ABC trying to tilt election to Republicans with partisan distorted 9-11 alleged documentary smearing Clinton- Thanks to Cheryl a way to fight back!
Hi all, please forward, thanks a lot, Cheryl
See below for email and phone actions. You might want to add that you will BOYCOTT ABC AND THEIR ADVERTISERS unless they pull this program or at least correct it–a disclaimer that is not a documentary–which they are planning to do–is not enough!
This is completely outrageous! Before an important election when Americans are finally starting to trust Democrats on national security, ABC is planning a “docudrama” on Sept 10th that will actually make up facts to make it seem that Clinton (and by extention Democrats in general) caused 9/11 to happen. ABC is also sending letters to 100,000 high school teachers urging them to tell their students how they can view the program to poison our youth against Democrats!
Please sign this working assets action about it AND IF YOU WANT TO DO MORE OF THEIR EXCELLENT ACTIONS (like asking your Senators to vote against right wing judges) YOU MIGHT WANT TO REGISTER FIRST so that you don’t have to keep writing in all your contact info AND CAN JUST SEND WITH ONE CLICK.
Also SEE BELOW FOR NUMBER OF NATIONAL AND LOCAL AFFIILIATE ABC COMMENT LINE
This is the page to REGISTER (if DON’T want to register, please just go to NEXT LINK TO SEND LETTER)
http://www.workingforchange.com/regform.cfm?newid=1&fid=1
This is the page to TAKE ACTION and send the letter ABOUT THE ABC 9/11 PROGRAM
http://act.actforchange.com/cgi-bin7/DM/y/epid0NfbDm0Ubj0BMZC0EC
This is an article for more info
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-911-Film-Clinton-Officials.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
And if you want to do more here is the NUMBER OF NATIONAL ABC COMMENT LINE
212-456-7777
An operator will direct you to the comment line. Unfortunately you have to wait for the last entry “special programs” and then wait again for the last entry to make a comment in the appropriate place
And this is the link to your LOCAL ABC AFFILIATES (where you may have more clout to cancel shows in your area)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ABC_television_affiliates
Thank you,
Cheryl
More from Liberal Girl to add to information from Cheryl:
Please remember all the hooting and sneering by such Republicans as
Trent Lott and Orrin Hatch when President Clinton tried to warn Congress
about terrorists like Osama bin Laden and the danger those terrorists
represented to us.
Those two Republicans, plus many other Republicans AND rightwing media
whores, whooped and hollered and said it was all Wag The Dog to distract
the country from Monica Lewinsky.
Clinton asked for funding to deal with the terrorists and the
Republican-controll ed Congress turned down almost all of those requests.
Plus, Clinton asked for Congressional approval to bomb Osama bin Laden’s
terrorist training camps in Afghanistan — BUT the Republicans just
sneered and said it’s just Wag The Dog.
SIGN a letter to ABC here: http://www.democrat s.org/pathto911
.
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*Full Text Of Letter From Bill Clinton Lawyer To ABC Obtained*
by Greg Sargent
Talking Points Memo
Sept. 7, 2006
< < We've just obtained the full text of a blistering letter that Bill
Clinton's attorney, Bruce Lindsey, has written to ABC chief Bob Iger
protesting the network's decision to air the 9/11 docudrama, "The Path
to 9/11." The letter demands that the network pull the miniseries unless
it corrects all its errors: "The content of this drama is factually and
INCONTROVERTIBLY INACCURATE and ABC has a duty to fully correct all
errors or pull the drama entirely. It is UNCONSCIONABLE to MISLEAD
the American public about one of the most horrendous tragedies our
country has ever known."
Here's the full text of the letter:
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September 1, 2006
Dear Bob,
As you know, ABC intends to air a two part miniseries, "The Path to
9/11," which purports to document the events leading up to the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001. ABC claims that the show is based on the
9/11 Commission Report and, as Steve McPherson, President of ABC
Entertainment, has said: "When you take on the responsibility of telling
the story behind such an important event, it is absolutely critical that
you get it right."
By ABC's own standard, ABC has gotten it terribly WRONG. The content of
this drama is factually and incontrovertibly inaccurate and ABC has a
duty to fully correct all errors or pull the drama entirely. It is
unconscionable to mislead the American public about one of the most
horrendous tragedies our country has ever known.
Despite several requests to view the miniseries, we have not been given
the courtesy of seeing it. This is particularly troubling given the
reputation of Cyrus Nowrasteh, the drama's writer/producer. Mr.
Nowrasteh has been criticized for inaccurately portraying historical
events in the past. In response to previous criticism, he has even said,
“I made a conscious effort not to contact any members of the
Administration because I didn't want them to stymie my efforts.” Indeed,
while we have not been given the courtesy of a viewing, based upon
reports from people who have seen the drama you plan to air, we
understand that there are at least three significant factual errors:
-- The drama leads viewers to believe that National Security
Advisor Sandy Berger told the CIA that he would not authorize
them to take a shot at bin Laden. This is COMPLETE FICTION
and the event portrayed NEVER happened. First of all, the
9/11 Commission Report makes clear that CIA Director George
Tenet had been directed by President Clinton and Mr. Berger to
get bin Laden (p. 199 & 508-509). Secondly, Roger Cressy,
National Security Council senior director for counterterrorism
from 1999-2001, has said, on more than one occasion, "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."
In addition, ABC's own counter-terrorism consultant, Richard Clarke, has
said that contrary to the movie:
1) No US military or CIA personnel were on the ground in
Afghanistan and saw bin Laden;
2) The head of the Northern Alliance, Masood, was NOWHERE
NEAR the alleged bin Laden camp and did NOT see bin Laden;
and
3) CIA Director Tenet said that he could NOT recommend a
strike on the camp because the information was single-sourced
and there would be NO way to know if bin Laden was in the
target area by the time a cruise missile hit it.
As Clarke and others will corroborate, President Clinton did in fact
approve of a standing plan to use Afghans who worked for the CIA to
capture bin Laden. The CIA's Afghan operatives were never able to carry
out the operation and the CIA recommended against inserting Agency
personnel to do it. The Department of Defense, when asked by President
Clinton to examine the use of US troops to capture bin Laden, also
recommended against that option.
-- The drama claims that former Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright refused to sanction a missile strike against bin
Laden without first alerting the Pakistanis and notified them
over the objections of the military. Again, this is FALSE.
-- Using newsreel footage of President Clinton, the drama
insinuates that President Clinton was too pre-occupied with
the impeachment and the Lewinsky matter to be engaged in
pursuing bin Laden. This allegation is ABSURD and was
DIRECTLY REFUTED by ABC News consultant Richard Clarke in
his book, Against All Enemies: "Clinton made clear that we
were to give him our best national security advice without
regard to his personal problems. 'Do you recommend that we
strike on the 20th? Fine. Do not give me political advice or
personal advice about the timing. That's my problem. Let me
worry about that.' If we thought this was the best time to hit
the Afghan camps, he would order it and take the heat."
While these are three examples that we are aware of that are UTTERLY
BASELESS, they are clearly indicative of other errors in the substance
and bent of the film. Indeed, the overall tone in the advertisements
we've seen for this drama suggest that President Clinton was inattentive
to the threat of terrorism or insufficiently intent upon eliminating the
threat from bin Laden.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Note that the 9/11 Commission Report says:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-- We believe that both President Clinton and President Bush were
genuinely concerned about the danger posed by al Qaeda." (p. 349)
-- "By May 1998 … clearly, President Clinton's concern about terrorism
had steadily risen." (p. 102)
-- "President Clinton was DEEPLY CONCERNED about bin Laden. He and his
national security advisor, Samuel 'Sandy' Berger, ensured they had a
special daily pipeline of reports feeding them the latest updates on bin
Laden's reported location." (p. 175)
-- "President Clinton spoke of terrorism in NUMEROUS PUBLIC
STATEMENTS. In his August 5, 1996, remarks at George Washington
University, he called terrorism 'the ENEMY of our generation.' " (p. 500)
We CHALLENGE anyone to read the 9/11 Commission Report and find ANY
basis for the FALSE allegations noted above or the tenor of the drama,
which suggests that the Clinton Administration was inattentive to the
threat of a terrorist strike.
Frankly, the bias of the ABC drama is not surprising given the
background and political leanings of its writer/producer, Mr. Nowrasteh,
which have been well-documented on numerous CONSERVATIVE blogs and talk
shows in his promotion of this film. Mr. Nowrasteh's bias can be seen in
an interview he gave to David Horowitz's CONSERVATIVE magazine
Frontpage, during which he said:
"The 9/11 report details the Clinton's administration' s response – or
lack of response – to Al Qaeda and how this emboldened Bin Laden to keep
attacking American interests. The worst example is the response to the
October, 2000 attack of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen where 17 American
sailors were killed. There simply was no response. Nothing."
But as Sandy Berger told the 9/11 Commission: "[T]o go to war, a
president needs to be able to say that his senior intelligence and law
enforcement officers have concluded who is responsible. " And as the 9/11
Commission REPORT REPEATEDLY ACKNOWLEDGES, the US did NOT have
clear evidence of bin Laden's connection to the attack on the USS Cole
before the end of the Clinton Administration (p. 192, 193, 195 &
executive summary).
[NOTE FROM ME: And, if the Bush administration was full of
such hotshots, how come THEY didn't attack Osama bun Laden for
the attacks on the USS Cole if they believed Osama was
responsible? Bush was president for eight months by the time
of the 9/11 attacks occurred and YET, he never once tried to
get Osama bin Laden. What the hell was Bush waiting for? If
they believed Clinton was derelict in not going after Osama in
Oct. 2000, they had almost a whole year in which to plan their
own attack on Osama -- BUT THEY DID NOT DO IT. Why doesn't Mr.
Nowrasteh attack Bush for that?]
While ABC is promoting "The Path to 9/11" as a dramatization of
historical fact, in truth it is a fictitious rewriting of history that
will be misinterpreted by millions of Americans. Given your stated
obligation to "get it right," we urge you to do so by not airing this
drama until the egregious factual errors are corrected, an endeavor we
could easily assist you with given the opportunity to view the film.
Sincerely,
Bruce R. Lindsey - Chief Executive Officer, William J. Clinton
Foundation
Douglas J. Band - Counselor to President Clinton
Office of William Jefferson Clinton
Cc: Ms. Madeleine K. Albright
Mr. Samuel R. Berger
Mr. Richard A. Clarke
Mr. Stephen McPherson
Mr. George J. Mitchell
Mr. John D. Podesta
Mr. David Westin
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States
[some formatting and emphasis added]
Read this at:
http://www.tpmcafe. com/blog/ electioncentral/ 2006/sep/ 07/full_text_ of_letter_ from_bill_ clinton_lawyer_ to_abc_obtained
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SIGN a letter to ABC here: http://www.democrat s.org/pathto911