Scholastic Dumps (most of) “Path to 9/11″ –new update–
This post is compliments of readers citizen, Cujo359 and J, who found this
yesterday, as did TheAllSpinZone.
Scholastic has dumped “Path to 9/11″. well, at least most of it, but not all. (New update – 1:50 p.m.)
The link citizen pulled up reads “no
longer found” on the page. J has the screen capture. The pdfs of “lesson
plans” can no longer be found on Scholastic, but Tom Kean Sr.'s letter is here. Compliments of Cujo359 we get the BBC links and actual working links to the pdf lesson plans, which are appalling. Get 'em while they last.
Ironranger found that over at Hugh Hewitt's Townhall one commenter says, well, here's Ironranger's comment: I went to the Hewit link & read his post on the email. The “backlash was completely unexpected” by abc/disney execs who are according to Hugh are “dyed in the wool liberals & huge supporters of Clinton & dem party”…”they had no idea that any of this could happen.” What????? What a load of horse doodoo.
Read this post from Digby to find out just what unadulterated crap Hewitt is dispensing.
But something glaring is missing in all this. Did you notice? Reader mainsailset pegged it up front. Where are the Republicans? Do they not care that the events of 9/11 are held to historical standards? Are they willing to stand by on this, letting ABC sell a national tragedy down the political river? Evidently, Republicans could care less as long as it sells for November.
Unfortunately, Scholastic thinks it matters. Here's more:
Thinking this was merely a site problem or something, I did a quick search
of the Scholastic website.Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Bupkis.
In Tom Kean's “letter
to educators” (which is still on the Scholastic site, but maybe
just hasn't been scrubbed yet), he encouraged them to go
to this link (which is a root directory to all of the Path to 9/11 material).That link comes up a blank also.
There are apparently no more “Path to 9/11″ resources or information
on Scholastic's website.Wow. If this is truly the case, fantastic. We might have won one round. Either
way, the fight isn't over.
This isn't over by a long shot.
Howie Kurtz lays Disney out.
Among the scenes that the Clinton team said are fictional:
· Berger is seen as refusing authorization for a proposed raid to
capture bin Laden in spring 1998 to CIA operatives in Afghanistan who have
the terrorist leader in their sights. A CIA operative sends a message: “We're
ready to load the package. Repeat, do we have clearance to load the package?”
Berger responds: “I don't have that authority.”Berger said that neither he nor Clinton ever rejected a CIA or military request
to conduct an operation against bin Laden. The Sept. 11 commission said no
CIA operatives were poised to attack; that Afghanistan's rebel Northern Alliance
was not involved, as the film says; and that then-CIA Director George J. Tenet
decided the plan would not work.· Tenet is depicted as challenging Albright for having alerted Pakistan
in advance of the August 1998 missile strike that unsuccessfully targeted
bin Laden.· “The Path to 9/11″ uses news footage to suggest that Clinton
was distracted by the Republican drive to impeach him. Veteran White House
counterterrorism official Richard A. Clarke, who also disputes the film's
accuracy, is portrayed as telling FBI agent John P. O'Neill: “Republicans
went all out for impeachment. I just don't see the president in this climate
willing to take chances.”O'Neill responds: “So it's okay if somebody kills bin Laden, so long
as he didn't give the order. . . . It's pathetic.” The Sept. 11 commission
found no evidence that the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal played a role in the
August 1998 missile strike, but added that the “intense partisanship
of the period” was one factor that “likely had a cumulative effect
on future decisions about the use of force against bin Laden.”Clinton
Administration Officials Assail ABC's 'The Path to 9/11'
The New York Times has more.
And if you haven't seen this
email, which I highlighted
yesterday, make sure you do.
Oh, I almost forgot, I wonder why Disney doesn't cover this topic? The answer is obvious, despite what Hugh Hewitt thinks.
UPDATE (6:55 a.m.): Bubba is pissed and letting rip on ABC.
A furious Bill Clinton is warning ABC that its mini-series “The Path to 9/11″ grossly misrepresents his pursuit of Osama bin Laden – and he is demanding the network “pull the drama” if changes aren't made.
Clinton pointedly refuted several fictionalized scenes that he claims insinuate he was too distracted by the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal to care about bin Laden and that a top adviser pulled the plug on CIA operatives who were just moments away from bagging the terror master, according to a letter to ABC boss Bob Iger obtained by The Post.
The former president also disputed the portrayal of then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as having tipped off Pakistani officials that a strike was coming, giving bin Laden a chance to flee.
“The content of this drama is factually and incontrovertibly inaccurate and ABC has the duty to fully correct all errors or pull the drama entirely,” the four-page letter said.
The movie is set to air on Sunday and Monday nights. Monday is the fifth anniversary of the attacks.
Based on the 9/11 commission's report, the miniseries is also being provided to high schools as a teaching aid – although ABC admits key scenes are dramatizations.
The letter, written by Bruce Lindsey, head of the Clinton Foundation, and Douglas Bond, a top lawyer in Clinton's office, accuses the ABC drama of “bias” and a “fictitious rewriting of history that will be misinterpreted by millions of Americans.”
Clinton, whose aides first learned from a TV trailer about a week ago that the miniseries would slam his administration, was “surprised” and “incredulous” when told about the film's slant, sources said.
BUBBA GOES BALLISTIC ON ABC ABOUT ITS DAMNING 9/11 MOVIE
INSISTS NET PULL DRAMA
UPDATE (7:11 a.m.): Glenn Greenwald has compiled the outrage of GOPers over the CBS Reagan documentary. I still think “Path to 9/11″ falls under the category of malice, which is actionable.
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