NYT movie critic re: "Path to 9/11": Sandy Berger scene has been dropped

[sabra]

in the critics version, that is...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/08/arts/television/08path.html?hp&ex=1157688000&en=4e390dd59eea451a&ei=5094&partner=homepage

The TV Watch
Laying Blame and Passing the Buck, Dramatized

By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
Published: September 8, 2006

<snip>

The outside pressure was intense enough to persuade ABC to re-edit one of the more contested made-up scenes in the film. In the version sent to critics, it depicted C.I.A. operatives and their Afghan allies armed with guns and night-vision goggles creeping in the dark to snatch Mr. bin Laden from his compound in 1998. The men are told to stand by, in harm’s way, as the C.I.A. director, George J. Tenet and the national security adviser, Samuel R. Berger, cavil by videoconference. Rather than take a firm decision, Mr. Berger flips off his videophone, and Mr. Tenet aborts the mission. (Among other things, ABC agreed to excise Mr. Berger’s hissy fit.)

[BootinUp]

1. How does the movie have any credibility at this point?

Its being hacked up to avoid prosecution.

[cynatnite]

2. The reviewer even got some of her facts wrong...

she said:

The Sept. 11 commission concluded that the sex scandal distracted the Clinton administration from the terrorist threat.

I emailed her this:

I will point out one thing about your commentary that was completely wrong. This is from the 9/11 Commission about the Lewinsky debacle:

Much public commentary turned immediately to scalding criticism that the action was too aggressive. The Sudanese denied that al Shifa produced nerve gas, and they allowed journalists to visit what was left of a seemingly harmless facility. President Clinton, Vice President Gore, Berger, Tenet, and Clarke insisted to us that their judgment was right, pointing to the soil sample evidence. No independent evidence has emerged to corroborate the CIA's assessment.50 Everyone involved in the decision had, of course, been aware of President Clinton's problems. He told them to ignore them. Berger recalled the President saying to him "that they were going to get crap either way, so they should do the right thing."51 All his aides testified to us that they based their advice solely on national security considerations. We have found no reason to question their statements. The failure of the strikes, the "wag the dog" slur, the intense partisanship of the period, and the nature of the al Shifa evidence likely had a cumulative effect on future decisions about the use of force against Bin Ladin. Berger told us that he did not feel any sense of constraint.

http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch4.htm

If this one thing is untrue...what else did this so-called docudrama fictionalize?

[ovidsen]

3. Beat me to it

So I'll just second your note with a note myself.