Path to 9/11 Miniseries

Other bloggers have discussed the inaccuracies in this Disney/ABC production. I've been reading but haven't had time to do much else. I already knew I wouldn't be watching it for the same reason I won't see the World Trade Center film.

I think of them both as not only political maneuvering directed at the '06 Congressional elections but as an attempt of the part of the film and t.v. industries to make millions from a tragedy that is all too fresh in our minds. Hey folks, I was here for the real thing; I don't need the rerun, thanks.

That being said, here's one more story about the inaccuracies in the miniseries, this time from members of the Clinton administration. They're asking that Disney/ABC not show the film in its present version. So far, according to Madeline Albright and others, no one from ABC has contacted them.

From AP as reprinted in truthout.

NEW YORK (AP) - A miniseries about the events leading to the Sept. 11 attacks is "terribly wrong" and ABC should correct it or not air it, former Clinton administration officials demanded in letters to the head of ABC's parent company.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, Clinton Foundation head Bruce Lindsey and Clinton adviser Douglas Band all wrote in the past week to Robert Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Co., to express concern over "The Path to 9/11."

The two-part miniseries, scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday and Monday, is drawn from interviews and documents including the report of the Sept. 11 commission. ABC has described it as a "dramatization" as opposed to a documentary. Calls to ABC seeking comment Thursday were not returned.

The letter writers said that the miniseries contained factual errors, and that their requests to see it had gone unanswered. "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," Lindsey and Band wrote in their letter.

The letter writers pointed out examples of scenes they had been told were in the miniseries, but which they said never happened. Albright objected to a scene that she was told showed her insisting on warning the Pakistani government before an airstrike on Afghanistan, and that she was the one who made the warning.

"The scene as explained to me is false and defamatory," she said.

Berger objected to a scene that he was told showed him refusing to authorize an attack on Osama bin Laden despite the request from CIA officials. "The fabrication of this scene (of such apparent magnitude) cannot be justified under any reasonable definition of dramatic license," he wrote.

Lindsey and Band objected to advertisements for the miniseries, which they said suggested that Clinton wasn't paying enough attention to the threat of terrorism.

"While ABC is promoting "The Path to 9/11" as a dramatization of historical fact, in truth it is a fictitious rewriting of history that will be misinterpreted by millions of Americans," they said. "Given your stated obligation to 'get it right,' we urge you to do so by not airing this drama until the egregious factual errors are corrected, an endeavor we could easily assist you with given the opportunity to view the film."

The five-hour miniseries is set to run without commercial interruption. Director David Cunningham said it was a massive undertaking, with close to 250 speaking parts, more than 300 sets, and a budget of $40 million. Cunningham has said he shot 550 hours of film. Among the actors in it are Harvey Keitel, Patricia Heaton and Donnie Wahlberg.

AP Television Writer Frazier Moore in New York contributed to this report.