ABC - UPROAR OVER ABC'S 9/11 MINISERIES

UPROAR OVER ABC'S 9/11 MINISERIES

ABC's upcoming miniseries The Path to 9/11 was being denounced as an unabashed political polemic by liberals and supporters of former President Bill Clinton Wednesday even as conservatives were hailing it as "pro-American" In a letter to Disney Chairman Robert Iger, former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright said that she had asked ABC for a copy of the film but that the network had refused. She wrote that she had been told by persons who had seen it that it "depicts scenes that never happened, events that never took place, decisions that were never made and conversations that never occurred. ... "Sept. 11 is not 'entertainment,' it is reality. ... Before you air your broadcast, I trust you will ensure you have the facts right." Former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger claimed that the film "flagrantly misrepresents my personal actions." On Tuesday, Rush Limbaugh said on his radio talk show that the film "indicts the Clinton administration, Madeleine Albright, Sandy Berger. It is just devastating to the Clinton administration. It talks about how we had chances to capture bin Laden in specific detail." And Govindini Murty, an actress who cofounded the conservative Liberty Film Festival, said in a review for FrontPageMag.com, "This is the first Hollywood production I've seen that honestly depicts how the Clinton administration repeatedly bungled the capture of Osama bin Laden." ABC, meanwhile, suggested that the miniseries may be undergoing last-minute editing to alter some of the anti-Clinton claims. ABC spokeswoman Hope Hartman said Wednesday, "It is common practice to continue to make edits to strengthen a project right up to the broadcast date."

07/09/2006