The Path to 9/11
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''The Path to 9/11'' is a two-part miniseries that aired in the United States on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
television on September 10–11, 2006 and in other countries. The film
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
tizes the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the events leading up to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The film was written by screenwriter
Cyrus Nowrasteh Cyrus Nowrasteh ( Persian: سیروس/کوروش نورسته ; ; born September 19, 1956) is an American-‌Iranian screenwriter, director, and producer of film and television. He has worked on numerous television series and made-for-TV movie ...
, and directed by David L. Cunningham, and stars
Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...
and
Donnie Wahlberg Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr. (born August 17, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, record producer, and film producer. He is a founding member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. Outside music, he has had roles in the ''Saw' ...
. The film was nominated for multiple Emmy Awards. It won the 2007 Emmy for Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing. It also won the 2007
Eddie Award Founded in 1950, American Cinema Editors (ACE) is an honorary society of film editors that are voted in based on the qualities of professional achievements, their education of others, and their dedication to editing. Members use the post-nominal ...
for Best Edited Miniseries. The film was controversial. It aired once and as of September 11, 2021, it was no longer available.


Plot

The miniseries presented a dramatization of the sequence of events leading to the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
in 2001 by Al-Qaeda on the United States, starting from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and up to the minutes after its collapse in 2001. The movie takes the point of view of two main protagonists: John P. O'Neill, and a composite
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
(CIA) agent, "Kirk". O'Neill was the real-life Special Agent in charge of Al Qaeda investigations at the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
; he died in the collapse of the Twin Towers on September 11 shortly after retiring from the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) and taking the position of Director of Security for the World Trade Center. The composite CIA agent "Kirk" is shown dealing with various American allies, especially Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud, in Afghanistan. In addition, "Patricia", a CIA headquarters analyst, represents the views of the rank and file at CIA headquarters. The miniseries features dramatizations of various incidents summarized in the''
9/11 Commission Report ''The 9/11 Commission Report'' (officially the ''Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States)'' is the official report into the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was prepa ...
'' and represented in high-level discussions held in the Clinton and Bush administrations. The final hour of the movie dramatizes the events of 9/11, including a recreation of the second plane hitting the World Trade Center,
Tom Burnett Thomas Edward Burnett Jr. (May 29, 1963 – September 11, 2001) was an American who was the vice-president and chief operating officer of Thoratec Corporation, a medical devices company based in Pleasanton, California; he resided in nearby San ...
's calls to his wife, and John Miller's reporting near the scene of the attacks. The film concludes with information about the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, as well as the performance evaluation the Commission gave the government when it reconvened in 2005.


Production history

According to ABC, the movie is based on the "''
9/11 Commission Report ''The 9/11 Commission Report'' (officially the ''Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States)'' is the official report into the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was prepa ...
'' and other sources",ABC.com
/ref> including interviews and news accounts. The first indication that ABC was running a miniseries appeared in a brief article in the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
.'' In it, the producers identified shooting locations and revealed that Harvey Keitel would play John O'Neill. At the time, ABC had a working name of ''Untitled Commission Report'' and the producers used the working title ''Untitled History Project'', with the project beginning filming in July 2005 and scheduled to end post production by January 2006. Preview screenings were made in May for foreign broadcasters. The film was first publicly announced at the
Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canada, Canadian television television criticism, critics, journalists and columnists who cover television television programme, programming for newspapers, ...
summer press tour in July. According to ''Advertising Age'', the miniseries was a personal project of ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson, who began to look for a producer shortly after reading the 9/11 Commission Report. The
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
asked the major networks for airtime to present a Presidential Address to the nation. The interruption delayed the broadcast of the second half of ''Path to 9/11'' by approximately 20 minutes in the Eastern and Central Time Zones. Otherwise, the movie aired without any interruption. Filming was conducted in
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
, New York City, Toronto,
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...
and
Washington, D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
The production was one of the few allowed to film at the headquarters of the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
in
Langley, Virginia Langley is an unincorporated community in the census-designated place of McLean in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Langley is often used as a metonym for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as it is home to its headquarters, the Geo ...
.


Controversy and criticisms

ABC received a range of criticism from terrorism experts and people portrayed in the film that ''The Path to 9/11'' contained false scenes, distorted events and misrepresented actions of people. ABC received letters from Richard Clarke, Chief Executive Officer Bruce R. Lindsey of the William J. Clinton Foundation, and Douglas J. Band, Counselor to President Clinton, Samuel R. Berger,
Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...
, John Beug, Democratic Representatives
John Conyers Jr. John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. The districts he represented always included part of western Detroit ...
,
John Dingell John David Dingell Jr. (July 8, 1926 – February 7, 2019) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1955 until 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he holds the record for longes ...
,
Jane Harman Jane Margaret Lakes Harman (born June 28, 1945) is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1993 to 1999, and from 2001 to 2011; she is a member of the Democratic Party. Harman was the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committ ...
,
Louise Slaughter Dorothy Louise Slaughter (née McIntosh, August 14, 1929 – March 16, 2018) was an American politician elected to 16 terms as a United States Representative from New York, serving from 1987 until her death in 2018. She served as the Dean of the ...
, and others. Before the miniseries aired, some screeners of ''The Path to 9/11'' asserted that certain scenes misrepresented the real-life events upon which they were said to be based, and that some scenes were complete fabrications.


9/11 Commission members

Members of the 9/11 Commission criticized the accuracy of the film. 9/11 Commission Chairman
Thomas Kean Thomas Howard Kean ( ; born April 21, 1935) is an American businessman, academic administrator and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Kean served as the 48th governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. Following his tenure as governor, ...
, the ranking Republican, served as both a consultant and as a co-executive producer. Shortly before the film's release, Kean said, "People in both parties didn't particularly like the commission report, and I think people in both parties aren't going to love this one". In response to one particular scene, Kean told an interviewer he "was all right with the made-up scene" where Clinton administration is accused of blocking a chance to kill bin Laden, saying "I don't think the facts are clear." Just weeks before the broadcast he "asked for changes that would address complaints raised by the former Clinton aides and that ABC is considering his request." Commission member
Richard Ben-Veniste Richard Ben-Veniste (born January 3, 1943) is an American lawyer. He first rose to prominence as a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal. He has also been a member of the 9/11 Commission. He is known for his pointed questions and cr ...
said that the miniseries misrepresented facts presented in the 9/11 Commission report.


Advance viewing copies selectively distributed

The extensive pre-broadcast controversy over the film was based on content that was present in viewing copies sent to
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
political groups, talk show hosts and bloggers, including radio personalities such as
Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...
, and conservative movie critic
Michael Medved Michael Saul Medved (born October 3, 1948) is an American radio show host, author, political commentator, and film critic. His talk show, ''The Michael Medved Show'', is syndicated from his home station KTTH in Seattle. It is syndicated via G ...
. The office of former President Clinton repeatedly requested a preview copy, but was denied one, as was former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. However, a version was shown at a Washington, DC screening to members and guests of the
National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...
, and to attendees of the Midwest Security and Police Conference in Chicago. According to Jay Carson, a spokesman for Bill Clinton, Clinton's office requested a copy of the movie so that they could view it before it aired, but the request was denied. However, Limbaugh has at least partially disputed this, claiming that Ben-Veniste and others saw the film before him. Carson has also stated that
Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...
and
Sandy Berger Samuel Richard "Sandy" Berger (October 28, 1945 – December 2, 2015) was an attorney who served as the 18th US National Security Advisor for US President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001 after he had served as the Deputy National Security Adviso ...
had also requested a copy and had also not received them. This prompted Albright and Berger to write letters
to ABC asking why they had not received copies and why ABC have chosen to run a movie whose accuracy is highly in question. In addition to requesting an answer, Albright also stated the following reason for wanting a copy:


Criticisms of historical inaccuracy by FBI consultants

Two FBI agents refused advisory roles on the film, with one criticizing the film for creating a work of fiction and claiming it was inaccurate. Thomas E. Nicoletti had been hired by the filmmakers as a consultant, but quit because "There were so many inaccuracies...I'm well aware of what's dramatic license and what's historical inaccuracy," Nicoletti said. "And this had a lot of historical inaccuracy.'" Dan Coleman, who retired from the FBI in 2004, said he also was concerned when he read the script in the summer of 2005 after being approached by producers about being a technical advisor. He described, "They sent me the script, and I read it and told them they had to be kidding," Coleman said. "I wanted my friends at the FBI to still speak to me." Coleman went on to say he did not want to be "haunted" by deceased colleagues who were falsely portrayed.


Alleged assassination opportunities not used by Clinton

Critics claim many inaccuracies in the film, including the depiction of the Clinton administration. For example in one scene, former National Security Advisor
Sandy Berger Samuel Richard "Sandy" Berger (October 28, 1945 – December 2, 2015) was an attorney who served as the 18th US National Security Advisor for US President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001 after he had served as the Deputy National Security Adviso ...
is portrayed as unwilling to approve a plan to take out a surrounded Osama bin Laden. He leaves it to former CIA Director George Tenet to decide if he will take responsibility. In the original version of the film, Berger hangs up the phone on Tenet, and Tenet calls off the operation. Nowrasteh has said that the abrupt hang-up portrayed was not in the script and was instead improvised. It was later removed from the version shown in the United States. When asked if he thought of the script as a "historical document," Nowrasteh has responded:
Anti-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...
expert Richard Clarke said the film was "180 degrees from what happened" and made the following criticisms of the film: #Contrary to the movie, no US military or CIA personnel were in Afghanistan to have spotted bin Laden. When asked about this apparent discrepancy, Nowrasteh stated, "I've interviewed CIA agents who have told me otherwise. But that is the one concession we made. n the original,we had a CIA agent on the ground near bin Laden's compound—inside the wall even—and we took that out for the final presentation." #Contrary to the movie, the head of the
Northern Alliance The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( prs, جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان ''Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islāmi-yi Millī barāyi Nijāt ...
, Ahmad Shah Massoud, was nowhere near the alleged bin Laden camp and therefore could not have seen Osama bin Laden. #Contrary to the movie, Tenet actually said that he could not recommend a strike on the camp because the information was single sourced, and there would be no way to independently confirm bin Laden's presence in the target area by the time an already launched cruise missile would have reached it. A member of the 9/11 Commission,
Richard Ben-Veniste Richard Ben-Veniste (born January 3, 1943) is an American lawyer. He first rose to prominence as a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal. He has also been a member of the 9/11 Commission. He is known for his pointed questions and cr ...
also stated that the scene depicting Berger hanging up the phone on Tenet is fictional.
Michael Scheuer Michael F. Scheuer (pronounced "SHOY-er"), (born 1952) is an American former intelligence officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, blogger, author, commentator and former adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Center for Peace and Sec ...
, former head of the CIA Bin Laden Unit during the Clinton administration, a critic of President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
's
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
policy, says it was not Berger who canceled assaults on bin Laden, but rather Clarke on Clinton's behalf. Scheuer states, "Mr. Clarke, of course, was at the center of Mr. Clinton's advisers, who resolutely refused to order the CIA to kill bin Laden. In spring 1998, I briefed Mr. Clarke and senior CIA,
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
, and FBI officers on a plan to kidnap bin Laden. Mr. Clarke's reaction was that "it was just a thinly disguised attempt to assassinate bin Laden." I replied that if he wanted bin Laden dead, we could do the job quickly. Mr. Clarke's response was that the president did not want bin Laden assassinated, and that we had no authority to do so". On May 13, 2012, the former Deputy Director of the Counter-Terrorism branch of the CIA, Hank Crumpton, relayed his experiences that verified both Scheumer and ''Path to 9/11's'' account regarding Clinton's failure to stop Bin Laden when he had the chance in a CBS 60 minutes interview. In it, he specifically cited that they had been led to a small village near Khandahar, saw evidence of Bin Laden's presence (security detail, a convoy, and Bin Laden himself exiting the vehicle) and immediately alerted the White House upon the optics being beamed towards to the CIA headquarters, but were ordered to stand down and abort the operation due to it taking several hours to arm and launch the TLAMs. He stated he requested that they give his exact location five to six hours from then, and the White House wasn't willing to allow the Afghan CIA agents to attack the compound directly.


Berger scene

Besides criticism of an inaccurate script, other fictional and inaccurate scenes were created by the cast. In the film, CIA agents who have infiltrated bin Laden's Afghan compound try to put an assassin named Kirk (Donnie Wahlberg) in contact with National Security Advisor Sandy Berger (Kevin Dunn); Berger, who was later convicted of illegally removing and destroying documents regarding the subject from the National Archives, is portrayed as "dithering" before hanging up on the agents. The scene was strongly contradicted by both Berger and the 9/11 Commission, including commission member Richard Ben-Veniste.


Former Secretary of State Albright questions her portrayal

Another scene in question supposedly portrays Madeleine Albright refusing to shoot missiles at Osama bin Laden without authority from
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
and eventually getting "permission" from them against the military's wishes. Albright insists that this is completely inaccurate.Albright letter to Robert Iger
, September 5, 2006
The same letter by Albright, hosted on the internet by CNN
/ref> As Secretary of State, Albright had no involvement in military decisions.


Inaccuracies regarding airline travel

In the opening scene of the film,
American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
is depicted as ignoring a security warning regarding hijacker
Mohamed Atta Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta ( ; ar, محمد محمد الأمير عوض السيد عطا ; September 1, 1968 – September 11, 2001) was an Egyptian hijacker and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks in 2001 in which f ...
. The airline involved was actually U.S. Airways (although the airline later merged with American Airlines in 2015). According to the 9/11 Commission Report: "While Atta had been selected by CAPPS security warning at a U.S. Airway ticket counterin
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
aine Aine may refer to: * Áine Áine () is an Irish goddess of summer, wealth and sovereignty. She is associated with midsummer and the sun,MacKillop, James (1998) ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'' Oxford: Oxford University Press pp.10, 16, 12 ...
three members of... tta'shijacking team - Suqami, Wail al Shehri, and Waleed al Shehri - were selected t an American Airline counterin
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. Their selection affected only the handling of their checked bags, not their screening at the checkpoint. All five men cleared the checkpoint and made their way to the gate for American 11."''The Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States'', Chapter 1, Section 1.1, page 2
Retrieved: September 16, 2006
The incorrect depiction of location and airline may be justified as "time compression and compositing", as described in the film's disclaimer, or it may be an example of careless writing and sloppy fact-checking. As a result of the inaccuracy, American Airlines stated they planned to pull all advertising from the ABC network and were considering legal action.


Clinton responds


Senate Democrats' letter to ABC

Senate Democratic Leader
Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...
, Assistant Democratic Leader
Dick Durbin Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin has served as the Senate De ...
, Senator
Debbie Stabenow Deborah Ann Stabenow ( ; née Greer, born April 29, 1950) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Michigan, a seat she has held since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she became the state's first female ...
, Senator
Charles Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...
, and Senator
Byron Dorgan Byron Leslie Dorgan (born May 14, 1942) is an American author, businessman and former politician who served as a United States Representative (1981–1992) and United States Senator (1992–2011) from North Dakota. He is member of the Democratic ...
sent a letter to Robert A. Iger, the President and CEO of the
Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
. Their letter includes the following statement:


Scholastic Press announcement

Scholastic Press, which had a deal with ABC to distribute "educational materials" based on the movie, pulled the materials in question from their website on September 7, substituting them with materials focusing on "critical thinking and media literacy skills".About Scholastic: News
Dick Robinson, Chairman, President and CEO of Scholastic Press, had this to say on the matter:


Responses from cast and crew

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...
, who plays John P. O'Neill—the lead role in the film, said he was told that the script was "history" project, but "it turned out not all the facts were correct" and by the time ABC tried to "heal the problem" it was "too late."
Showbiz Tonight ''Showbiz Tonight'' is a defunct American entertainment news program that aired from February 20, 2005, until February 6, 2014, on HLN. ''Showbiz Tonight'' was hosted by A. J. Hammer at CNN New York at the time of its cancellation. The show r ...
, September 7, 2006, HLN
In an interview two weeks before the film was to air he said more scenes needed to be corrected because "you cannot cross the line from a conflation of events to a distortion of the event." Keitel also said there was "discussion" and "argument" on-set during the filming about what was truthful and what was not, and that he disagreed with certain decisions. Producer Marc Platt has acknowledged that the script was based in part on a book co-written by a Bush administration official. The book, ''The Cell: Inside the 9/11 Plot, and Why the FBI and CIA Failed to Stop It'' was co-written by John Miller, who serves as the assistant director of public affairs for the FBI. Cyrus Nowrasteh, script writer for the film, said it was "an objective telling of the events of 9/11."


Response from Barbara Bodine

On September 8, former Ambassador to
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
Barbara Bodine complained in a ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' Op-Ed about her portrayal in the film: "According to the mythmakers, a battle ensued between a cop obsessed with tracking down Osama bin Laden and a bureaucrat more concerned with the feelings of the host government than the fate of Americans and the realities of terrorism. I know this is false. I was there. I was the ambassador." The ABC miniseries compressed Bodine's role to a single extended scene, suggesting she was dismissive, hostile, and vulgar toward FBI investigator John O'Neill from the moment of his October 2000 arrival in Yemen (see
USS Cole bombing The USS ''Cole'' bombing was a suicide attack by the terrorist group al-Qaeda against , a guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy, on 12 October 2000, while she was being refueled in Yemen's Aden harbor. Seventeen U.S. Navy sail ...
). Television actress
Patricia Heaton Patricia Helen Heaton (born March 4, 1958) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her work on sitcoms, having played Debra Barone on ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' (1996–2005) as well as Frances "Frankie" Heck on '' The Middl ...
, who played Bodine and who has her own independent ABC development deal, did not comment on the controversy surrounding ''The Path to 9/11'' nor its worldwide broadcast on September 10–11, 2006.


Errors and other criticism

In addition to the fictionalized scenes and misrepresentations, preview copies contained several smaller errors that prompted criticism that the film is sloppy in its fidelity to facts. For example, a caption in the film misspelled Madeleine Albright's name. Another example is a scene portraying a warning popping up on a computer when Mohamed Atta boarded
American Airlines Flight 11 American Airlines Flight 11 was a domestic passenger flight that was hijacked by five al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001 as part of the September 11 attacks. Lead hijacker Mohamed Atta deliberately crashed the plane into the North Towe ...
in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. The scene was factually inaccurate; Atta actually boarded a connecting U.S. Airways flight in
Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...
. During production of the movie, there was a controversy in the Toronto media over the use of discarded medical charts and records as document props. The Information and Privacy Commissioner for the province of Ontario launched an investigation and the producers destroyed footage including the garbage and sent all remaining documents to a shredding service for disposal. Republican
William Bennett William John Bennett (born July 31, 1943) is an American conservative politician and political commentator who served as secretary of education from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. He also held the post of director of the Office of ...
joined those saying there is "no reason to falsify the record" or "falsify conversations". During an appearance on CNN he called on ABC to correct the inaccuracies of the show and for fellow conservatives to join him in such a demand. On December 22, 2006
Media Matters for America Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a politically left-leaning 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization and media watchdog group. MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media ...
named
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
as "Misinformer" of 2006 for, among other things in ''The Path to 9/11'', calling it:
a two-part miniseries that placed the blame for the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the Clinton administration and whitewashed some of the Bush administration's failures leading up to the attacks.


Advertising discrepancies

While in the U.S. the film was marketed as a loose dramatization of events based on the 9/11 Commission Report, television advertising for the film in countries outside the U.S. called the film the "Official True Story". Further, an Australian TV listing called the film "the story of exactly what happened", which later changed to "The thrilling dramatised investigation" as the airing time drew near.


Allegation of non-profit involvement

Allegations of religious involvement surfaced in 2006, when journalist
Max Blumenthal Max Blumenthal (born December 18, 1977) is an American journalist, author and blogger who is the editor of ''The Grayzone'' website, which is known for spreading conspiracy theories and engaging in denial of atrocities committed by dictatorial ...
commented on David Loren Cunningham and his former links to the international mission organization Youth with a Mission. David is the son of Youth with a Mission founder Loren Cunningham. This connection to Youth with a Mission, and past allegations of a political agenda within the organization, were mentioned by Blumenthal. He also noted the previous intentions of David Cunningham to 'revolutionize' film and television by founding an auxiliary group within Youth With A Mission called TFI (The Film Institute). Youth With A Mission International Chairman Lynn Green acknowledged the allegations, yet rebutted these concerns, insisting that the organization, "had nothing to do with financing the film, nor did any YWAM personnel have any influence on the content of the film."


Support for ''The Path to 9/11''


Responses from the right

Prior to its broadcast, conservative talk radio host
Hugh Hewitt Hugh Hewitt (born February 22, 1956) is an American radio talk show host with the Salem Radio Network and an attorney, academic, and author. A conservative, he writes about law, society, politics, and media bias in the United States. Hewitt is ...
described as "a very accurate docudrama" and claimed the controversy by suggesting that what they call "the deep anger of the Clinton political machine" or the "narcissistic whining of the Clinton coterie" amounts to "self-serving complaints," to "an irrelevant diversion," to a "repellent" "hissy fit".Why Does the Left Hate "The Path to 9/11"?
by
Hugh Hewitt Hugh Hewitt (born February 22, 1956) is an American radio talk show host with the Salem Radio Network and an attorney, academic, and author. A conservative, he writes about law, society, politics, and media bias in the United States. Hewitt is ...
Brent Bozell wrote, also before it was broadcast, that both "Clinton and Bush officials come under fire, and if it seems more anti-Clinton, that's only because they were in office a lot longer than Team Bush before 9-11. Indeed, the film drives home the point that from our enemies' perspective, it's irrelevant who is in the White House. They simply want to kill Americans and destroy America. The film doesn't play favorites, and the Bush administration takes its lumps as well." Hewitt added that the "program is not primarily about the Clinton stewardship—or lack thereof—of the national security. It is not even secondarily about that. Rather the mini-series is the first attempt — very successful — to convey to American television viewers what we are up against: The
fanaticism Fanaticism (from the Latin adverb ''fānāticē'' ren-''fānāticus''; enthusiastic, ecstatic; raging, fanatical, furious is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal or an obsessive enthusiasm. Definitions Philosopher George Santayan ...
, the maniacal
evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...
, the energy and the
genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabili ...
for mayhem of the enemy." To date, the miniseries has not been released on DVD. Writer and producer
Cyrus Nowrasteh Cyrus Nowrasteh ( Persian: سیروس/کوروش نورسته ; ; born September 19, 1956) is an American-‌Iranian screenwriter, director, and producer of film and television. He has worked on numerous television series and made-for-TV movie ...
said that a stalled release is not due to lack of interest but rather political pressure, telling the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' in 2007 they were protecting
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
's presidential legacy and shielding
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
from criticism for her 2008 presidential campaign. According to the ''LA Times'', an ABC spokeswoman reached September 4, 2007, said that the company "has no release date at this time," and she declined to comment further.


Documentary revisits controversy

In August 2008, talk show host and documentary filmmaker John Ziegler and producer
David Bossie David Norman Bossie (born November 1, 1965) is an American political activist. Since 2000, he has been president and chairman of conservative advocacy group Citizens United and in 2016, Bossie was the deputy campaign manager to the Donald Trump ...
of
Citizens United Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
premiered a documentary co-produced, written and directed by Ziegler entitled ''Blocking The Path to 9/11'', which revisits the political controversy behind the ABC miniseries ''The Path to 9/11''.''Blocking The Path To 9/11'' - Credits
''Blocking The Path To 9/11'' official website (accessed September 21, 2008)
Premiere of John Ziegler's Film Announced!!
John Ziegler official website (accessed September 21, 2008)
Premiere of JZ's Film Ends With Standing Ovations
John Ziegler official website (accessed September 21, 2008)
Through interviews with the ''Path to 9/11'' filmmakers and others, news clips regarding the controversy, and footage from the miniseries itself, the documentary argues not only that accusations of the filmmakers' covert political agenda were unfounded, but that they were generated by Clinton-era politicians concerned that the miniseries tarnished their political legacy, and were reported uncritically by bloggers and a biased news media. The documentary also asserts that Disney/ABC ultimately shelved plans to release a DVD of the miniseries as a result of pressure from the Democrats, specifically the Clintons themselves. As noted in the documentary, Disney/ABC denies this and claims the decision not to release a DVD was purely a business decision. Jeffrey Ressner of ''
The Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and inte ...
'', wrote ''Blocking 'The Path to 9/11'' mirrored ''The Path to 9/11'' because it "raises even more questions and adds its own set of disconnected dots to this broadcasting dilemma".


Awards

*2007 Emmy Award: Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie *2007 Emmy Award nominations: Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie; Outstanding Main Title Design; Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score); Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special; * 2007 American Cinema Editors Eddie Award: Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Commercial Television


Ratings in the United States

During the first night of the original broadcast in the United States, ''The Path to 9/11'' was beaten by
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
's '' Sunday Night Football'' with 20.7 million watching the game, with ''Path'' tying a rerun of the film '' 9/11'' shown on CBS with 13 million viewers.The numbers: only 13 million viewers watched 'Path to 9/11', compared with 20.7 million watching the NFL During its second night, ''The Path to 9/11'' was again beat by an NFL doubleheader, this time the premiere of ''
Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...
'' on
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
, with 10.5 million households watching those games, and ''The Path to 9/11'' coming in second.


Cast

*
Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...
as
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
Special Agent John P. O'Neill, Terrorism, and subsequently Head of Security at WTC) *
Donnie Wahlberg Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr. (born August 17, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, record producer, and film producer. He is a founding member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. Outside music, he has had roles in the ''Saw' ...
as
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
Field Agent Kirk, Composite *
Mido Hamada Mido Hamada ( arz, ميدو حمادة ; born 1971) is an Egyptian-German actor in film, theatre and television. Early life He was born in Cairo, Egypt to an Egyptian family that moved to Germany, where he studied at the American Embassy School ...
as Ahmad Shah Massoud, Afghan Opposition Leader Against The Taliban *
Stephen Root Stephen Root (born November 17, 1951) is an American actor. He has starred as Jimmy James on the television sitcom '' NewsRadio'', as Milton Waddams in the film ''Office Space'' (1999), and provided the voices of Bill Dauterive and Buck Strickl ...
as Richard Clarke *
Barclay Hope Barclay Hope (born February 25, 1958) is a Canadian actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Clifford and Claudius Blossom on '' Riverdale'', Mike Hayden on '' Street Legal'', Peter Axon on ''PSI Factor'', Col. Lionel Pendergast on ''Sta ...
as John Miller *
Frank John Hughes Frank John Hughes (born November 11, 1967) is an American film and television actor, and screenwriter. Hughes is best known for his portrayals of "Wild Bill" Guarnere in the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers'', Tom Fox in ''Catch Me If Yo ...
as DSS Special Agent Bill Miller, Regional Security Officer U.S. Embassy Islamabad *
Patricia Heaton Patricia Helen Heaton (born March 4, 1958) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her work on sitcoms, having played Debra Barone on ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' (1996–2005) as well as Frances "Frankie" Heck on '' The Middl ...
as Barbara Bodine, U.S. Ambassador to Yemen *
Shirley Douglas Shirley Jean Douglas (April 2, 1934 – April 5, 2020) was a Canadian actress and activist. Her acting career combined with her family name made her recognizable in Canadian film, television and national politics. Early life Douglas was born A ...
as U.S. Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...
* Margaret Long as Secretary to The President) *
Penny Johnson Jerald Penny Johnson Jerald (born March 14, 1961) is an American actress. She played Beverly Barnes on the HBO comedy series '' The Larry Sanders Show'', Kasidy Yates on the syndicated science fiction series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', Sherry Pa ...
as U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice *
Dan Lauria Daniel Joseph Lauria (born April 12, 1947) is an American actor, known for playing the role of Jack Arnold in ''The Wonder Years'' (1988–1993), Jack Sullivan on ''Sullivan and Son'' (2012–2014), and Al Luongo on '' Pitch'' (2016–2017). Ear ...
as George Tenet (Director of Central Intelligence) *
Amy Madigan Amy Marie Madigan (born September 11, 1950) is an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1985 film '' Twice in a Lifetime''. Her other film credits include '' Love Child'' (1982), ''Places ...
as Patricia Carver, Composite CIA Headquarters Analyst *
Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...
as
William Cohen William Sebastian Cohen (born August 28, 1940) is an American lawyer, author, and politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A Republican, Cohen served as both a member of the United States House of Representatives (1973–1979) and Senate (1979 ...
* Trevor White as Scott Ramer * William Sadler as Neil Herman *
Shaun Toub Shaun Toub ( fa, شان توب ; ; born February 15, 1958) is an Iranian-born American actor. He has played the character Yinsen in '' Iron Man'' (2008) and ''Iron Man 3'' (2013); Farhad in ''Crash'' (2004); Rahim Khan in ''The Kite Runner'' (2 ...
as
Emad Salem Emad A. Salem is an FBI informant, who was a key witness in the trial of Ramzi Yousef, Abdul Hakim Murad, and Wali Khan Amin Shah, convicted in the World Trade Center bombing of February 26, 1993. He testified that the bomb was built under supervi ...
*
Wendy Crewson Wendy Jane Crewson (born May 9, 1956) is a Canadian actress and producer. She began her career appearing on Canadian television, before her breakthrough role in 1991 dramatic film ''The Doctor (1991 film), The Doctor''. Crewson has appeared in ma ...
as Valerie James * Stephanie Moore as Deanna Burnett *
Michael Benyaer Michael Benyaer is a Canadian-American actor. He is best known for his roles as Bob in the Canadian CGI series ''ReBoot'' and Hadji Singh in season one of ''The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest''. On playing Hadji, Benyaer stated, " eis one of the ...
as
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (sometimes also spelled Shaikh; also known by at least 50 pseudonyms; born March 1, 1964 or April 14, 1965) is a Pakistani Islamist militant held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp under terrorism-re ...
* Martin Brodie as
Mohamed Atta Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta ( ; ar, محمد محمد الأمير عوض السيد عطا ; September 1, 1968 – September 11, 2001) was an Egyptian hijacker and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks in 2001 in which f ...
, 9/11 leader piloted
American Airlines Flight 11 American Airlines Flight 11 was a domestic passenger flight that was hijacked by five al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001 as part of the September 11 attacks. Lead hijacker Mohamed Atta deliberately crashed the plane into the North Towe ...
after the hijacking * Nayef Rashed as Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda Leader *
Fulvio Cecere Fulvio Cecere (born March 11, 1960) is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. Early life Born in Canada, he moved to Hawthorne, New Jersey as a teenager and attended Hawthorne High School, graduating as part of the class of 1978. Cecere attended Sou ...
as Joe Dunne * Marie V. Cruz as Aida Fariscal *
David Zayas David Zayas (born August 15, 1962) is a Puerto Rican actor. He is best known for his roles as Angel Batista on Showtime's series ''Dexter'' and Enrique Morales on the HBO prison drama series '' Oz''. Early life Zayas was born in Ponce, Puer ...
as Lou Napoli * David Huband as Charley * Kevin Dunn as U.S. National Security Advisor
Sandy Berger Samuel Richard "Sandy" Berger (October 28, 1945 – December 2, 2015) was an attorney who served as the 18th US National Security Advisor for US President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001 after he had served as the Deputy National Security Adviso ...
*
Nabil Elouahabi Nabil Elouahabi (born 6 February 1975), often credited as Nabil Elouhabi, is a British- Moroccan actor, known for his role as Tariq Larousi in ''EastEnders'' from 2003 to 2005, as Rashid "Gary" Mahmoon in "Strangers on the Shore" (the 2002 Chris ...
as
Ramzi Yousef Ramzi Ahmed Yousef ( ur, , translit=''Ramzī Ahmad Yūsuf''; born 20 May 1967 or 27 April 1968) is a Pakistani convicted terrorist who was one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the bombing of Philippine Airlines ...
, World Trade Center Bomber *
Enis Esmer Ennis Esmer (born December 29, 1978) is a Turkish-Canadian actor, comedian, voice actor, writer, producer and presenter. He is best known for his roles as Osman 'Oz' Bey in ''The Listener'', Kurtis 'Maz' Mazhari in ''Private Eyes'', Nash in '' ...
as Mohammed Salameh * Moe Fawaz as
Majed Moqed Majed Mashaan Ghanem Moqed ( ar, ماجد مشعان موقد, ; also transliterated as Moqued) (June 18, 1977 – September 11, 2001) was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77 as part of the September 11 attacks. A Saudi, Moqed ...
*
Akin Gazi Akin Gazi (born 15 October 1981) is a British actor. Life and career Gazi was born in North London, in 1981, to Turkish Cypriot parents. He attended Queen Mary, University of London studying English and Drama graduating in 2003. He is married ...
as Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-Owhali *
Youssef Kerkour Youssef Kerkour is a Moroccan-British actor. He is best known for portraying Syrian refugee Sami in the comedy-drama series '' Home'', a role for which he was nominated at the 2020 British Academy Television Awards. Early life and education Ke ...
as
Mahmud Abouhalima Mahmud Abouhalima ( ar, محمود أبو حليمة) (born December 14, 1958) is a convicted perpetrator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Life Born to a mill foreman in Kafr Dawar, Egypt, Abouhalima spent his adolescence with the Al-Ga ...
* Sam Lupovich as
Khalid al-Mihdhar Khalid al-Mihdar ( ar, خالد المحضار, translit=Khālid al-Miḥḍār was a Saudi terrorist hijacker. He was one of the five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 atta ...
* David Michie as Nicholas Lanier, Composite
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
Middle East correspondent * Hani Noureldin as
Nawaf al-Hazmi ) , birth_place = Mecca, Saudi Arabia , death_date = , death_place = Arlington County, Virginia, U.S. , death_cause = Plane crash , nationality = Saudi Arabian , relatives = Salem al-Hazmi (brothe ...
*
Armando Riesco Armando Riesco (born December 5, 1977) is a Puerto Rican actor. Early life Riesco was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, to Cuban immigrants who resettled there. He was raised in San Juan where he attended Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola. He then ...
as John Atkinson *
Neil Crone Neil Crone (born May 29, 1960) is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer and motivational speaker. He is known for portraying Fred Tupper in ''Little Mosque on the Prairie'', Jerry Whitehall in '' Cube 2: Hypercube'' and the voices of Gordon, Diesel ...
as Dorsey * George R. Robertson as Vice President Dick Cheney *
Al Sapienza Al Sapienza is an American actor who has had numerous roles in television, stage and film productions. He is best known for his role as Mikey Palmice on the HBO series ''The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television ...
as Donald Sadowy *
Katy Selverstone Katy Selverstone (born February 4, 1966 in New York City) is an American actress. She is primarily known for her work on ''The Drew Carey Show'' as Lisa Robbins, Drew Carey's girlfriend in the first and second seasons. Life & career Selverstone ...
as Nancy Floyd *
Jean Yoon Jean Yoon (born May 4, 1962) is an American-born Canadian actress and writer of Korean descent. Yoon is best known for originating the role of family matriarch Umma in the 2011 play ''Kim's Convenience'' and in the award-winning CBC Television ...
as
Betty Ong Betty Ann Ong (; February 5, 1956 – September 11, 2001) was an American flight attendant aboard American Airlines Flight 11, the first airplane hijacked during the September 11 attacks. Ong was the first person to alert authorities to the hi ...
, Flight Attendant * Azdin Zaman as
Abdulaziz al-Omari Abdulaziz al-Omari ( ar, عبد العزيز العُمري, , also transliteration, transliterated as Alomari or al-Umari; May 28, 1979 – September 11, 2001) was a Saudi terrorist who was one of five Hijackers in the September 11 attacks, hija ...
* Gabe Fazio as J. P. O'Neill, son of John O'Neill *
Nicky Guadagni Nicky Guadagni (born August 1, 1952) is a Canadian actress who has worked on stage, radio, film and television. Life and career Originally from Montreal, Nicky Guadagni majored in drama at Dawson College and went on to train at the Royal Academ ...
as Mary Jo White *
Riz Ahmed Rizwan Ahmed (; ; born ) is a British actor and rapper. As an actor, he has won an Emmy Award and has received nominations for a Golden Globe and three British Independent Film Awards, and as a rapper he has won an Academy Award for the short ...
as Yosri * Moody el-Karaouni as
Waleed al-Shehri ) , birth_place = 'Asir Province, Saudi Arabia , death_date = , death_place = New York City, New York, U.S. , death_cause = Plane crash , nationality = Saudi Arabian , relatives = Wail al-Shehri ( ...
* Tareef Marrel as
Wail al-Shehri Wail Mohammed al-Shehri ( ar, وائل الشهري, ; also transliterated as Alshehri) (July 31, 1973 – September 11, 2001) was one of five terrorist hijackers of American Airlines Flight 11, which was flown into the North Tower of the World ...
* Noam Jenkins as
Marwan al-Shehhi Marwan Yousef Mohamed Rashid Lekrab al-Shehhi ( ar, مروان يوسف محمد رشيد لكراب الشحي, , also transliterated as Alshehhi; 9 May 1978 – 11 September 2001) was an Emirati al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist who served a ...
* Tarik Ben Ali as
Ziad Jarrah Ziad Samir Jarrah ( ar, زياد سمير جراح, '; May 11, 1975 – September 11, 2001) was a Lebanese terrorist and one of the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks. He was the hijacker-pilot of United Airlines Flight 93, crashing the pl ...


Broadcasting


United States

*Part 1: September 10, 2006, at 8:00 pm–10:45 pm (shortened from 11 pm) at EDT on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
*Part 2: September 11, 2006, at 8:00 pm–9:00 pm at EDT on ABC *Part 2 (continued): September 11, 2006, at 9:20 pm – 10:17 pm at EDT on ABC (After President Bush National Address) (See exception) ABC's broadcasts though originally planned to be shown "with limited commercial interruption" were aired with no commercials, since the network was unable to obtain sponsorship.War Room: Political News, Politics News - Salon
/ref> The broadcasts were also watched in Canada, where the network is available on cable and satellite as well as over-the-air in most border areas. Part 2 of the miniseries, also uninterrupted, aired in the
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
market on KGTV nearly a week later, on September 16, 2006, from 8:30pm–10:30 pm.


Australia

*Part 1: September 10, 2006, at 8:30 pm on Channel Seven *Part 2: September 11, 2006, at 9:30 pm on Channel Seven


Belgium

*Part 1: September 13, 2006, at 9:05 pm on VT4 *Part 2: September 20, 2006, at 9:05 pm on VT4 *Part 1: August 20, 2008, at 9:10 pm on RTL-TVI *Part 2: August 20, 2008, at 10:00 pm on RTL-TVI *Part 3: August 20, 2008, at 10:50 pm on RTL-TVI


Croatia

*Part 1: March 6, 2010, at 23:15 pm on Nova TV *Part 2: March 13, 2010, at 23:15 pm on Nova TV


Finland

*Part 1: November 11, 2007, on
MTV3 MTV3 ( fi, MTV Kolme, sv, MTV Tre) is a Finnish commercial television station. It had the biggest audience share of all Finnish TV channels until Yle TV1 (from Yle) took the lead. The letters MTV stand for Mainos-TV (literally "Advertisemen ...
*Part 2: November 18, 2007, on MTV3 *Part 3: November 25, 2007, on MTV3 *Part 4: December 2, 2007, on MTV3 *Part 5: December 9, 2007, on MTV3 In Finland the miniseries was shown in five parts as distinct from normal two.


India

*Part 1: September 10, 2006, at 9:00 pm on
Zee Studio Zee Studio was an Indian English-language television channel featuring Hollywood films. It was part of the wider Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Zee Network. History The channel was launched on 15 March 2000 as ''Zee Movies''. In October 20 ...
*Part 2: September 11, 2006, at 9:00 pm on Zee Studio


Italy

*Part 1 & 2: March 13, 2007, on
Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...


Japan

*Part 1 & 2: January 14, 2007, at 8:00 pm on Wowow *Synopsis: September 13, 2009, from 9:00 pm – 10:54 pm on
TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...


New Zealand

*Part 1: September 10, 2006, at 7:30 pm on TV One *Part 2: September 11, 2006, at 7:30 pm on TV One


Norway

*Part 1: January 3, 2008, on
TVNorge TVNorge (literally "TVNorway"; originally abbreviated TVN, now just abbreviated N in the logos) is a Norwegian television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA. History TVNorge went on the air on 5 December 1988 and was the first adver ...
*Part 2: January 4, 2008, on TVNorge *Part 1: September 12, 2008, on TVNorge


South Africa

*Part 1: September 11, 2007, on
M-Net M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
*Part 2: September 11, 2007, on M-Net


Spain

*Part 1: September 12, 2007, at 10.00 pm on Antena 3 *Part 2: September 12, 2007, at 12:00 pm on Antena 3


United Kingdom

*Part 1: September 10, 2006, at 8:00 pm on BBC2 *Part 2: September 11, 2006, at 8:30 pm on BBC2 BBC2's broadcasts were also watched in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, Belgium and the Netherlands, where the channel is available on
cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
.


See also

*''
9/11 Commission Report ''The 9/11 Commission Report'' (officially the ''Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States)'' is the official report into the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It was prepa ...
'' *'' I Missed Flight 93'' *''
Inside 9/11 ''Inside 9/11'' is a three-part television documentary film produced by Towers Productions that premiered on August 21 and August 22, 2005, on the National Geographic Channel. The program covers the September 11 attacks in 2001, the events that ...
'' *''
Special Bulletin ''Special Bulletin'' is a 1983 American made-for-television film. It was an early collaboration between director Edward Zwick and writer Marshall Herskovitz, a team that would later produce such series as ''thirtysomething'' and ''My So-Called ...
'' *''
The Day After ''The Day After'' is an American television film that first aired on November 20, 1983 on the ABC television network. More than 100 million people, in nearly 39 million households, watched the film during its initial broadcast. With ...
'' *''
The Reagans ''The Reagans'' is a 2003 American made-for-television biographical drama film about U.S. President Ronald Reagan and his family. The network CBS had planned to broadcast the film in November 2003 during fall " sweeps", but was ultimately broad ...
''


References


External links

*
9/11 Commission ReportBlocking "The Path to 9/11"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Path To 9 11, The American Broadcasting Company original programming 2000s American television miniseries Films based on the September 11 attacks Films shot in Hamilton, Ontario Films shot in Toronto Films set in Washington, D.C. Films set in Islamabad Films set in Manila Films set in Afghanistan Films set in Nairobi Films set in Washington (state) Films set in Aden Films set in Madrid Films set in 1993 Films set in 1994 Films set in 1995 Films set in 1996 Films set in 1997 Films set in 1998 Films set in 1999 Films set in 2000 Films based on non-fiction books Self-censorship