeda task force who's in my movie, who says quite bluntly, "No, proper police procedures were not followed.".....
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