This anti-Bush radio ad is among the worst distortions we've seen in what
has become a very ugly campaign. It states as fact some of the most
sensational falsehoods that Michael Moore merely insinuated in his anti-Bush
movie Farenheit 9/11 .
The ad was released Oct. 25 by The Media Fund, an independent Democratic
group run by former Clinton deputy chief of staff Harold Ickes. It falsely
claims that members of the bin Laden family were allowed to fly out of the
US "when most other air traffic was grounded," though in fact commercial air
traffic had resumed a week earlier.
The ad also falsely claims that the bin Laden family members were not
"detained," when in fact 22 of them were questioned by the FBI before being
allowed to leave -- and their plane was searched as well.
And by the way, the man who gave approval for the flight wasn't Bush or even
any of his close aides, it was former White House anti-terrorism chief
Richard Clarke, now one of Bush's strongest critics.
Analysis

This one is wrong, wrong, wrong. Let us count the ways:
Air Traffic Not Grounded
The ad is as false as it can be when it claims the bin Laden family members
flew home "when most other air traffic was grounded" following the attacks
of September 11, 2001. In fact, according to the final report of the
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9/11
Commission), the bin Laden flight was on Sept. 20. (See footnote 28 in the
9/11 Commission's report in "supporting documents" at right). That was one
week after the FAA allowed commercial air traffic to resume at 11am on Sept.
13.
By that time all major airports in the US had re-opened, with the sole
exception of Washington DC's Reagan National airport, which the bin Laden
flight didn't use.
The bin Laden family members were among a number of other Saudi citizens and
government officials who left the US on special charter flights because they
feared possible reprisals in the emotional aftermath that swept the US in
the days after the 9/11 attacks. Neither the FBI nor the 9/11 Commission has
found any of the departing Saudis had any links to terrorism:
9/11 Commission (page 330): The FBI interviewed all persons of interest on
these flights prior to their departures. They concluded that none of the
passengers was connected to the 9/11 attacks and have since found no
evidence to change that conclusion.
Our own independent review of the Saudi nationals involved confirms that no
one with known links to terrorism departed on these flights .
Bin Laden Family Was Questioned
The ad is also false when it says members of the bin Laden family were not
"detained." In fact, the 9/11 Commission report states that the FBI
questioned 22 of the 26 passengers on the bin Laden flight, some of them in
detail. The FBI first checked faces of the passengers against passports to
confirm identities, and also ran all names through several law-enforcement
databases. It even searched the aircraft:
9/11 Commission (page 557 & 558): Twenty-two of the 26 people on the Bin
Ladin flight were interviewed by the FBI. Many were asked detailed
questions. None of the passengers stated that they had any recent contact
with Usama Bin Ladin or knew anything about terrorist activity. . . . The
FBI checked a variety of databases for information on the Bin Ladin flight
passengers and searched the aircraft.
The FBI had previously investigated two of the passengers on the bin Laden
flight but had closed their cases prior to 9/11 after turning up "no
derogatory information," according to the Commission's report. And in the
years since then, the FBI has found no reason to re-open those cases.
Furthermore, the 9/11 Commission said the bin Laden family members might not
have been interviewed had they simply departed the country in the usual way,
rather than on a charter flight with special White House clearance:
9/11 Commission (page 557): Having an opportunity to check the Saudis was
useful to the FBI. This was because the U.S. government did not, and does
not, routinely run checks on foreigners who are leaving the United States.
This procedure was convenient to the FBI, as the Saudis who wished to leave
in this way would gather and present themselves for record checks and
interviews, an opportunity that would not be available if they simply left
on regularly scheduled commercial flights.
In other words, had the bin Laden family members merely driven across the
border to Canada and flown home from there, they probably would not have
been questioned at all.
Bush White House
The ad gives a false impression when it says the "Bush White House" made the
decision agreeing to the Saudi government's request. Neither President Bush
nor any of his immediate aides had anything to do with the decision.
Richard Clarke -- the national security aide who later became one of Bush's
strongest public critics -- testified repeatedly that he made the decision
to allow the flights, after consulting with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation:
9/11 Commission (page 329): We found no evidence that anyone at the White
House above the level of Richard Clarke participated in a decision on the
departure of Saudi nationals. . . . Clarke told us, "I asked the FBI, Dale
Watson . . . to handle that, to check to see if that was all right with
them, to see if they wanted access to any of these people, and to get back
to me. And if they had no objections, it would be fine with me." Clarke
added, "I have no recollection of clearing it with anybody at the White
House."
Clarke had been the top anti-terrorism aide in the White House under
Clinton, then stayed on under Bush. Since leaving the Bush White House he
has become an outspoken critic of the current administration, accusing the
Bush team of ignoring his recommendations prior to the September 11 attacks.
What Michael Moore Didn't Say
This ad rushes in where even Michael Moore feared to tread in his anti-Bush
movie Fahrenheit 9/11 . Moore merely led viewers to believe -- but never
actually stated -- that the bin Laden flight left while US airspace was
closed. And viewers who listened closely -- very closely -- might have heard
Moore acknowledge that the bin Ladens were in fact interviewed by the FBI
before being allowed to leave. Here's the way Moore manipulated his viewers:
Moore (Fahrenheit 9/11): In the days following September 11th, all
commercial and private airline traffic was grounded. The FAA has taken
action to close all of the airports in the United States. Even grounding the
President's father, former President Bush, on a flight forced to land in
Milwaukee. Dozens of travelers stranded, among them, Ricky Martin, due to
perform at tonight's Latin Grammy awards. Not even Ricky Martin would fly.
But really, who wanted to fly? No one. Except the bin Ladens.
(video of plane taking off... song, "We've got to get out of this place") .
.. .
It turns out that the White House approved planes to pick up the bin Ladens
and numerous other Saudis. At least six private jets and nearly two dozen
commercial planes carried the Saudis and the bin Ladens out of the U.S.
after September 13th. In all, 142 Saudis, including 24 members of the bin
Laden family, were allowed to leave the country.
(video of Osama bin Laden)
Notice that Moore drops in the words "after September 13" without explaining
the significance of that date -- the day airspace reopened to commercial
traffic at 11am. Viewers were invited to believe from all that Moore said
before that airspace was still closed, when in fact it was not. That's a
false insinuation, but not a false statement.
Moore went on to interview a retired FBI agent who stated that "I think it
would have been prudent, hand the subpoenas out, have 'em come in, get on
the record. You know, get on the record." Perhaps, being retired, that agent
wasn't aware that the FBI had interviewed the bin Laden family members. In
any case, Moore didn't correct him.
Moore also presented an interview with Craig Unger, author of the book House
of Bush, House of Saud :
Moo Did the authorities do anything when the bin Ladens tried to leave
the country?
Unger: No, they were identified at the airport, they looked at their
passports, and they were identified.
Moo But that's what would happen to you or I if we were...
Unger: Exactly. Exactly.
Moo So a little interview, check the passport, what else?
Unger: Nothing.
So Moore knew the bin Ladens had been interviewed when he made the movie.
Those three words -- "a little interview" -- are difficult to hear on the
movie soundtrack, however. One blogger who posted an "unofficial transcript"
of the movie missed them at first, recording that line as "So what did they
do , they checked the passports, what else?" He later went back to correct
the transcript after another pointed out the discrepancy.
(Unger's book, published in March of this year, reports that the FBI was
only able to check papers and identify everyone on the bin Laden flight.
That is contradicted by the more authoritative Commission report, published
July 22, 2004. The Commission interviewed, among others, the FBI agent who
supervised the questioning of the bin Laden family members.)
So, as misleading as Moore's sly insinuations are on this point, his movie
isn't as bad as the Media Fund's outright falsehoods.
Sources

"The 9/11 Commission Report : Final Report of the National Commission on
Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States," (New York, W.W. Norton & Company
Inc. July 2004) pages 329, 330, 556-58.
Janelle Carter, "Members of Congress, Airline and Airport Workers Hope for
Reagan National to Reopen," The Associated Press, 21 Sep 2001.

"MnMikew" wrote in message
...

The ad also falsely claims that the bin Laden family members were not
"detained," when in fact 22 of them were questioned by the FBI before
being
allowed to leave -- and their plane was searched as well.

Hahahahaha!! ALL 22 of them? Or just 22 of them? Were there more...? A gold
star if you get this correct. Also: true/false: the FBI "questioned" them at
Camp X-Ray? Or the Fairmont Sheraton?

yojimbo wrote:

"MnMikew" wrote in message
...

The ad also falsely claims that the bin Laden family members were not
"detained," when in fact 22 of them were questioned by the FBI before
being
allowed to leave -- and their plane was searched as well.

Hahahahaha!! ALL 22 of them? Or just 22 of them? Were there more...? A gold
star if you get this correct. Also: true/false: the FBI "questioned" them at
Camp X-Ray? Or the Fairmont Sheraton?

Come on, what we really needed to do was question every Canadian... after all,
they seem pretty darn weak as concerns the fight against terror.

dxAce
Michigan (Which is to damn close to Canada)
USA

"yojimbo" wrote in message
...

"MnMikew" wrote in message
...

The ad also falsely claims that the bin Laden family members were not
"detained," when in fact 22 of them were questioned by the FBI before
being
allowed to leave -- and their plane was searched as well.

Hahahahaha!! ALL 22 of them? Or just 22 of them? Were there more...? A
gold
star if you get this correct. Also: true/false: the FBI "questioned" them
at
Camp X-Ray? Or the Fairmont Sheraton?

There were 26 on the flight.