“Path to 9/11” Video Clips

Mike Krempasky provides six videos of the controversial segments of ABC’s “Path to 9/11” miniseries. This is especially interesting given that the Senate Democratic leadership has threatened ABC’s broadcast license, several former Clinton officials are threatening to sue, and lefty bloggers like John Aravosis are “launching an all-out war” against ABC and mother company Disney. Because, you know, a great nation deserves the truth.

Here, courtesy Television Without Pity (via RedState), here’s a synopsis of all six:

CLIP ONE

Against a barren central Asian landscape, an American special action
team moves in for a “snatch” operation on Osama bin Laden. But back
in Washington, DC, Clinton’s National Security Advisor cannot bring
himself to make the final call.

CLIP TWO

The Americans and their local allies are stunned to find themselves
countermanded by the Clinton Administration at the moment of

decision. Frustrated and alone in a hostile land, they contemplate a
needless failure as their Afghan allies reproach them. Back in
Washington, DC, Bill Clinton becomes less preoccupied with American
security, and more preoccupied with his impending impeachment. Out
in east Africa, al Qaeda plots its next move.

CLIP THREE

In Nairobi, Kenya, horrific slaughter ensues as al Qaeda attacks the
American embassy. Clinton’s DCI receives a teary remonstrance from

the only sane person in the entire American intelligence hierarchy in
those days.

CLIP FOUR

A team of Americans and Kenyans tracks a reluctant jihadi through a
Nairobi slum. A chase ensues, and the fugitive is caught. “American
devil!” he yells in Arabic, but one assumes real devils wouldn’t take
prisoners. A threatening crowd of slum-dwellers gathers, toting
machetes, but the Americans escape. Back in DC, bureaucrats and the

NSA discuss how the Lewinsky investigation is hampering the
President’s efforts. Madeleine Albright argues against taking on the
Taliban on purely legalistic grounds. William Cohen opines that
going to war is an “overreaction.” The clown carnival plans its
infamously ineffectual cruise-missile strikes on Afghanistan and the
Sudan. The Sudanese are predictably irate.

CLIP FIVE

The Sudanese express their anger at America by trashing their own

neighborhoods. Ayman al-Zawahiri calls ABC News for a friendly
chat. Massoud’s Northern Alliance suffers a Taliban offensive in
response to the American strikes. Massoud himself is piqued: why did
the Americans ever trust the perfidious Pakistanis whose forewarning
saved bin Laden? Thank God we’ve learned that lesson. George Tenet,
Sandy Berger and Madeleine Albright exchange harsh words.

CLIP SIX

Khalid Sheikh Muhammed: champion offroader! And hideous villain, too

— the man has it all. We see an al Qaeda training camp in
operation. It’s like the Boy Scouts, but with automatic weapons,
none of the Christian overtones, and twice the recreational sodomy.
KSM reveals he has a secret plan in mind. He calls it “The Planes
Operation.” It involves….planes. As dusk falls, the jihadis
machine-gun a projection screen upon which Clinton’s visage is
speaking, thereby eliminating the sole source of entertainment in
Waziristan, and disrespecting their own MVP. KSM and al-Zawahiri
exchange tender words. Much desert scenery and ululating ensues.

FILED UNDER: Africa, Blogosphere, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. lily says:

    The movie repeatedly shows Clinton as too distracted by the the Republican Monica obsession to pay attention to Al Qaeda. The real 911 Commission report contradicts this. The movie shows Berger being given an opportunity to kill Bin Ladin, implies that Clinton knew, and refused. The Commission report contradicts this. Bush, of course, chose not to pursue Bin Ladin into Tora Bora. The movie shows Clinton telling the Bush officials that Saddam was more important than Bin Ladin. In fact the leaving Clinton officials strongly advised the incoming Bush officals to focus on Al Quaida. Instead, of course, they focused on Saddam who had no WMD’s and no links to to terrorism.
    The script for this was written by Republicans, members of a nutty religious extremist group. The timing was chosen to influence the elections, just before the NRCC unleashes what they have announced will be a primarily negative campaign. There isn’t any intellectually honest way to see this movie as anything except the opening salvo in the Republicans’ campaign of slander and lies this election season. “Have you no decency, sir?”
    Republicans have to run on lies: they have nothing else but incompetence, white collar crime, and relgious extremism to offer. The real shame goes to the people who continue to rationalize their support for this party under the pretense of thought or philosphy, when in fact they are demonstrating nothing but namebrand loyalty to a brand that doesn’t deserve it..

  2. McGehee says:

    The script for this was written by Republicans, members of a nutty religious extremist group.

    Specifics, please?

  3. Nell says:

    Specifics. Cyrus Nowrasteh, the scriptwriter, is a conservative Republican. David Cunningham, the director, is intimately connected to a theocratic religious organization, Youth With a Mission, and the film grew out of a effort initiated by YWAM’s film project.

  4. Tano says:

    The most instructive aspect of this whole sorry episode is to see the extent to which Republicans and conservatives are so willing, gleefully willing in fact, to see false representations broadcast to the public, so that they can form the basis of future discussion of the terrorism issue.

    The only consolation that I can take from all this is that it is another, and in this instance a severe, filtering exercise. We will see just who it is on the right side of the aisle who has any integrity, any committment to the truth, who puts country ahead of party.

    The scorecard is not looking so good so far.

  5. ClearwaterConservative says:

    If Path to 9/11 is actually shown it will energize the Dem base just like Fahrenheit 9/11 energized ours.

    With our struggle to keep control of the House in November and Bush’s low approval ratings are we sure we want to energize them?

    This show must be cancelled because of its errors and so we do not energize the Dems so close to the election.

  6. Hal says:

    My god, just read the frickin’ report. heck, there’s a graphic novel version of the report available at amazon if you’re unable to read the PDF.

  7. Zelsdorf Ragshaft III says:

    There is lying going on, but it does not come from the right. It comes from its usual source, the left. If Clinton was such a heroic terrorist fighter, then he was inept. His adminstration killed next to no terrorists. That is historical fact. Which begs the question, what did Sandy Berger risk his freedom to steal from the national archives? Perjury is a felony. Clinton is a felon, and so is Berger. Why democrats cling to criminals is a good question.

  8. Honza P says:

    It’s a good thing Democrats don’t have a problem with limiting political speech. It’s only the common standards of decency stuff they dislike. Imagine if the GOP threatened to pull smeone’s license because of an inaccurate portrayal of, say, Nixon cooked up by someone active in leftist causes.

  9. G A Phillips says:

    I feel bad about not feeling bad about how much the truth hurts you liberals, and still I can not understand your stupidity or what drives you hatred for our president who is doing his best to clean up the mess you poor fools have left us and our future generations. don’t you remember how your boy Jimmy Cater got us here? Don’t you remember your boy Bill Clinton not dropping, but never picking up the ball? Oh and Lily I think the Bush administration for the first 8 months was focused on stopping some idiot liberal from stealing the election in your rigged, stacked, and unconstitutional courts!!!!!

  10. Anderson says:

    Oh and Lily I think the Bush administration for the first 8 months was focused on stopping some idiot liberal from stealing the election in your rigged, stacked, and unconstitutional courts!!!!!

    ? –GA, what part of “reality” don’t you understand?

  11. G A Phillips says:

    Oh and Lily if you hate Christians just say so, your a liberal it’s OK you can say or do what ever you want your special remember it’s only “hate-speech” if someone like me says one of you liberals is wrong.

  12. G A Phillips says:

    Hi Anderson, Its been a while. I don’t understand your stupidity and your hatred and why your so proud of it? that part?

  13. cian says:

    At this stage I imagine even the most biased observer would have to admit that ‘Path to 9/11’ is a partisan production.

    The makers are avowed supporters of Bush and his policies, and while wholly entitled to argue their case, to label it ‘History’ and ‘The True Story’, is a step too far. Only right wing talking heads, columnists and bloggers received advance copies, and these copies were followed by emails from ABC execs assuring them that, despite the mounting criticism, the film’s anti-Clinton attack would remain in place.

    Yes, it is shocking that a national station would align itself so obviously with one party, but as a political strategy, I’m not sure it will work. Most races will be decided by independents and I just can’t see how laying all blame for 9/11 at the feet of Clinton will persuade them to continue supporting a congress and senate dominated by a republican party determined to rubber stamp all Bush policies, no matter how badly thought out or counter productive.

    Time will tell.

  14. Herb says:

    The Path to 9/11 was right on, however there will still be those who will not believe what the truth about the ineffectiveness of Clinton really was. Clinton was thinking of his zipper and definitely not about getting OBL.

    Guys like Anderson and that female Lily will never believe how Clinton was the real cause of 9/11 by not getting OBL when he had the many chances and not taking them.

    Clinton has a lot of blood on his hands and those who defend him are the same.

  15. John E.Goettge says:

    Comment in violation of site policies deleted.