comsc US Politics | AMERICAblog News: I've got the whole film - fact-checking appreciated
Join Email List | About us | AMERICAblog Gay
Elections | Economic Crisis | Jobs | TSA | Limbaugh | Fun Stuff

I've got the whole film - fact-checking appreciated



| Reddit | Tumblr | Digg | FARK

UPDATE: You can cross-check with the entire 9/11 Commission report, which is searchable, here (heads up, it's a big download).

1. American Airlines had Mohammad Atta at its ticket counter and a warning came up on the screen when he tried to check in. The AA employee called a supervisor who said, just let him through. The first employee said, shouldn't we search him? And the supervisor says, nah, just hold his luggage until he boards the plane. This is clearly intended to make American Airlines look negligent. Is this true?

Did this happen?

FACT: This kind of happened, buy they still got a lot wrong. First, they've got the airport wrong. The warning popped up in Portland, not at Boston Logan as the tv show claims. Second, the rules at the time said nothing about searching him, they only required that the bags be held until he boarded - the tv show clearly tries to imply American Airlines violated their own rules in letting Atta go, which they clearly did not.

Second, Atta didn't fly American from Portland, he flew a US Airways Express affiliate. It was the US Airways Express folks who held his bags but didn't do more, not American. So, when the film tries to pain American Airlines employees in Boston as morons, it's really the US Airways employees in Portland who are the relevant parties. I'm only ten minutes into this film and we're already getting the wrong cities and the wrong players.

2. United Airlines. Asks 3 of the hijackers if they packed their own bags. The three of them look nervously at each other and speak in Arabic back and forth while the United employee keeps asking if they packed their own bags. She asks again, and finally the guy says yes. United employee does nothing. This is clearly intended to make United look negligent. Is this true?

FACT: According to the 9/11 Commission report, this did happen.

3. Well, half an hour into the film we learn that all Arabs, including Arab-Americans, have really really really bad stereotypical accents. They don't speak English well, and they sweat a lot and look shifty. "Ladies, we will dance? You like to dance?"

4. Richard Clarke dyed his hair yellow-green? Who knew?


blog comments powered by Disqus