A Clarification

By now you've heard about the rolling public relations disaster for ABC and Disney known as "The Path to 9/11", a two-night commercial-free "event" that purports to show anti-terrorist bungling by the Clinton Administration, but which is, in fact, a pack of lies.

Defenders of the film state that some incidents were "conflated" for dramatic effect, including the bit where Sandy Berger tells a CIA team to not kill Osama bin Laden. Now, "conflation" would imply that Sandy Berger received a series of phone calls from the CIA that went something like this:

Call 1:

CIA Operative:
"Sandy, this is Black Hawk. I have Osama bin Laden in my gunsight. Should I take him out?"

Sandy Berger:
"No."

Call 2:

CIA Operative:
"Sandy, this is Burning Eagle. Osama's standing right in front of me eating falafel. How about I make him choke to death on it?"

Sandy Berger:
"No."

Call 3:

CIA Operative:
"Sandy, this is Desert Rat. I'm taking a bath with Osama. How about I hold him under until he drowns?"

Sandy Berger:
"No"

Given all these phone calls, you'd be forgiven if, as a dramatic filmmaker, you chose to conflate all those phone calls into a single scene such as:

Call:

CIA Operative:
"Sandy, this is Mistral Wind. I've got Osama tied up and I'm holding a baseball bat. Should I hit him with it until he dies?"

Sandy Berger:
"No"

On the other hand, if none of these phone calls, or anything like them, ever happened, then you are not "conflating". You are, in fact, making shit up, and you are a liar.

And in case there's any confusion about who let Osama bin Laden slip through his fingers...