More 9/11 lies

Posted by Laura Barcella at 11:30 AM on September 6, 2006.

As you might already know, on the rapidly approaching five-year anniversary of September 11, 2001, ABC (which is, of course, owned by Disney) is slated to air a 6-hour docu-drama called "Path to 9/11."

According to Act for Change:

The film was written by an unabashed conservative who twists the facts to blame President Clinton...

ABC's new six-hour film was apparently screened in advance only to conservative bloggers and journalists -- and received extensive praise from none other than Rush Limbaugh. ABC is advertising the film as being "based on the 9/11 Commission report" -- yet also admits that it's a "docu-drama," in which writers and producers are free to invent and distort facts.

Former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke has already unequivacolly refuted one of the key scenes of the movie. In a note to Think Progress, Clark detailed the film's discrepancies:

• Contrary to the movie, no US military or CIA personnel were on the ground in Afghanistan and saw bin Laden.
• Contrary to the movie, the head of the Northern Alliance, Masood, was no where near the alleged bin Laden camp and did not see UBL.
• Contrary to the movie, the CIA Director actually said that he could not recommend a strike on the camp because the information was single sourced and we would have no way to know if bin Laden was in the target area by the time a cruise missile hit it.

You can write to ABC here, and demand they pull the film from their lineup next week. And be sure to check out this great website, Open Letter to ABC: Don't Airbush 9/11, for comprehensive info and updates about the film. From who's been writing to ABC in protest (Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Reps. John Dingell, Jane Harman, Louise Slaughter) to journalists (the Boston Globe's Suzanne Ryan, Detroit News' Mekeisha Madden Toby) who've been "duped" by the movie, there's lots here.

The truth about what happened that horrible day in September has been obscured enough as it is; if there's one thing the American public doesn't need, it's more media-spun BS about our national security and presidential accountability.

Laura Barcella is AlterNet's associate editor.