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Sunday, July 18, 2004
Distortions in FH 9/11 Sources
Michael Moore has published a list of sources for his "facts" in the film Fahrenheit 9/11 on this site. Below are a number of cases where the cites and the facts don't synch up. I've deliberately avoided arguing about if the citations are wrong or not. These are simply cases where the citations contradict the statement they're supposed to support:
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Fox was the first network to call Florida for Bush. Before that, some other networks had called Florida for Gore, and they changed after Fox called it for Bush. YOSHIDA: Once again, as in the movie, Moore deliberately omits the fact that all of the networks CALLED BACK THEIR PREDICTIONS in the interim. FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Gore got the most votes in 2000. YOSHIDA: This, of course, is true. But, given the citations listed thereafter (all of which deal with the Florida voting), Moore apparently means in Florida. Now, look at the title of one of the articles cited as "proof" of this claim: Martin Merzer, “Review of Ballots Finds Bush's Win Would Have Endured Manual Recount,” Miami Herald, April 4, 2001. YOSHIDA: No, I'm not kidding. FAHRENHEIT 9/11: “For the next eight months, it didn’t get any better for George W. Bush.” Let's consider a summary of what George W. Bush did in his first eight months, from Charles Krauthammer: Moreover, by any fair assessment of the first six months of his presidency, W. has earned his vacation. Given the thinness of his victory, the fragility of his mandate and the loss of the Senate in midstream, he's had a remarkable string of achievements. The centerpiece of his economic program, the tax cut, has already been enacted. His education reform is now in conference. He broke decades of taboos when the House passed his faith-based initiative. And just before the August recess, two stunning political victories: The House passed his version of the patients' bill of rights and an energy plan that includes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. For icing, it passed an airtight anti-cloning bill too. But the most significant achievement of the administration is its radical reorientation of U.S. foreign policy. During the first post-Cold War decade, the Clinton administration carried on as if nothing had changed. Its entire nuclear and strategic posture was Russocentric. Bush introduced a foreign policy based on the glaringly obvious reality that Russia is no longer either a superpower or an enemy. Accordingly, he announced a new strategic doctrine, unilaterally cutting American offensive weapons while at the same time developing defensive weapons. American forces would henceforth be reconfigured to meet threats from new enemies, not from a nonexistent Soviet Union. Russia, Europe and what passes for the American intelligentsia are now scrambling to catch up with this return to strategic sanity. Bush's other foreign policy achievement is freeing us from a decade of frivolous, near-delusional multilateralism. A host of poison pill or useless treaties left behind by Clinton have been unceremoniously and deservedly junked: o The International Criminal Court, an idea so bad that Clinton said he opposed its major provisions even as he signed it. o The Kyoto protocol, which would have done nothing to curtail climate change but would have done serious damage to the U.S. economy. o A biological weapons convention that does nothing to prevent Iraq and Iran and others from developing biological weapons but gives them inspection rights to our anti-biological warfare facilities. o A land mine treaty that seriously damages America's ability to meet its unique security needs, such as stopping an invasion by North Korea's million-man army. A tax cut, progress on education reform, a beginning on faith-based charities, energy and a patients' bill of rights, a ban on cloning and a new foreign policy. We'll come back to Charles Krauthammer in a second. FAHRENHEIT 9/11: “In his first eight months in office before September 11, George W. Bush was on vacation, according to the Washington Post, forty-two percent of the time.” YOSHIDA: I love this one. Moore cites, of all people, Charles Krauthammer to back it up. Here's the full article in question which, for some reason, Moore chooses not to link to. Want to guess why? Here's what follows the passage that Moore cites: The reason the president is going away in August is that nothing happens in Washington in August. Sometimes something happens overseas that might bring him back to Washington -- an invasion of Kuwait, a coup in Moscow. But with the exception of such uncouth violations of August repose, there is no point staying in Washington. It's hot, it's humid and everybody's gone. (Except the occasional columnist, left behind to chronicle the indolence.) Oh, and the summary of all that George W. Bush did in his first eight months in office is also contained in the article that Moore cited to "prove" that George W. Bush spends too much time on "vacation" (as though the President ever actually goes on vacation). FAHRENHEIT 9/11: “Maybe Mr. Bush was wondering why he had cut terrorism funding from the FBI.” YOSHIDA: This is false, and his own cite shows it to be so: "(C)ut the FBI's request for new counterterrorism money by 12 percent." Maybe Michael Moore doesn't understand the difference between cutting funding and giving someone less money than they asked for, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. FAHRENHEIT 9/11: The security briefing that was given to him on August 6, 2001, said that Osama bin Laden was planning to attack America by hijacking airplanes. YOSHIDA: Again, Moore is distorting the very information that he goes on to cite. Here's the text he cites from the August 6th PDB: We have not been able to corroborate some of the more sensational threat reporting, such as that from a ... (redacted portion) ... service in 1998 saying that Bin Ladin wanted to hijack a US aircraft to gain the release of ‘Blind Shaykh’ 'Umar 'Abd al-Rahman and other US-held extremists. Of course, technically you could make the case that, in hijacking planes to demand the release of a terrorist al-Qaeda would be launching an "attack" on America, but that's clearly not the way that Moore is attempting to show it (that the President was warned of suicide attacks with hijacked planes). FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Bush was investigated by the S.E.C. The James Baker law partner who helped Bush beat the rap from the SEC was a man by the name of Robert Jordon, who, when George W. became president was appointed ambassador to Saudi Arabia. YOSHIDA: Bush didn't "beat the rap" from anything. From one of Moore's own sources: SEC staff members investigating the stock sale concluded there was insufficient evidence to recommend an enforcement action against Bush To "beat the rap," you'd have to be charged with something. FAHRENHEIT 9/11: “Another group of people invest in you, your friends, and their related businesses $1.4 billion over a number of years.” YOSHIDA: Watch these numbers closely. Here's some of Moore's cites: In 1994, Carlyle owned military contractor BDM was “awarded a contract to provide technical assistance and logistics support to the Royal Saudi Air Force.” Worth: $46,200,000. PR Newswire, “BDM Federal Awarded $46 Million Contract To Support Royal Saudi Air Force,” October 27, 1994. During the 1990s, the Vinnell Corporation (a BDM subsidiary) held contracts to train the Saudi Arabian National Guard, worth $819,000,000. Robert Burns, “US Advises Saudi Military On Range Of Threats—Including Terrorism,” Associated Press, November 13, 1995. In 1995, BDM collected a contract to “augment Royal Saudi Air Force staff in developing, implementing, and maintaining logistics and engineering plans and programs.” Worth: $32,500,000. Defense Daily, “Defense Contracts,” June 23, 1995, as cited by Craig Unger. In 1996, BDM was awarded a contract “to provide construction of 110 housing units at the MK-1 Compound, Khamis Mushayt, Saudi Arabia, for Technical Support Program personnel assisting the Royal Saudi Air Force…. This effort supports foreign military sales to Saudi Arabia.” Worth: $44,397,800. Department of Defense News Release, “BDM Federal, Incorporated,” April 1, 1996. During the late 1990s, Vinnell was awarded a contract “for the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) Modernization Program. The three-year contract, awarded competitively, calls on Vinnell to continue to support SANG training operations and related activities.” Worth: $163,300,000 . PR Newswire, “Vinnell Selected for Award of $163.3 Million Contract for Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program,” May 3, 1995. Kashim Al-An, “Saudi Guard Gets Quiet Help from US Firm with Connections,” Associated Press, March 22, 1997. In 1997, BDM was awarded a contract “to provide for 400 contractor personnel to support the Royal Saudi Air Force in developing, implementing, and maintaining logistics, supply, computer, reconnaissance, intelligence and engineering plans and programs.” Worth: $18,728,682 (note: this is a “face value increase to a firm fixed price contract”). Defense Daily, “Defense Contracts,” February 4, 1997. Note: Carlyle purchased BDM and its subsidiary Vinnell in 1992 and sold it to TRW in Dec, 1997. In other words, $1.12 billion of the "$1.4 billion" figure Moore uses comes from contracts between BDM and the Saudi Government from the early 1990's to 1997. Well, here's the thing (from Michael Isikoff's article on the film): (F)ormer president Bush didn’t join the Carlyle advisory board until April, 1998—five months after Carlyle had already sold BDM to another defense firm. In other words, here, Moore provides the citations to prove his distortion. The "$1.4 billion" figure thus becomes "$280 million" which, of course, assumes that somehow the rest of the numbers are good. Oh, and of the remaining "$280 million" (again from Moore's own citations): In November 2001, Dick Cheney’s former company Halliburton was awarded “a contract to provide services for the Saudi Arabian Oil Company’s (Saudi Aramco) Qatif Field development project in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia.” Worth: $140 million. So, in other words, another $140 million of the "Bush-Saudi business" involves contracts between Halliburton (one of the major oil field companies in the world) and Saudi Arabia which occured roughly a year and a half after Dick Cheney left the company. So, what's left? $140 million? Well, from Moore's cites again: The same month, a consortium of three companies led by Halliburton subsidiary KBR won a “contract for engineering, procurement, and construction of an ethylene plant for Jubail United Petrochemcial Company, a wholly owned company of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation.” Worth: $40 million. Another contract in November 2001? A year and a half after Cheney left the company? Well, that leaves about $100 million to find. So, what's left? $80 million in Saudi money "estimated" to be invested in the Carlyle Group and $25 million invested in Harken by an individual who happened to be a Saudi Arabian. And what else?
Yes, that's the "$1.4 billion". Moore gives us all the data with which to hang him here. FAHRENHEIT 9/11: "He proposed cutting $1.3 billion in veterans’ health care and closing seven veteran’s hospitals. He tried to double the prescription drug costs for veterans and opposed full benefits for part time reservist." YOSHIDA: That's simply wrong, and his own sources say the same: "The White House had expressed its ‘strong opposition’ to the Senate’s effort to expand military health benefits to reservists and National Guard members, and boost 'veterans’ health care spending by $1.3 billion." Jonathan Weisman, "Bush Aides Threaten Veto of Iraqi Aid Measure," Washington Post, October 22, 2003. Again, Moore fails to understand the difference between "cutting" and "not spending more than has been proposed."
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