Yes, I know there have been diaries on the upcoming Bush propaganda piece called
The Path to 9/11 which will air on ABC in a little more than a week. But we need to revisit this issue. For a major American TV network to air this blatant piece of pro-Bush propaganda eight weeks before the midterm elections is an outrage, and we need to stop it. Read on, and see what I think we should do about it.
If you've forgotten what all the fuss is about, check out this piece from ThinkProgress
here. Basically, the show blames everything related to 9/11 on--you guessed it--Bill Clinton! It ignores all of Clinton's efforts against terrorism in the 90s and makes Bush look like a concerned, involved,
heroic figure. (I could scarcely write that last phrase without vomiting.) Yes, Mr. "All right, you've covered your ass" is being presented as the nation's savior, rescuing us from Clintonism. William Rivers Pitt has the real story
here, and it's infuriating. Excerpts:
ABC intends to mark the occasion [9/11] in far more grand a fashion. Starting September 10th and ending September 11th, the network will show a miniseries titled "The Path to 9/11." According to reports from early screenings, the writer/producer of the miniseries, Cyrus Nowrasteh, has crafted a television polemic intended to blame the entire event on President Clinton.
Nowrasteh, an outspoken conservative of Persian descent whose family fled Iran after the fall of the Shah, spoke last year at the Liberty Film Festival, described by its founders as Hollywood's first conservative film festival. Govindini Murty, actress, writer, and co-director of the Liberty Film Festival, wrote a review of "The Path to 9/11" for the right-wing online news page FrontPageMag.com.
In the review, Murty states, "'The Path to 9/11' is one of the best, most intelligent, most pro-American miniseries I've ever seen on TV, and conservatives should support it and promote it as vigorously as possible. This is the first Hollywood production I've seen that honestly depicts how the Clinton administration repeatedly bungled the capture of Osama bin Laden."
FrontPageMag, it should be noted, held a symposium back in May to argue that the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, which were never found despite being the main reason for invasion, were actually spirited out of Iraq by Russia on the eve of the 2003 attack. So it goes.
Leaving aside the wretched truth that the far right is once again using September 11 to score political points, the facts regarding the still-lingering effort to blame the Clinton administration for the attacks must be brought to the fore. Nowrasteh, at several points in his miniseries, rolls out a number of oft-debunked allegations that Clinton allowed Osama bin Laden to remain alive and free before the attacks.
Roger Cressy, National Security Council senior director for counterterrorism in the period 1999-2001, responded to these allegations in an article for the Washington Times in 2003. "Mr. Clinton approved every request made of him by the CIA and the U.S. military involving using force against bin Laden and al-Qaeda," wrote Cressy. "As President Bush well knows, bin Laden was and remains very good at staying hidden. The current administration faces many of the same challenges. Confusing the American people with misinformation and distortions will not generate the support we need to come together as a nation and defeat our terrorist enemies."
This piece of disgusting Republican bullshit is already being promoted by Rush Limbaugh and the fanatic, right wing Swift Boat lunatics. We need to mobilize against this NOW--loudly and clearly. Our objective should be simple:
KILL THIS BROADCAST. FORCE ABC TO WITHDRAW IT.
And just for the record:
--No, we should NOT ignore Swift Boat style attacks on us. We should be kicking their perpetrators in the groin.
--No, I don't give a rat's ass about ABC's freedom of expression. This isn't about artistic freedom--it's about destroying a right wing propaganda program practically written and directed by Karl Rove.
--No, I'm not worried about giving this show greater attention. The right wing killed off CBS's bio of Reagan because they didn't like it. The Republicans never worry about attacking what they don't like--they just do it incessantly.. We should fight in EXACTLY the same way.
We need to BURY ABC under protests. You can send angry e-mails to them here.
Find out the show's sponsors. Give them both barrels, too.
Write your Democratic Senator of Representative. Let them know how you feel.
We need a FIRESTORM about this, folks. When I'm attacked, I FIGHT BACK. I sure as hell hope you feel the same way.
KILL The Path to 9/11.