Simply Politics and News

[sarals]

I've seen several articles about it's content by those who have previewed it... here's one.

http://editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003087654&imw=Y

<< my big concern is that people are going to take this as a documentary when ABC says it's a "dramatization" or "composite". It seems to me there is enough debate over the events surrounding 911 and the subsequent invasion of Iraq which throwing in a mini series that the average amercian will take as factual. It's irresponsible and deceptive. And it's not big coincidence that 1) it lays a great amount of blame on Clinton and goes easy on Bush (not showing the school scene in particular) and 2) it's right before elections. >>

The New York Times story today notes ABC's claims of objectivity but points out that "some critics -- including Richard A. Clarke, the former counterterrorism czar -- questioned a scene that depicted several American military officers on the ground in Afghanistan. In a posting on ThinkProgress.org, and in a phone interview, Mr. Clarke said no military personnel or C.I.A. agents were ever in position to capture Mr. bin Laden in Afghanistan, nor did the leader of the Northern Alliance get that near to his camp.

"It didn't happen," Mr. Clarke said. "There were no troops in Afghanistan about to snatch bin Laden. There were no C.I.A. personnel about to snatch bin Laden. It's utterly invented."

"Mr. Clarke, an on-air consultant to ABC News, said he was particularly shocked by a scene in which it seemed Clinton officials simply hung up the phone on an agent awaiting orders in the field. 'It's 180 degrees from what happened,' he said. 'So, yeah, I think you would have to describe that as deeply flawed.'"

"ABC responded Tuesday with a statement saying that the miniseries was 'a dramatization, not a documentary, drawn from a variety of sources, including the 9/11 commission report, other published materials and from personal interviews.'"

Gov. Kean said the scene in Afghanistan and the attempt to get bin Laden "is a composite."