It seems that people keep referring to this movie as a "documentary". A documentary is a journalistic format that gives facts and information through interviews and news footage. This is a movie or more specifically a docudrama. Meaning, it is a narrative movie based on facts and dramatized with actors.
The team of filmmakers, actors and executives responsible for this movie have a wide range of political perspectives. I would say that most of those perspectives (which is the vast majority in Hollywood) would be considered "liberal" or "left". Some of the very people who are being villified by the left as having a 'right wing agenda' are the very people who are traditionally castigated by the right as being 'liberal dupes' in other projects they have presented. To make a movie of this size and budget requires many people to sign off on it. One person's "agenda" (if anyone should have one) is not enough to influence a movie to one's individual politics when a far broader creative and political consensus is an inherent part of the process. And the consensus that emerged over and over during development, production and post production is that we tried, as best we can, based on 9/11 Commission Report and numerous other sources and advisors, to present an accurate and honest account of the events leading to 9/11.
The redundant statement about Clinton and the emphasis to protect his legacy instead of trying to learn from the failures of BOTH administrations smells of "agenda". You may feel we "bash" Clinton and/or you may feel we "bash" Bush but the facts are that the eight years from the first WTC bombing to the day of 9/11 involved two administrations with plenty of culpability all around. Something needs to explain how that happened.
Watch the movie! Then let's talk. If you haven't seen the movie with your very own eyes - don't castigate the movie out of ignorance.
Your previews are all over the internet as you sent them to right wing bloggers. The movie is being castigated because it's full of lies, and an insult to the American people.
According to the 9/11 Commission Report (pg. 199), then-CIA Director George Tenet had the authority from President Clinton to kill Bin Laden. Roger Cressy, former NSC director for counterterrorism, has written, “Mr. Clinton approved every request made of him by the CIA and the U.S. military involving using force against bin Laden and al-Qaeda.”
Peddle your lies and propaganda elsewhere, ABC and Disney. And anyone that sponsors this 'program' can take their goods and well ... you know.
3. How about not spreading lies, first? THEN we'll talk.
What a nerve. Clarke has said that the little scenario they dramatize in their docufantasy (or whatever made up word they've got for it this time) NEVER HAPPENED. How can you learn from a LIE? Mr. Cunningham unsurprisingly doesn't address that.
I was going to write a longer response, but his oily words have activated my gag reflex. I literally feel like puking.
(2) April to May 2001. U.S. government received 'specific' threats of terrorist attacks against U.S. targets or interests
Condoleezza Rice admitted that the U.S. government had received "specific" threats that "al Qaeda attacks against U.S. targets or interests…might be in the works. There was a clear concern that something was up, … but it was principally focused overseas. The areas of most concern were the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula and Europe." (cited in CNN 5-16-2002 "Timeline: Events leading up to September 11") She did not elaborate on where the intelligence originated, but the Independent of London, reported that the information had been relayed to Washington by British intelligence sources. (Bennetto and Gumbel 5-18-2002)
(3) June 6, 2001. German intelligence warned CIA
The German intelligence agency, the BND, warned both the CIA and Israel that Middle Eastern terrorists were "planning to hijack commercial aircraft to use as weapons to attack important symbols of American and Israeli culture." This intelligence reportedly came from Echelon, a high-tech electronic surveillance system used by the intelligence agencies of several nations to glean through electronic communications for certain keywords. It was first reported by the German daily newspaper, Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung on September 13. Its sources were reportedly from the BND itself. (Stafford 9-13-2001; Thomas 5-21-2002) According to Gordon Thomas (5-21-2002) of Global – Intel, the original source of information actually came from Israeli Mossad agents operating in the U.S. who had infiltrated al Qaeda. According to his account the Mossad also informed British and Russian intelligence about the attacks, who then in turn notified the CIA. Thomas's sources are allegedly informants within the Mossad itself.
(4) July 16, 2001. British intelligence sent a report to Tony Blair warning of imminent attacks. The report was also sent to Washington
The British Cabinet Office Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) sent a memo authored by the heads of British intelligence agencies, MI6, MI5 and GCHQ, to Tony Blair and other cabinet ministers, warning that al Qaeda was in the final stages of preparing for a terrorist attack. The memo suggested that the attacks would likely be aimed at American or Israeli targets. The report did not indicate however that the agencies had any knowledge with regards to the "timings, targets and methods of attack." According to the Times of London, the warning was "based on intelligence gleaned not just from MI6 and GCHQ but also from US agencies, including the CIA and the National Security Agency, which has staff working jointly with GCHQ." The newspaper added, "The CIA sometimes has a representative on the JIC. The contents of the July 16 warning would have been passed to the Americans, Whitehall confirmed." (Evans 6-14-2002)
(5) June 23, 2001. Arabic News Network reported that bin Laden had predicted a 'severe blow' to the United States.
"According to the June 23rd AirlineBiz.com report, the Arabic satellite television network MBC claimed that 'the next two weeks will witness a big surprise.' An MBC reporter who had met with bin Laden in Afghanistan on June 21st predicted that 'a severe blow is expected against U.S. and Israeli interests worldwide. There is a major state of mobilization among the Osama bin Laden forces. It seems that there is a race of who will strike first. Will it be the United States or Osama bin Laden?' " (Grigg 3-11-2002)
(6) Summer 2001. Jordan's General Intelligence Division (GID) warned Washington of an attack planned on the U.S mainland using aircraft.
According to John Cooley (5-21-2002), author of the book, Unholy Wars: America, Afghanistan, and International Terrorism, Jordan's intelligence agency, GID, intercepted al Qaeda communications indicating that a terrorist operation, code-named 'Al Ourush al Kabir' or 'The Big Wedding,' was being planned for within the U.S. and would involve aircraft. Cooley confirmed the validity of this warning. (see also Bubnov 5-24-2002)
(7) Summer 2001. Iranian man warned U.S. authorities of a planned terrorist attack during the week of September 9, 2001
Online.ie reported "German police have confirmed an Iranian man phoned US police from his deportation cell to warn of the planned attack on the World Trade Centre" during the week of September 9. He reportedly called several times. Very little information was given about the 'Iranian man' other than the fact that he was 28-years old. No other news agencies independently reported the incident. (Online.ie 9/14/01; cited in Anova 9-14-2001; Ruppert 11-2-2001; 11-24-2001; 4-22-2002)
(8) August 2001. Moroccan intelligence warned Washington about "large scale-operations in New York in the summer or autumn of 2001"
According to reports published in November 2001 by a French magazine and a Moroccan newspaper, Morocco's royal intelligence informed Washington that one of its agents, who had penetrated al Qaeda, learned that bin Laden's organization was preparing "large operations in New York in the summer or autumn of 2001." The agent, who is said to be presently in the U.S. helping its intelligence agencies, also informed Moroccan intelligence that bin Laden was 'very disappointed' with the first WTC bombing which failed to bring the two towers down. John Cooley (5-21-2002), who reported this in the International Herald Tribune wrote that as of 5-21-2002, he had not independently verified this warning. (see also Bubnov 5-24-2002)
(9) August 2001. Israel warned U.S. about large-scale attacks on the U.S. mainland
"Israeli intelligence officials say that they warned their counterparts in the United States last month that large-scale terrorist attacks on highly visible targets on the American mainland were imminent." (Jacobson and Wastell 9-16-2001; Davis 9-17-2001; Stafford 9-13-2001; Serrano and Thor-Dahlburg 9-20-2001; Martin 1-5-2002; Martin 1-16-2002) According to Gordan Thomas (5-21-2002), this information was based on intelligence gleaned from Israeli Mossad agents who had penetrated or were spying on the al Qaeda operatives. Thomas's sources are allegedly informants within the Mossad itself.
(10) August 2001. Intelligence sources warned Argentine Jewish leaders of imminent attacks
According to Argentine Jewish leaders, the Jewish community in that country "received a warning about an impending major terrorist attack against the United States, Argentina or France just weeks before September 11." Forward quoted Marta Nercellas, a lawyer for the Delegación de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas, or DAIA, Argentina's main Jewish representative body: "It was a concrete warning that an attack of major proportion would take place, and it came from a reliable intelligence . And I understand the Americans were told about it." (Forward 2-5-2002)
(11) August 24, 2001. Russian intelligence warned of possible hijacking
Russian intelligence warned the CIA that 25 terrorist pilots were specifically training to crash airliners into planned targets. This was reported by the Russian Izveztia on September 12 and translated for From The Wilderness Magazine by a former CIA officer. (cited from Ruppert 11-2-2001; see also Ruppert 11-24-2001; 4-22-2002; Martin 1-5-2002; Martin 1-16-2002) According to Gordan Thomas (5-21-2002) Russian intelligence received this information from the Israeli Mossad.
(12) August 31, 2001. Egyptian president warned U.S. that something was brewing
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned the U.S. that "something would happen" 12 days before the terrorist attacks. (AP 12-7-2001; MacFarquhar and Tyler 6-4-2002; Martin 1-5-2002). Egypt had also warned the U.S. on June 13. (Martin 1-16-2002). The U.S intelligence denied that they had received this information soon before the attacks and instead alleged that the only warnings that had been given to them from Egypt occurred between March and May of 2001. (MacFarquhar and Tyler 6-4-2002)
(13) September 1, 2001. Russian intelligence warned the U.S. again about 'imminent attacks'
"Russian President Vladimir Putin orders Russian intelligence to warn the U.S. government 'in the strongest possible terms' of imminent attacks on airports and government buildings" (We do not have a reference to the original source. See Ruppert 11-2-2001; 4-22-2002 based on MS-NBC interview with Putin, September 15. See also Martin 1-16-2002; Thomas 5-21-2002) According to Gordan Thomas (5-21-2002) Russian intelligence received this information from the Israeli Mossad.
(14) Early September 2001. Mossad chief warned CIA of possibility of attacks
According to Gordon Thomas (5-21-2002), Mossad Chief Efraim Halevy warned both the CIA and FBI of the possibility of near term attacks. George Tenet presumably thought that it was "too non specific."
(15) September 5-6, 2001
Commenting on the U.S. intelligence failure, the French Le Monde reported: "The first lapse has to do with the processing of intelligence items that come out of Europe. According to our information, French and American officials did in fact hold important meetings in Paris from the 5th to the 6th of September, that is, a few days prior to the attacks. Those sessions brought representatives of the American Special Services together with officers of the DST (Directorate of Territorial Security) and military personnel from the DGSE (General Overseas Security Administration). Their discussion turned to some of the serious threats made against American interests in Europe, specifically one targeting the U.S. Embassy in Paris. During these talks, the DST directed the American visitors' attention to a Moroccan-born Frenchman who had been detained in the United States since August 17 and who was considered to be a key high-level Islamic fundamentalist. But the American delegation, preoccupied above all with questions of administrative procedure, paid no attention to this 'first alarm,' basically concluding that they were going to take no one's advice, and that an attack on American soil was inconceivable. It took September 11 for the FBI to show any real interest in this man, who we now know attended two aviation training schools, as did at least seven of the kamikaze terrorists." (cited in Ridgeway 5-28-2002)
(16) September 7, 2001. Mossad chief warned CIA a second time of possible attacks
According to Gordon Thomas (5-21-2002), Mossad Chief Efraim Halevy sent another alert to the CIA warning of possible terrorist attacks. The message was received in Washington on September 7.
(17) September 3-10, 2001. Anonymous caller informed a radio talk show that Osama bin Laden's organization would be launching imminent attacks against the U.S.
"MSNBC reports on September 16 that a caller to a Cayman Islands radio talk show gave several warnings of an imminent attack on the U.S. by bin Laden in the week prior to 9/11." (We do not have a reference to the original source. See Ruppert 11-2-2001)
(18) September 10, 2001.
U.S. intelligence intercepted conversations from al Qaeda that were extremely specific. USA Today, reported "Two U.S. intelligence officials, paraphrasing highly classified intercepts, say they include such remarks as, 'Good things are coming,' 'Watch the news' and 'Tomorrow will be a great day for us.' " This information was contained with 13,000 pages of material from the National Security Agency that was handed over to the Congressional 9-11 inquiry. It is unclear when these intercepts were reviewed by U.S. intelligence. They may not have been reviewed until after 9-11. (Diamond 6-3-2002)
(19) September 11, 2001. Employees at Odigo Inc, received warnings predicting the attacks hours before they happened
The Israeli company, Odigo, Inc. was apparently warned two hours before the attacks. Odigo CEO Micha Macover told the Ha'aretz that 'two workers received the messages predicting the attack would happen.' The FBI was quickly notified but it is presently not clear if U.S. authorities are still investigating the incident. The company's offices in Israel are located suspiciously near the Israeli Institute for Counter Terrorism which broke story of the insider trading scam on 9-11. (McWilliams 9-28-2001; Seberg 9-28-2001; Ruppert 2-11-2002; 4-22-2002) Evidence that U.S. authorities were concerned
(1) 1994. FBI videotaped an informant being recruited as a suicide bomber by two men, one of whom was linked to Osama bin Laden
Summarizing a letter written by former FBI Special Agent James Hauswirth, the Los Angeles Times wrote, "The 27-year FBI veteran said in the letter reviewed by the Los Angeles Times that the Phoenix office had evidence of Islamic potential terrorists operating in the region as far back as 1994. That year, two men were videotaped by FBI agents recruiting a Phoenix FBI informant as a suicide bomber, the letter says. One of those men, according to a source, was linked to a terrorist in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing." ( Los Angeles Times 5-27-2002)
(2) 1996-2001. The FBI was investigating suspected terrorists enrolled in flight schools
In 1996, after the Philippine police had discovered the 'Bojinka' plot (see above), US officials began investigating al Qaeda terrorist suspects who were training in U.S. flight schools. "Since 1996, the FBI had been developing evidence that international terrorists were using US flight schools to learn to fly jumbo jets. A foiled plot in Manila to blow up U.S. airliners and later court testimony by an associate of bin Laden had touched off FBI inquiries at several schools, officials say." (cited in Fairnaru and Grimaldi 9-23-2001; Martin 1-16-2002; Shelon 5-18-2002)
(3) 1996 or 1997. FBI Counter terrorist specialist John O'Neil warned of terrorist capabilities
Soon after the late John O'Neil had become head of the FBI's New York unit, he warned, "A lot of these groups now have the capability and the support infrastructure in the United States to attack us here if they choose to." (Loeb 9-12-2002) John O'Neil, who was described as one of the FBI's 'most pugnacious' agents, resigned from the FBI shortly before 9-11. He subsequently took a position as head of the WTC security, where he is believed to have died on the day of the attacks while attempting to rescue other people in the towers. September 11 had been his first day on the job. (Loeb 9-12-2002) John O'Neil had complained that the Bush administration had impeded his investigations into suspected Saudi terrorists. (Brisard and Dasquie 2001in Godoy 11-16-2001; Marlowe 11-19-2001) (4) 1997. FBI was investigating Middle Eastern flight school students in Phoenix
Summarizing a letter written by former FBI Special Agent James Hauswirth, the Los Angeles Times wrote: "In 1998, the office's international terrorism squad investigated a possible Middle Eastern extremist taking flight lessons at a Phoenix airport, wrote Hauswirth, who retired from the FBI in 1999."
(5) 1998. The FAA issued a warning that al Qaeda may attempt to hijack commercial airlines
In 1998, Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines to be on a 'high degree of alertness' against possible hijackings by members of Osama bin Laden's organizations. (AP 5-26-2002). May 18, 1998. FBI memo observed that an 'unusually' large number of Middle Eastern men were attending flight schools. The memo revealed that an Oklahoma FBI pilot had warned his supervisor "that he has observed large numbers of Middle Eastern males receiving flight training at Oklahoma airports in recent months." The FBI pilot further observed, "This is a recent phenomena and may be related to planned terrorist activity." Washington 5-30-2002)
(6) 199? – 2001. According to anonymous sources it was widely known that important warnings were being ignored
The New American magazine interviewed three federal law enforcement agents who confirmed that the FBI had foreknowledge of the attacks. They spoke only on conditions of anonymity, although two of them told the magazine that they would be willing to testify to Congress. One agent stated that it was widely known "all over the Bureau, how these were ignored by Washington... All indications are that this information came from some of most experienced guys, people who have devoted their lives to this kind of work. But their warnings were placed in a pile in someone's office in Washington...In some cases, these field agents predicted, almost precisely, what happened on September 11th. So we were all holding our breath…hoping that the situation would be remedied." (cited in Grigg 3-11-2002)
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