Those who did see the drama point out at least three major factual errors:
1) Clinton+óGé¼Gäós National Security Advisor Sandy Berger is portrayed in a fictional scene which never occurred in real life as telling the CIA he would not authorize them to take a shot at bin Laden; actually, the CIA had been told by both Berger and Clinton to get bin Laden, as the 9/11 Commission Report made very clear (pp.199 and 508-509); Roger Cressy, NSC+óGé¼Gäós senior director for counterterrorism 1999-2001 has said repeatedly +óGé¼+ôMr. Clinton approved every request made of him by the CIA and the US military involving using force against bin Laden and al-Qaeda.+óGé¼-¥
Moreover, no US military or CIA personnel were actually on the ground in Afghanistan and saw bin Laden early on, although they are portrayed as being there in the film. In fact, Tenant of the CIA refused to recommend a strike on the alleged bin Laden camp (as portrayed in the film) because he could not guarantee that bin Laden was present; nor was Masood of the Northern Alliance anywhere near this alleged bin Laden camp, nor did he see bin Laden, as the film says happened.
2) Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is portrayed in the film as refusing to sanction a missile strike against bin Laden without first notifying the Pakistanis over the objections of the military+óGé¼GÇ¥ all false, never happened.
3) Splicing selected newsreel footage into the film, Clinton is portrayed as fatally distracted by the Lewinsky scandal from properly pursuing bin Laden, but ABC+óGé¼Gäós own consultant Richard Clarke refuted this claim by saying in his book, +óGé¼+ôAgainst All Enemies,+óGé¼-¥ that +óGé¼+ôClinton made clear that we were to give him our best national security advice without regard to his personal problems... if we thought this was the best time to hit the Afghan camps, he would order it and take the heat.+óGé¼-¥
The drama claims to be based on the report of the 9/11 Commission, but in an astonishing number of cases, actually say the opposite of the Commission+óGé¼Gäós statements in an effort to make the Clinton Administration appear guilty of ignoring the terrorism threat. Even more disturbing is what is left out+óGé¼GÇ¥ nowhere, for example, is there anything about Bush+óGé¼Gäós dismissal of the August warning that bin Laden was about to strike America, saying +óGé¼+ôOkay, you+óGé¼Gäóve covered your ass.+óGé¼-¥ Nothing about the fact Cheney never called his anti-terrorist group for a meeting until the day before the attack, and so on. Another statement by ABC to Bush partisans makes it clear that any re-writes of the drama +óGé¼+ôwill not change the thrust of the drama--- that 9/11 was Clinton+óGé¼Gäós fault.+óGé¼-¥ The Disney empire still plans to give free copies of the docu-drama to thousands of schools for use in teaching students, although Scholastic itself has pulled the proposed teaching materials off its web site, and is desperately trying to issue new materials which will +óGé¼+ôhelp teachers to show students the differences between factual reporting and a dramatization.+óGé¼-¥
But this piece of neo-con propaganda is still going to be shown all across America and especially to our children in schools, poisoning the well of history. Personally, I am outraged and insulted that ABC and the Republican Party have stolen our American tragedy and bastardized it for partisan political gain. Re-writing history once again before our very eyes. Write this one off as a waste of time.
On the other hand, Spike Lee has created an incredible, honest portrayal of New Orleans+óGé¼Gäó agony in four hours of searing, compelling real life drama+óGé¼GÇ¥ no made-up scenes, no effort to portion out blame, the photos and interviews speak for themselves, and you can draw your own conclusions. The dominant emotion is neither fury nor despair, but heartbreak, all of it set to glorious music by Terence Blanchard, as is suitable for a documentary about New Orleans. This is not presented as a racial controversy despite the fact that the overwhelming number of victims were black (there are a number of very Caucasian types there, too). No, this is a class matter to Spike Lee, who sees it as a betrayal on a national scale by the elites of the poor underclass, whatever their color. He makes this very believable by giving you a bit of history about an earlier hurricane +óGé¼+ôBetsy,+óGé¼-¥ and even earlier floods when levees were dynamited to save the homes of the upper crust while inundating homes of the poor. +óGé¼+ôFor those who have much, more (protection) is given, and from those who have little, that little will be taken away,+óGé¼-¥ my northern Grandmother used to say.
Beyond the visual impact, there is the surprising articulateness of those involved+óGé¼GÇ¥ you expect verbal facility from the upper classes and their political leaders, but ordinary Americans of whatever background give us in this film truly remarkable stories. I especially liked Phyllis Montana LeBlanc, a black woman in her forties, now living in a FEMA trailer, whose feisty, descriptive prose is always on target. This drama belongs not to the pompous self-appointed elite, but to the spirited, non-elite people of New Orleans+óGé¼GÇ¥ and to us, their fellow Americans who may not have participated in their desperate circumstances, but who share both some of the blame and some of the gritty survival. Beg, borrow, or steal this magnificent film.
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i will never watch the other film. normally i would watch a film prior to condemmimng it. the scenes released by the network, the limited pool of reviewers, and the reaction of the network to resulting criticism have given me all of the information i need. it was initially promoted as a factual dramatization. once they were challenged they backed off reluctantly and just a little at a time. it was clearly their intention to mislead the public with absolute fabrications presented as documented fact. it was a political device broadcast dishonestly over the public airways and it is unforgivable. they should be forced to disclose it as such.
i will not be watching any broadcast of any kind on abc for at least a year and probably a much longer time. i don't think that their ratings are much to brag about in any case. a boycott combined with the general lack of interest for poor programming will send a very strong message.
Wouldn't surprise me to have Osama cooperate again as he did in the last general election with some sort of October surprise-- there is such a symbiotic relationship between Osama and Bush.
I saw When The Levees Broke the first night it was aired, and the next night. Remarkable, moving, very hard to watch at times.
The 9-11 garbage, at least last night, was also challenged by a REAL 9-11 documentary that was on CBS about the firefighters from station 15 (or was it 10?) where a French documentary team including two brothers had been filming a young man going through his probationary period on the way to becoming a fully commissioned firefighter. They happened to be there and got lots of the pictures we recognize today. That was an AMAZINGLY good alternative to the ABC tripe. I wish it had received better coverage.