ABC miniseries The Path to 9/11 – a TV movie about U.S. and international events leading up to the terrorist attacks – is drawing plenty of criticism. Leading Democrats argue the five-hour miniseries is filled with conservative propaganda eager to blame the Clinton administration for everything.
The original preview version of the movie – which was circulated to television critics – suggested among other things that Bill Clinton was too distracted by the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the impeachment process to capture Osama bin Laden.
ABC responded to Democrat criticism by reminding the public that their miniseries is in fact fiction and not in fact fact. ABC really wants you to know that even though the movie contains real life characters handling real life events, some of it is totally made up. That’s why the network flashes a brief warning about fictionalized scenes and composite dialogue while the majority of its audience is out of the room collecting miniseries snacks.
Ultimately ABC did decide to reedit a few sections of the movie before last night’s television debut in order to maintain healthy relations with Harvey Keitel its viewers. Here are a few of the tweaked scenes:
- In the original preview version of the movie, White House counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke says he doesn’t know how Clinton will respond to U.S. embassy bombings in Africa because, “This Lewinsky thing is a noose around his neck.” In the reedited version, the Lewinsky reference was removed.
- In the original preview version of the movie, Clinton’s national security advisor Sandy Berger single-handedly refuses an opportunity to authorize the CIA to snag bin Laden from his Afghanistan hideout. In the reedited version the person responsible for refusing the CIA mission is obscured.
- In the original preview version of the movie, American Airlines flight 11 and United Airlines flight 175 crash into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. In the reedited version George Bush commandeers Air Force One through New York skies and directs surface-to-surface missiles through each cockpit window allowing Bush to propel down a rope into the hijacked planes, landing each safely at their intended gates. On time.