BCT Editorial – 8/1/06

This page was last updated on August 1, 2006.

The way it was; Editorial; Beaver County Times; August 1, 2006.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“Oliver Stone movie might reflect the nation’s unity after Sept. 11, 2001

“Conservatives are falling all over themselves in praise of Oliver Stone’s new film ‘World Trade Center’ about the fates of two Port Authority police officers, their families and their rescuers in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America.

“They had pre-judged Stone’s movie sight unseen. But much to their surprise, once they actually saw it in previews, they couldn’t hold back their praise. (The movie will be released on Aug. 9.)

“Here are quotes from a New York Daily News article we ran on Thursday:

“* ‘It is one of the greatest pro-American, pro-family, pro-male, flag-waving, God Bless America films you will ever see.’ - Columnist Cal Thomas.

“* ‘A masterpiece (that) must be seen by as many people as possible’ and ‘It’s more than a movie - it’s a vivid reminder of the love, heroism, faith and patriotism that comprise the fabric of our country.’ - Brent Bozell, president of the conservative Media Research Center.

“* ‘Mr. Stone has made a truly great movie.’ - A Washington Times editorial.”

[RWC] While the editorial has no problem labeling the Washington Times as conservative, when did a Times editorial ever label as liberal the New York Times, The Washington Post, et cetera?

“Without having seen the film, we can’t comment on its contents.

“However, Stone’s vision of that day might represent something else, something that has been lost - the unity our nation felt following the attacks, a sense of resolve that was trashed by the Bush-Cheney-Rove politicization of the attacks and their aftermath.”

[RWC] The “unity our nation felt” is a myth propagated by liberals. I believe it’s obvious most liberals merely said what they thought they had to say at the time. Just look at their actions since then.

“Have no doubt. Americans are united in the fight against terrorism. They do understand that their world has changed. They are willing to support their president and his administration in the struggle against terrorism.”

[RWC] “Americans are united in the fight against terrorism” is another myth. How else do you explain the constant revelation of national security secrets in the war against terrorists? How else to explain glossing over beheadings of Americans but dwelling on some renegade American prison guards putting women’s underwear on a prisoner’s head?

“But instead of uniting the country, Bush, Cheney, Rove et. al. divided it by conflating a real threat - terrorism - with a phony one - Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and them having no qualms about doing whatever was needed to discredit those who questioned their ruse.

“Go back to the congressional elections of 2002. Bush, Cheney and others in the administration were flying around the country doing all they could to blur the line between Saddam and his weapons of mass destruction and potential terrorist attacks on America.”

[RWC] If you check the reporting of the day, you find the Bush administration did not do this. Multiple times both President Bush and VP Cheney said there was no known link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11.

Regarding the perceived threat of Iraq, Democrats were far more strident than the Bush administration. For example, on February 24, 2003, John Edwards even said, “I mean, we have three different countries [Iran, Iraq, North Korea] that, while they all present serious problems for the United States – they’re dictatorships, they’re involved in the development and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction -- you know, the most imminent, clear and present threat to our country is not the same from those three countries. I think Iraq is the most serious and imminent threat to our country. … And they do, in my judgment, present different threats. And I think Iraq and Saddam Hussein present the most serious and most imminent threat.”¹ President Bush never said Iraq was an imminent threat, but John Edwards did.

“Anyone who questioned the administration or opposed its policies had their patriotism questioned. Put bluntly, they used scare tactics to frighten the American people into voting their way. (To anyone who doubts otherwise, we have but two words: Max Cleland.)”

[RWC] Regarding the myth of Max Cleland, go here.

“They may have won that election and the subsequent presidential election in 2004, but it came at a huge cost - the loss of the unity that was so evident in the days, weeks and months following that awful day.”

[RWC] Blah, blah, blah. There never was any true unity and the editorial author knows it. Immediately after 9/11 liberals were claiming President Bush was incompetent for reading to children at the time of the attacks and that he was a coward for not returning immediately to Washington before we knew the attacks were over.

“Perhaps it is a longing for that unity that stirs the hearts and minds of those who have seen the Stone movie. Perhaps it is that sense of resolve the film captures that inspires them.

“America lost a lot on Sept. 11, 2001. But it lost much more because of the Bush administration’s crude politicization of that day.”

[RWC] I guess the editorial author forgot the whole post-9/11 investigation process was nothing but a bash Bush exercise.

“Go see the film and remember the way it was.”

[RWC] Yeah, right.

1. CNN Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer; CNN.com; February 24, 2003.