I'm back...

I was so busy at work the last two days, I almost missed Ryan's melt-down... thank GOD Liz reads the blog every day!

Although I did read it, I didn't get a chance to respond, until now... and much has gone under the bridge since then. So, without rehashing anything too much... I did want to make some small points:

If you go back and re-read what I originally posted, you'll see that I never said it was TOTALLY objective... only that it was the most objective piece you'd find from this point of view. I stated from the beginning that it might have a bias and an agenda... but the format it used to present its point was good, and it showed who was saying what, and when. I never used the images used to portray the players as an example of accuracy... I recognized it for what it was: dramitic license by the makers. Cheney himself used that same tool in his DoD press briefings back in '91, so why can't Frontline?

What I am going to defend is the statement that they didn't allow EVERYONE involved to give their point of view. Everyone, from Cheney to Tenant to Powell and Condi ALL had an opportunity to give interviews and state their view. Powell did, many of his associates at State did, L. Paul Bremer did, Petreaus did, McMaster did, Condi's #2 at the NSA Office did, and many of Tenant's subordinates did... but Rummy, Cheney, Rice, Tenant and Powell (who only gave a short, short interview) didn't give interviews. I assume it was because Bush is still in office... not because they have anything to hide. Simply for forms sake, you knew that the big-wigs weren't going to give interviews.

This wasn't a hodge-podge collection of dis-jointed clips and quotes, either. The timeline is clearly marked as to when each and every speech, comment or interview was given by each of the players. THAT is the damning evidence of mismanagement, not the black-and-white scowls shown to portray emotion in a bunch of near lifeless old men.

My point was alway that we can get through the "bias" just fine... we managed it quite nicely with programs like Fahrenheight 9/11, An Inconveient Truth, and any one of a dozen other films that ranged in bias from simply blaming 9/11 on Bush himself to complicity or disregard... it shouldn't matter. I trust that we ALL are cabale of find our way out of that kind of mess.

I did not front this show as evidence of a grand conspiracy to deceave the American people... I fronted this as evidence of mismanagement, failed policy, and a reluctance to work as a team to ensure that the best policy is pushed forward all the time. I still think it works, under that light.

Find me a documentary that clearly and rationally rebutts the points made in this Frontline piece and we can discuss that show at length as well... in the mean time, though, this is what we have.