9/11 miniseries outrages democrats
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Clinton supporters demand ABC yank 'inaccurate' drama
By Steven Edwards
CanWest News Service
Friday, September 08, 2006
canada.com
NEW YORK - A furor has erupted over a new ABC miniseries as former president Bill Clinton and members of his administration call for removal of scenes that question their dedication to pursuing Osama bin Laden.
In a letter to the head of ABC's parent company, senior Clinton staffers say The Path to 9/11 -- which will air on Sunday and on Monday -- is "factually and incontrovertibly inaccurate."
They are especially upset by a scene suggesting the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal distracted Mr. Clinton from taking effective action against bin Laden after al-Qaeda strikes on U.S. targets.
They also object to other scenes showing former secretary of state Madeleine Albright and former national security advisor Sandy Berger making decisions that, in hindsight, appear to have been missteps.
"ABC has a duty to fully correct all errors or pull the drama entirely," says the four-page missive to Robert Iger, head of Walt Disney.
Ms. Albright and Mr. Berger also wrote to Mr. Iger. Meanwhile, a leftist, Web-based activist group is encouraging ordinary people to write in to complain.
The chief consultant for the miniseries was Tom Kean, former Republican governor of New Jersey and head of the commission that probed the circumstances surrounding the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Critics of the miniseries, pre-screened last week in Washington, say Mr. Kean's party affiliation makes him susceptible to bias. Supporters say executive producer Marc Platt clearly had access to a person with key knowledge.
"The Path to 9/11 essentially chronicles everything we know that happened in the '90s that prevented the capture of Osama bin Laden," said Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio talk-show host.
"It indicts the Clinton administration, Madeleine Albright, Sandy Berger."
Democrats fear the miniseries will tarnish the legacy of Mr. Clinton, who has so far escaped blame for not checking bin Laden's rise in the late 1990s.
In fact, the miniseries points the finger at both the Bush and Clinton administrations, though the Clinton administration comes in for most of the criticism.
It also shows the frustration of some members of the CIA and the FBI with Mr. Clinton's policy.
ABC executives have agreed to make a few minor adjustments and issued a statement saying the miniseries is "more dramatization that documentary."
While Mr. Clinton has not commented publicly, a demand that ABC do still more came from his foundation, through which he advances his humanitarian work around the world.
"ABC/Disney acknowledges this show is fiction and in direct contradiction of the 9/11 Commission report and the facts, and it is despicable that ABC/Disney would insist on airing a fictional version of what is a serious and emotional event for our country," said spokesman Jay Carson.
"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 Sept. 11 attacks," added Louise Slaughter, a Democratic representative from New York.
The uproar is reminiscent of conservative protests in 2004 over director Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, which was highly critical of the Bush administration as it examined a post-9/11 America.
In her letter, Ms. Albright denies she warned Pakistan of a 1998 attempt to kill bin Laden by firing a missile over that country at an al-Qaeda camp in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Conservatives argue the charge has some merit because the 9/11 Commission found a senior U.S. military official had told the Pakistanis out of concern they would think the missile came from their arch-enemy, India. The problem was that Pakistani intelligence officials had close Taliban ties.
Mr. Berger also denies he refused the CIA authorization to try to kill bin Laden in 1998.
ABC says the miniseries is based on information drawn from a "variety of sources, including the 9/11 Commission report, other published materials and from personal interviews."
It adds the production should be seen as part of legitimate political debate.
"The events that led to 9/11 originally sparked great debate, so it's not surprising that a movie surrounding those events has revived the debate," the network said.
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