IT LOOKS LIKE ABC IS GOING TO CAVE

What drama!

ABC has a five-hour miniseries coming up titled "The Path to 9/11." The first episode airs this coming Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. This docu-drama is causing quite a stir in Washington ... and especially in the Clinton camp.

The problem, you see, is that in this movie the Clinton Administration is portrayed as treating Islamic terrorism as nothing more than a law enforcement problem. There is one scene in the move where Intelligence officials are discussing an attempt to kill or capture Osama bin Laden. The Clinton administration is refusing to authorize the action. Permission denied. The Clinton aide says that the problem is that Clinton views terrorism as largely a law enforcement problem. The intelligence official asks "How do you win a law and orderly war?" The aide responds "You don't."

You can sputter and spin all you want about President Bush and his handling of the war on Islamic fascism, you cannot deny that since 9/11 he has been dedicated to the cause of crushing Islamic terrorism over there before they bring it back over here. Sounds like a good plan to me.

Similarly -- there is no way in hell that any reasonable man can argue that the Clinton administration was dedicated to crushing Islamic terrorism. Clinton did indeed treat it like a law enforcement program. After the first Islamic terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 1993 Clinton did not even bother to visit New York City to view the damage, talk to survivors and the families of those who lost their lives, or meet with NYC officials and first responders.

And what of the attack on the U.S. Cole? This was an attack on a U.S. Navy warship. Clinton was the Commander in Chief. The response? At best, lob a few cruise missiles. That's it. Nothing more.

So ... now the battle is joined. ABC has this miniseries ready to run. The producers say that it's largely based on the findings of the 9/11 Commission report as well as interviews with the people involved. Apparently the miniseries shows Clinton to be relatively unconcerned about terrorism, and not dedicated to the cause of bringing in bin Laden.

Will the Democrat pressure work? My guess is that it will, at least in part. ABC is already issuing statements to the effect that "The editing process is not yet complete." The Los Angeles Times is reporting that changes were made in the program this week after the Clintonistas started howling. Specifically targeted, according to the Times, was the scene where Clinton National Security Adviser Sandy Berger declines to give an order to kill bin Laden.

By the way ... this really makes you wonder just what documents Sandy Berger stole from the National Archives, doesn't it?

Democrats sent a letter to Robert Iger, the President and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, the owner of ABC. That letter contained this interesting paragraph:

"The Communications Act of 1934 provides your network with a free broadcast license predicated on the fundamental understanding of your principle obligation to act as a trustee of the public airways in serving the public interest. Nowhere is this public interest obligation more apparent than in the duty of broadcasters to serve the civic needs of a democracy by promoting an open and accurate discussion of political ideas and events."

Now what is this paragraph really saying? Can you read between the lines? Here ... let me rewrite the paragraph by adding a few words. Perhaps it will be clearer to you.

"The Communications Act of 1934 provides your network with a free broadcast license predicated on the fundamental understanding of your principle obligation to act as a trustee of the public airways in serving the public interest. Nowhere is this public interest obligation more apparent than in the duty of broadcasters to serve the civic needs of a democracy by promoting an open and accurate discussion of political ideas and events. The licenses granted to the television stations you own and operate are not permanent. They are periodically subject to renewal. You may wish to remember this fact, and consider the probability that by the time those licenses come up for renewal the Democrats may be in control of both houses of Congress, and the wife of the man your miniseries defames may well be the President of the United States"

Get the message?