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'Black Hawk Down' Was Set to Blame Clinton for 9/11

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by cmrockfan, Dec 28, 2001.

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  1. cmrockfan

    cmrockfan Member

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    from Newsmax.com-

    <i>Thursday, Dec. 27, 2001 12:16 p.m. EST
    'Black Hawk Down' Was Set to Blame Clinton for 9/11

    Columbia Pictures' "Black Hawk Down," the action movie about the 1993 Somalia debacle that cost 18 U.S. soldiers their lives, was set to explicity blame ex-President Clinton for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks before the film's director and producers decided to soft-pedal the connection.

    In mid-November, before the decision to tone down the Clinton angle, the film was previewed for a handful journalists.

    Before its final edit "Black Hawk's" closing crawl highlighted a series of events after the Somalia mission, including Clinton's humiliating troop withdrawal from the country, the humanitarian disasters in Rwanda, Bosnia and Kosovo and, finally, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

    "With what happened in Mogadishu, with the way that all came down, you end up with the terrorism we see today," the film's producer Joe Roth told the New York Times on Wednesday. "It's so obvious now, eight years later."

    Roth said his partner Jerry Bruckheimer and "Black Hawk" director Ridley Scott agreed with him that "we would be remiss in not making this connection to the general audience."

    But ultimately the filmmakers, along with Mark Bowden, author of the best-selling book upon which the movie is based, decided that blaming Clinton explicitly would be "unnecessary and too distracting."

    "It was a judgment call," Bowden said. "And I know you would think that a decision like this would have had something to do with the commercial aspects of releasing a movie, but it didn't. It was all about what was the right thing to do for the film."

    Noted the Times: "It would have been an unusually bold move for a big, expensive studio production like 'Black Hawk Down' to blame President Bill Clinton and American public opinion for setting the stage for the kind of terrorism behind Sept. 11."

    Still, director Scott argued that even after the rewrite, the message is obvious. "I think the implication is there. ... To me, it's very clear that there is a connection between Mogadishu and what is happening now. But to make it explicit at the end of this movie would have been too much."

    "Black Hawk Down" is set to open in select theaters on Friday.</i>

    Here is a link to the original Time Magazine article about the tragedy in Somalia - http://www.time.com/time/magazine/archive/1994/940228/940228.somalia.html
     
    #1 cmrockfan, Dec 28, 2001
  2. treeman

    treeman Member

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    Les Aspin is more to blame for that fiasco. No armored extraction = dead Rangers. Powell, as CJCS, was the officer who recommended pulling the Marine armor out first... They would have done the extraction. Also, Rangers going in in daytime, without night vision devices and carrying only limited ammo, was a horrible call...

    But when did Slick ever take any blame for his subordinates' actions? If anything, he's remarkably adept at sloughing any blame for mismanagement off to his deputies' shoulders.

    Les Aspin resigned and died of a heart attack shortly after the Somalia debacle. He just flat went downhill after Somalia.

    Can't wait for the movie.
     
    #2 treeman, Dec 28, 2001
  3. cmrockfan

    cmrockfan Member

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    Treeman, I think you missed the intent of the article. The producers of the movie were considering linking Clinton's weak response to the Somalia debacle and 9/11/02.
     
    #3 cmrockfan, Dec 28, 2001
  4. treeman

    treeman Member

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    I caught that part, actually, and I wish they wouldn't have cut it out. Of course, haven't seen it yet...;)

    It was Clinton's fault, but others were involved as well.
     
    #4 treeman, Dec 28, 2001
  5. HayesStreet

    HayesStreet Member

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    Wasn't it George Bush sr that put us into Somalia? And didn't Clinton just follow Bush's lead on policy in Somalia, just like in Bosnia etc???

    I've always thought it was interesting Clinton got blamed for Somalia, and railed for NAFTA, when those were two Republican engagements...
     
    #5 HayesStreet, Dec 28, 2001
  6. cmrockfan

    cmrockfan Member

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    I don't think how we got to Somalia is the issue- it is how we left.

    We looked very weak and intimidated, and the terrorists were emboldened.

    btw, this should not really be a Democrat v. Republican issue. I am sure many Republicans in congress supported pulling out of Somalia too. I hope our leaders recognize this mistake, and learn from it. We need to always send a message to the rest of the world that we are the baddest mother f***ers on the face of this planet.;)
     
    #6 cmrockfan, Dec 28, 2001
  7. treeman

    treeman Member

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    Les Aspen.

    Bush got us into the mess, true. It was going well for most of Clinton's tenure as well. But as soon as the Marines pulled out, the s*it hit the fan. The US mission there went from famine relief (mission accomplished on that) to hunting down warlords. That would've been OK had the Marines not pulled out... and took all their armor with them.

    The Clinton administration f*ked that one up royally, which is why Aspen was forced out. He wasn't really a scapegoat, though - it was actually mostly his fault. Bad decisions.

    I'm sure the movie will go into it a little bit. When the Rangers start asking where their armor/extraction is...
     
    #7 treeman, Dec 28, 2001
  8. RocketMan Tex

    RocketMan Tex Member

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    If 9/11 was Bill Clinton's fault, then you ought to blame Ronald Reagan as well. Don't forget that Reagan provided arms, money and training to Bin Laden during the 1980s.

    9/11 was the result of decades of US government ignorance regarding terrorists and terrorism, and ignorance regarding the long term ramifications of certain aspects of US government foreign policy. To blame it all on Bill Clinton, or any one President/Administration, is a 100% cop out. They are all to blame.
     
    #8 RocketMan Tex, Dec 28, 2001
  9. Dr of Dunk

    Dr of Dunk Clutch Crew

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    And we're off! :rolleyes:


    Thanks for the info anyway, cmrockfan.
     
    #9 Dr of Dunk, Dec 28, 2001
  10. RocketMan Tex

    RocketMan Tex Member

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    Now now. I ain't trying to start nothing.

    All I'm saying is you can't blame one single President or Administration. They are all to blame.
     
    #10 RocketMan Tex, Dec 28, 2001
  11. JohnnyBlaze

    JohnnyBlaze Member

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    What a crock of BULLS@%# if anyone is to blame for this it is Reagan. He armed and trained these terrorists.

    and yes Bush Sr put us in Somalia when we had know business being there in the first place. It was a civil war.
     
    #11 JohnnyBlaze, Dec 28, 2001
  12. Jeff

    Jeff Clutch Crew

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    We all know just how reliable Hollywood is anyway. Thank God that the film industry could set us straight on all those burning political issues.

    :rolleyes:
     
    #12 Jeff, Dec 28, 2001
  13. Sonny

    Sonny Member

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    What is happening next September 11th? 2002? :D


    This movie seems pretty good. I think we should go back into Somolia and give them some payback. Rat Bastards.
     
    #13 Sonny, Dec 28, 2001
  14. subtomic

    subtomic Member

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    Amen. Since when do Barbara Streisand, Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Baldwin brothers know just as much about politics as George Will and Helen Thomas.
     
    #14 subtomic, Dec 28, 2001
  15. Almu

    Almu Member

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    Shouldn't we be saying What Clinton DOES NOT get blamed for?

    Seems like he never gets credit for ANYTHING. Just sex. Like I said, American Citizens must be dummer than anyone on this planet. They voted for the sexually crazed, lazy liar twice.

    Oh, and lets not forget 70 percent approval rating.

    But, we are dumb. Its all good.

    AND I HATE GEORGE WILL. I like George W, though. :)
     
    #15 Almu, Dec 28, 2001
  16. RocksMillenium

    RocksMillenium Member

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    I think RocketMan Tex point is Doc if that if somebody is going to post an article that was considering blaming Bill Clinton for the worst disaster in American history you better get ready to go deeper. Personally I don't blame anybody for this but bin Laden, Al-Qaeda and terrorist group, but for people to try to blame an American president for it and then upset when people try to deflect it off is crazy.
     
    #16 RocksMillenium, Dec 28, 2001
  17. haven

    haven Member

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    Ah, what a misinformed claim. Clinton is, of course, partly to blame. But not that significantly.

    Incidentally, he mentioned a humanitarian "fiasco" in Bosnia. What the hell are these people talking about? I've talked with some military higher-ups and career state department people who consider it a successful mission. In fact, most people do.

    American interventionist policy abroad is triggering a backlash, but there are truly only three heavily resented policies in the Arab world:

    1. Support of Israel.

    2. Sanctions on Iraq

    3. Air bases in Saudi Arabia.

    There are other US policies that many Arabs could do without, but those are the three that really generate rage. Directors, whether Mr. Stone, Mr. Spielburg, or Mr. Scott... should stick to what they know.
     
    #17 haven, Dec 28, 2001
  18. Band Geek Mobster

    Band Geek Mobster Member

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    Never heard of Mr. Spielburg, but I have heard of Mr. Spielberg...

    You're dead...

    The Tribe Has Spoken in Spelling Survivor.
     
    #18 Band Geek Mobster, Dec 28, 2001
  19. Behad

    Behad Member

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    Nope. Proper names do not count (just like in Scrabble). You're still in haven.
     
    #19 Behad, Dec 28, 2001
  20. treeman

    treeman Member

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    Uuuhh, Somalia was his administration's fault (but mainly Les Aspen's, as I pointed out), not 9/11. Did you just miss the whole bit about Aspen, armor, and extraction in my post? I think you really misread my post.

    Good way to flare up a thread, though. :)

    BTW, I do not think that Slick is responsible for 9/11
     
    #20 treeman, Dec 28, 2001
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