I know I said I would limit my posts about the Path to 9/11, but this is completely horrible. The movie contains a scene where a CIA agent supposedly calls the White House for authorization to kill bin Laden after supposedly having surrounded him Afghanistan. Sandy Berger is portrayed as not answering before the line gets cut.

One problem. The incident never actually happened. It’s a complete fabrication. From CQ:

Berger, reached by phone after the screening, seconded Ben-Veniste’s criticism. “It’s a total fabrication,” he said tersely. “It did not happen.”

That is not likely to prevent the film from being embraced far and wide among Bush supporters.

…

Neither Berger nor Ben-Veniste was consulted on the film. Kean, however, is an official adviser; he says the incident was a fictionalized composite. It was “representative of a series of events compacted into one,” he replied to Ben-Veniste at the time. In a phone interview a few days later, he added, “It’s reasonably accurate.” And he offered a prediction that the show will “get just as many howls from Republicans.”

It’s worth pointing out that Kean has something to gain by kissing up to the Republican establishment: his son is running for office in NJ.

Contrast this account to the comments by Richard Clarke, Larry Johnson, Rand Beers, Paul Pillar, all former NSC or CIA officials who worked in the Bush administration. Take a look at this account of Richard Clarke’s focus during his time in both administrations. Kean simply isn’t credible and this movie is nothing but a rehash of the “blame Clinton” line that Republicans have been peddling since 2000. It may be winning elections, but it’s flushing our country down the drain.

Early reports make the Path to 9/11 a sorry excuse for a docudrama. Mendacious might not be strong enough.

Here are some more blogs, newspapers, and magazines talking about this fictional bit of historical lovemaking to the Bush administration.

Blogs

• ABC Yanks the Movie’s Blog
• Firedoglake examines the marketing and early reviews of the movie. Hint: there’s a bias in the marketing.
• TPM Cafe talks about the movie

Other

• MediaMatters talks about the creators

I’ll keep this updated as I find more. It will probably be the last post on this subject.

(Standard disclaimer applies — see here.)