FAHRENHEIT 9/11, written and directed by Michael Moore

What you are allowed to think and what you do think are two different things, aren't they? That's another way of saying that this forum may be NSFW, if your boss is a Republican. A liberal won't fire you for it, but they'll laugh at you in the break room and you may not get promoted. Unless you're an engineer, of course, in which your obsession with facing reality is not actually a career-disabling disability.

FAHRENHEIT 9/11, written and directed by Michael Moore

Postby admin » Thu Sep 17, 2015 6:09 am

FAHRENHEIT 9/11 -- ILLUSTRATED SCREENPLAY
written, directed and produced by Michael Moore
© 2004 Westside Productions LLC

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Re: FAHRENHEIT 9/11 -- ILLUSTRATED SCREENPLAY

Postby admin » Thu Sep 17, 2015 6:11 am

Part 1 of 3

Screenplay:

[transcribed from the movie by Tara Carreon] 

[Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor] I believe the title was "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States."

[Larry King] What was the circumstance under which you met [Osama bin Laden]?

[Prince Bandar] This is ironic. He came to thank me for my efforts to bring the Americans, our friends, to help us against the atheists, the Communists. Isn't it ironic?

[Michael Moore] First, Bush tried to stop Congress from setting up its own 9/11 investigation.

[George Bush] It's important for us to not reveal how we collect information. That's what the enemy wants. And we're fighting an enemy.

[Reporter] Will you testify before the commission?

[George Bush] This commission? You know, I don't testify. You know, I'd be glad to visit with them.

[Rosemary Dillard, Widow of 9/11 victim] What it will do is, the hole that's in my heart, and has been in my heart since September 11th, I lost my husband of 15 years. I am now by myself. I need to know what happened to him. I know what I got back from the autopsy. That man was my life, and I have no plan. I was taking a class, and they asked me what was I gonna do in the next five years. And if I'm not doing something with this, I don't know what reason I have to live. So it's very important. Very important. Okay. Okay.

[Michael Moore] The lawyers the Saudi defense minister hired to fight the 9/11 families? The law firm of Bush family confidante, James A. Baker.

[George Bush] Terror is bigger than one person. And [Osama bin Laden’s] a person who's now been marginalized. So I don't know where he is. Nor [do I care]. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him, to be honest with you.

[George Bush] I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign policy matters with war on my mind.

[George Bush] No, I've always -- a dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier. There's no question about it.

[Bush’s Bulging Crotch]

[Donald Rumsfeld] You get told things every day that don't happen. It doesn't seem to bother people.

[Soldier] We have to, as you go back to the old saying, "Win the hearts and minds of the people." That's our job. We have to bring the ideal of democracy and freedom to the country, and show them that the American people are not here to rule Iraq.

[Soldier] You know, I feel that a part of your soul is destroyed in taking another life. Yeah, that statement is very true. You cannot kill someone without killing a part of yourself.

[George Bush] This is an impressive crowd. The haves, and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite. I call you my base.

[Blaine Ober, High Protection Company] Unfortunately, at least for the near term, we think it's gonna be a good situation, a dangerous situation. Good for business, bad for the people.

[George Bush] There's an old saying in Tennessee. I know it's in Texas -- probably in Tennessee -- that says, "Fool me once, shame on ... shame on you.... You fool me, but you can't get fooled again.


[FLORIDA VICTORY]

[Michael Moore] Was it all just a dream?

[Al Gore] God bless you, Florida! Thank you!

[Michael Moore] Did the last four years not really happen? Look, there's Ben Affleck. He's often in my dreams. And the Taxi Driver guy. He was there too. And little Stevie Wonder, he seemed so happy, like a miracle had taken place.
Was it a dream? Or was it real?

[Crowd] We want Gore!

[Michael Moore] It was election night 2000, and everything seemed to be going as planned.

[Newscaster] In New York, Al Gore is our projected winner.

[Newscaster] The Garden State is green for Gore.

[Newscaster] We project Mr. Gore the winner in Delaware.

[Newscaster] This state has voted with the winner.

[Dan Rather] Excuse me, one second. I'm so sorry to interrupt you. Mike, you know I wouldn't do this if it weren't big.
Florida goes for Al Gore.

[Newscaster] CNN announces that we call Florida in the Al Gore column.

[Michael Moore] Then something called the Fox News Channel called the election in favor of the other guy.

[Newscaster] May I interrupt you? Fox News now projects George W. Bush the winner in Florida ...
and thus it appears the winner of the presidency of the United States.

[Michael Moore] All of a sudden, the other networks said: "Hey, if Fox said it, it must be true."

[Newscaster] All of us at the networks made a mistake, and projected Florida in the Al Gore column. It was our mistake.

[Michael Moore] Now, what most people don't know is that the man in charge of the decision desk at Fox that night, the man who called it for Bush ...
was none other than Bush's first cousin, John Ellis.
How does someone like Bush get away with something like this?
Well, first, it helps if your brother is the governor of the state in question.

[George Bush] You know something? We are gonna win Florida. Mark my words.
You can write it down.

[Michael Moore] Second, make sure the chairman of your campaign is also the vote-count woman ...
and that her state has hired a company ...
that is going to knock voters off the rolls who aren't likely to vote for you.
You can usually tell 'em by the color of their skin.
Then make sure your side fights like it's life or death.

[James Baker] I think all this talk about legitimacy is way overblown.

[Crowd] President Bush! President Bush!

[Michael Moore] And hope that the other side will just sit by and wait for the phone to ring.
And even if numerous independent investigations prove that Gore got the most votes ...

[Newscaster] If there was a statewide recount, under every scenario, Gore won the election.

[Michael Moore] it won't matter, as long as all your daddy's friends ...
on the Supreme Court vote the right way.

[Al Gore] While I strongly disagree with the court's decision ...
I accept it.

[Senator Tom Daschle] What we need now is acceptance.
We have a new president-elect.

[Michael Moore] Huh! It turns out that none of this was a dream.
On the day the joint session of both the House of Representatives and the Senate was to certify the election results ...
Al Gore, in his dual role as outgoing vice president. and president of the Senate, presided over the event that would officially anoint George W. Bush as the new president.
If any congressman wanted to raise an objection, the rules insisted that he or she had to have the signed support of just one senator.

[Congressman Alcee L. Hastings] Mr. President -- and I take great pride in calling you that -- I must object because of the overwhelming evidence of misconduct, deliberate fraud and an attempt to suppress voter ...

[Al Gore, The Traitor] The chair must remind members that under Section 18 of Title 3, United States Code, no debate is allowed in the joint session.

[Congressman Alcee L. Hastings] Thank you, Mr. President. To answer your question, Mr. President, the objection is in writing, signed
by a number of members of the House of Representatives, but not by a member of the Senate.

[Congresswoman Corinne Brown] Mr. President, it is in writing and signed by several House colleagues on behalf, and myself, of the 27,000 voters of Duval County in which 16,000 of them are African-Americans that was disenfranchised in this last election.

[Al Gore, The Traitor] Is the objection signed by a member of the Senate?

[Congresswoman Corinne Brown] Not signed by a member of the Senate. The Senate is missing.

[Congresswoman Barbara Lee] Mr. President, it is in writing and signed by myself on behalf of many of the diverse constituents in our country, especially those in the 9th Congressional District, and all American voters who recognize that the Supreme Court, not the people of the United States, decided this election.

[Al Gore, The Traitor] Is the objection signed by a senator?

[Congresswoman Barbara Lee] Unfortunately, Mr. President, it is not signed by one single senator.

[Congresswoman] Unfortunately, I have no authority over the United States Senate, and no senator has signed.

[Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek] Mr. President, it is in writing and signed by myself and several of my constituents from Florida. A senator is needed, but missing.

[Al Gore, The Traitor] Is the objection in writing and signed by a member of the House and a senator?

[Congresswoman Maxine Waters] The objection is in writing, and I don't care that it is not signed by a member of the Senate.

[Al Gore, The Traitor] The chair will advise that the rules do care, and the signature of a senator ...

[Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson]

[Michael Moore] Not a single senator came to the aid of the African-Americans in Congress. One after another, they were told to sit down and shut up.

[Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney]

[Congresswoman Eva M. Clayton]

[Congressman Earl Hilliard] And it's a sad day in America, Mr. President, when we can't find a senator to sign the objections.

[Al Gore, The Traitor] The gentleman will suspend.

[Congressman Earl Hilliard] I object.

[Al Gore, The Traitor] The gentleman will suspend.

[Newscaster] Inauguration coverage, 2001 ...
on a nasty, but it could be worse, kind of day in Washington.

[Crowd] What do we want?
Justice!
When do we want it?
Now!

[Michael Moore] On the day George W. Bush was inaugurated, tens of thousands of Americans poured into the streets of D.C. ...

[LORD HELP US]
[HAIL TO THE THIEF]
[THIS IS WHAT FASCISM LOOKS LIKE]
[EMPEROR WITH NO CLOTHES]
[A SAD DAY]
[I KNOW YOU LOST GOVERNOR]


in one last attempt to reclaim what had been taken from them.

[BUSH CHEATED]
[I DISSENT]


[Michael Moore] They pelted Bush's limo with eggs ...

[Cops] Stay back! Get back!

[Michael Moore] and brought the inauguration parade to a halt. The plan to have Bush get out of the limo for the traditional walk to the White House was scrapped.
Bush's limo hit the gas to prevent an even larger riot.
No president had ever witnessed such a thing on his inauguration day.
And for the next eight months, it didn't get any better for George W. Bush.
He couldn't get his judges appointed, he had trouble getting his legislation passed ...

[BUSH & NORTON: OUR LAND, NOT OIL LAND!]

[Michael Moore] and he lost Republican control of the Senate.
His approval ratings in the polls began to sink.
He was already beginning to look like a lame-duck president.
With everything going wrong, he did what any of us would do.
He went on vacation.
In his first eight months in office before September 11th, George W. Bush was on vacation, according to The Washington Post, 42 percent of the time.

[George Bush] If I hit every shot good, people would say I wasn't working.

[Michael Moore] It was not surprising that Mr. Bush needed some time off. Being president is a lot of work.

[Newscaster (August 8, 2001)] What about these folks that say you're loafing here in Texas, that you're taking too long of a vacation?

[George Bush] They don't understand the definition of work, then. I'm getting a lot done. Secondly, you don't have to be in Washington to work. It's amazing what can happen with telephones and faxes.

[Newsperson] What are you doing the rest of the day?

[George Bush] Karen Hughes is coming over. We're working on some things. And she'll be over here. We're working on a few things, a few matters. I'm working on some initiatives.
You'll see. I mean, there'll be some decisions that I will have made while I'm here, and we'll be announcing them as time goes on.

[Michael Moore] The first time I met him, he had some good advice for me.
"Governor Bush, it's Michael Moore."

[George Bush] Behave yourself, will you? Go find real work.

[Michael Moore] And work was something he knew a lot about.

[George Bush] Anybody want some grits?

[Crowd] Yeah.

[Michael Moore] Relaxing at Camp David.
Yachting off Kennebunkport.

[George Bush] How you doing?

[Michael Moore] Or being a cowboy on the ranch in Texas.

[George Bush (August 25, 2001)] I love the nature. I love to get in the pickup truck with my dogs. "Oh, hi."

[Michael Moore] George Bush spent the rest of August at the ranch where life was less complicated.

[George Bush] Armadillos love to dig the soil looking for bugs. And so I went out there the other day, and there was Barney, buried in this hole, chasing an armadillo.

[Michael Moore] It was a summer to remember.
And when it was over, he left Texas for his second-favorite place.
On September 10th, he joined his brother in Florida ...
where they looked at files ...
and met important Floridians.
He went to sleep that night in a bed made with fine French linens.

[LIONS GATE FILMS AND IFC FILMS AND THE FELLOWSHIP ADVENTURE GROUP PRESENT]

[Donald Rumsfeld] Do you suppose he's pretty confident on those numbers on Iraqi security forces?

[A DOG EAT DOG FILMS PRODUCTION]

[FAHRENHEIT 9/11]

[MUSIC: JEFF GIBBS]

[ARCHIVAL PRODUCER: CARL DEAL]

[CAMERA: MIKE DESJARLAIS; SOUND: FRANCISCO LATORRE]

[EDITORS: KURT ENGFEHR, CHRISTOPHER SEWARD, T. WOODY RICHMAN]
[CO-PRODUCERS: JEFF GIBBS, KURT ENGFEHR]


[John Ashcroft] Make me look young.
Yeah, I've got a little, sort of air noise. Yeah, just don't turn it up too much. I don't want it to blow my head off.

[SUPERVISING PRODUCER: TIA LESSIN]

[EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: HARVEY WEINSTEIN, BOB WEINSTEIN, AGNES MENTRE]

[PRODUCERS: JIM CZARNECKI, KATHLEEN GLYNN]

[WRITTEN, PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY MICHAEL MOORE]


[Newscaster] We have something that has happened here at the World Trade Center. We noticed a flame and an awful lot of smoke.

[Man] This is horrible.

[Man] Shit!

[Man] Oh God, Almighty!

[Man] Let's go! Let's go! Come on! Let's go!

[Woman] Save their souls!

[Michael Moore] On September 11th, 2001, nearly 3000 people ...
including a colleague of mine, Bill Weems ...
were killed in the largest foreign attack ever on American soil. The targets were the financial and military headquarters of the United States.

[Woman] If anyone has any idea, or they've seen him or knows where he is, to call us. He's got two little babies, two little babies.

[Michael Moore] As the attack took place, Mr. Bush was on his way to an elementary school in Florida.
When informed of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center, where terrorists had struck just eight years prior, Mr. Bush decided to go ahead with his photo opportunity.

[Teacher] Good morning, boys and girls.

[Students] Good morning.

[Teacher] Read this word the fast way. Get ready.

[Students] "Mad"!

[Teacher] Yes, "mad." Get ready.

[Students] "Calf"!

[George Bush] Yeah!

[Teacher] Okay, get ready to read the words on this page without making a mistake.

[Michael Moore] When the second plane hit the tower, his chief of staff entered the classroom and told Mr. Bush, "The nation is under attack."
Not knowing what to do, with no one telling him what to do, and no Secret Service rushing in to take him to safety, Mr. Bush just sat there and continued to read My Pet Goat with the children.

[9:05 AM]

[9:07 AM]

[9:09 AM]


[Michael Moore] Nearly seven minutes passed with nobody doing anything.

[9:11 AM]

[9:12 AM]


[Michael Moore] As Bush sat in that Florida classroom, was he wondering if maybe he should have shown up to work more often?

RICH BRAND CONDENSED: Bush Brains. Vacuum Packed! “…they taste good!”
-- "Enlightened Cannibal Series," by Tara Carreon


Should he have held at least one meeting since taking office to discuss the threat of terrorism with his head of counterterrorism?
Or maybe Mr. Bush wondered why he had cut terrorism funding from the FBI.
Or perhaps he just should have read the security briefing that was given to him on August 6th, 2001, which said that Osama bin Laden was planning to attack America by hijacking airplanes.
But maybe he wasn't worried about the terrorist threat, because the title of the report was too vague.

[Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor] I believe the title was, "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States."

[Michael Moore] A report like that might make some men jump but, as in days past, George W. just went fishing. As the minutes went by, George Bush continued to sit in the classroom. Was he thinking, "I've been hanging out with the wrong crowd. Which one of them screwed me?
Was it the guy my daddy's friends delivered a lot of weapons to?

[1983: Donald Rumsfeld, Saddam Hussein]

[Michael Moore] Was it that group of religious fundamentalists who visited my state when I was governor?
Or was it the Saudis?
Damn, it was them. I think I better blame it on this guy."
In the days following September 11th all commercial and private airline traffic was grounded.

[Spokesman] The FAA has taken the action to close all of the airports in the United States.

[Newscaster] Even grounding the president's father, former President Bush on a flight forced to land in Milwaukee.

[Newscaster] Thousands of travelers were stranded, among them Ricky Martin due to appear at tonight's Latin Grammy Awards.

[Michael Moore] Not even Ricky Martin could fly.
But really, who wanted to fly?
No one, except the bin Ladens.

[Song: We gotta get out of this place if it's the last thing we ever do.]

[Senator Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota) Senate Subcommittee on Aviation] We had some airplanes authorized at the highest levels of our government to fly to pick up Osama bin Laden's family members and others from Saudi Arabia and transport them out of this country.

[Michael Moore] It turns out that the White House approved planes to pick up the bin Ladens and numerous other Saudis. At least six private jets, and nearly two dozen commercial planes, carried the Saudis and the bin Ladens out of the U.S. after September 13th. In all, 142 Saudis, including 24 members of the bin Laden family, were allowed to leave the country.

[Craig Unger, Author, House of Bush, House of Saud] Osama's always been portrayed as the bad apple, the black sheep in the family, and that they cut off all relationship with him in 1994. In fact, things are much more complicated than that.

[Michael Moore] You mean Osama has had contact with other family members?

[Craig Unger, Author, House of Bush, House of Saud] That's right. In the summer of 2001, just before 9/11, one of Osama's sons got married in Afghanistan, and several family members showed up at the wedding.

[Michael Moore] Bin Ladens?

[Craig Unger, Author, House of Bush, House of Saud] That's right. So they're not cut off completely. That's really an exaggeration.

[Larry King] We now welcome to Larry King Live -- good to see him again -- Prince Bandar, ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States.

[Prince Bandar] We had about 24 members of bin Laden's family, and --

[Larry King] Here?

[Prince Bandar] In America. Students and -- His Majesty felt it's not fair for those innocent people to be subjected to any harm. On the other hand, we understood the high emotions, so, with coordination with the FBI, we got them all out.

[Michael Moore] This is retired FBI agent Jack Cloonan. Before 9/11, he was a senior agent on the join FBI-CIA al Qaeda task force.

[Jack Cloonan] I, as an investigator, would not want these people to have left. I think, in the case of the bin Laden family, I think it would have been prudent to hand the subpoenas out, have them come in, get on-the-record. You know, get on the record.

[Michael Moore] That's the proper procedure?

[Jack Cloonan] Yeah. How many people were pulled off airlines after that coming into the country who were what? They were from the Middle East or they fit a very general picture.

[Michael Moore] We held hundreds of people for weeks and months at a time.

[Jack Cloonan] We held hundreds --

[Michael Moore] Did the authorities do anything when the bin Ladens tried to leave the country?

[Craig Unger, Author, House of Bush, House of Saud] No. They were identified at the airport. They looked at their passports and they were identified.

[Michael Moore] Well, that's what would happen to you or I if we left the country.

[Craig Unger, Author, House of Bush, House of Saud] Exactly. Exactly.

[Michael Moore] So, a little interview, check the passport. What else?

[Craig Unger, Author, House of Bush, House of Saud] Nothing.

[Dragnet music]

[Michael Moore] I don't know about you, but usually when the police can't find a murderer, don't they usually wanna talk to the family members to find out where they think he might be?

[[Dragnet Cop 1] You have no idea where your husband might be?

[Dragnet Cop 2] Well, if you hear anything, let us know, will you?

[Dragnet Cop 1] Are you willing to come downtown and give us a statement?

[Man] How long?

[Cop] You've got the time.

[Man] Mine's worth money. Yours isn't.

[Cop] Send in a bill.

[Man] I asked you a question.

[Cop] You're going to answer them, not ask them.

[Man] Now you listen to me, Cop. I pay your salary.

[Cop] Alright, now sit down. I'm gonna earn it.]


[Michael Moore] Yeah! That's how cops do it. What was going on here?

[Senator Byron Dorgan] I think we need to know a lot more about that. That needs to be the subject of a significant investigation. What happened? How did it happen? Why did it happen? And who authorized it?

[Jack Cloonan, Senior FBI agent (retired), Al Qaeda Task Force] Imagine what those poor bastards were feeling when they were jumping out of that building to their death. Those young guys and cops and firemen that ran into that building never asked a question. And they're dead. And families' lives are ruined. And they'll never have peace. And if I had to inconvenience a member of the bin Laden family with a subpoena or a grand jury, do you think I'd lose sleep over it? Not for a minute, Mike. No one would question it. It's right. Not even the biggest civil libertarian.

[Michael Moore] No one would question it --

[Jack Cloonan, Senior FBI agent (retired) Al Qaeda Task Force] You know, you got a lawyer? Fine. Counsel? Fine. Mr. bin Laden, this is why I'm asking you. It isn't because I think you're anything. I just want to ask you the questions that I would anybody. And that's all.

[Michael Moore] None of this made any sense.
Can you imagine in the days after the Oklahoma City terrorist bombing, President Clinton helped to arrange a trip out of the country for the VcVeigh family?
What do you think would have happened to Clinton if that had been revealed?

[Witchburners] Burn him! Burn him!

[Larry King] Prince Bandar, do you know the bin Laden family?

[Prince Bandar] I do, very well.

[Larry King] What are they like?

[Prince Bandar] They're really lovely human beings.
He is the only one I never, I don't know him well, but I met him only once.

[Larry King] What was the circumstance under which you met him?

[Prince Bandar] This is ironic.
He came to thank me for my efforts to bring the Americans, our friends, to help us against the atheists, the Communists. Isn't it ironic?

RICH BRAND CONDENSED: Stick It Where the Sun Don’t Shine (All Knuckles and Nails)
-- "Enlightened Cannibal Series," by Tara Carreon


[Larry King] He came to thank you for helping bring America to help him. And now he may be responsible for bombing America.

[Prince Bandar] Absolutely.

[Larry King] What did you make of him when you met him?

[Prince Bandar] I was not impressed too much, to be honest with you.

[Larry King] Not impressed?

[Prince Bandar] No. I thought he was a simple and very quiet guy.

[Michael Moore] Hmm. A simple and quiet guy, whose family just happened to have a business relationship with the family of George W. Bush. Is that what he was thinking about? Because if the public knew this, it wouldn't look very good. Was he thinking, "You know, I need a big, black marker"?
In early 2004, in a speech during the New Hampshire primary, I called George W. Bush a deserter from his time in the Texas Air National Guard.
In response, the White House released his military records in the hopes of disproving the charge.
What Bush didn't know is that I already had a copy of his military records, uncensored, obtained in the year 2000.
And there is one glaring difference between the records released in 2000, and those he released in 2004.
A name had been blacked out.
In 1972, two airmen were suspended for failing to take their medical examination.
One was George W. Bush ...
and the other was James R. Bath.
In 2000, the documents show both names.
But in 2004, Bush and the White House had Bath's name blacked out.
Why didn't Bush want the press and the public to see Bath's name on his military records? Perhaps he was worried that the American people would find out that at one time, James R. Bath, was the Texas money manager for the bin Ladens.

BUSH-LADENS
With the election of Jimmy Carter, in 1976, George H. W. Bush (the director of the CIA) would soon be out of a job. George H. W. Bush, immediately began scouring the country, and other nations, for financial and other support, as he intended to run for the presidency in 1980.
That same year (1976), CIA director Bush personally recruited James R. Bath into the CIA (21). According to Bath business associate Charles W. "Bill" White] "Bath told me that he was in the CIA. He told me he was recruited by George H. W. Bush himself in 1976."
James R. Bath, CIA operative, and friend of the Bush family, "was named a trustee for Sheik Salem bin Laden of Saudi Arabia. Bath's job was to handle all of bin Laden's North American investments and operations" (22).
James Bath also had the good fortune to become the representative of yet another rich and influential Saudi family, that of Khalid bin Mahfouz, the brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden (23).
Investing in the family of a man who might soon be president, made good business sense to the bin Ladens and other Saudis, and James R. Bath, invested $50,000 in the younger Bush's first company, Arbusto Energy, even though it was nearly bankrupt with no hope of making a buck (23,24). These and other funds were provided by the bin Ladens and the Mahfouz families. Indeed, "most of Bath's investments were really fronts for Mahfouz and other Saudis connected with the Bank of Credit and Commerce (BCCI)" (24) as well as the bin Ladens (22).
James R. Bath was well connected to and trusted by the Bush family, having served not only as a CIA-operative, but in the Texas Air National Guard with George W. Bush (23). This friendship was apparently maintained during those periods when George W. was constantly drunk, snorting cocaine, as well as AWOL from his unit (25).
Over the next two decades the Bush family would continue to sell themselves to the Saudis and bin Ladens. Indeed, once he became vice-president and then President, an assortment of Saudi terrorists, crooks, gangsters and murderers eagerly lined up to buy influence and to invest in the Bush family during the 1980s and beyond (21-25,26).
For example, Bin Laden brother-in-law, Sheik Mahfouz, the NCB banker for Saudi billionaire financier Abdullah Bakhsh (and David Edwards -- a close friend of Bill Clinton who was also representing Bakhsh's U.S. interests), arranged for Bakhsh to purchase 17% of another Bush company, Harken Energy, in 1987 (26). Harken was struggling with debt, and like Arbusto before it, was in danger of going bankrupt.
Bush, in a deal that has been described as classic, illegal, "insider trading," dumped most of his stock before it tanked (27). Bush, and his Harken Energy company were desperately in need of cash, and the Saudis stepped up to the plate and pitched him $25 million (26).
Talet Othman, a Palestinian representative of Bakhsh was also given a seat on Harken's board of directors whose members included George W. Bush -- the son of vice president, soon to be President George H. W. Bush.
It was soon thereafter that George W. Bush's nearly bankrupt Harken Energy, was given a drilling contract with Bahrain. Money began pouring in (25,26)
The Saudis bought not only board membership, but a seat at President George H. W. Bush's White House foreign policy table (23,26). In exchange for bailing out his son, George H. W. Bush also sold these men the right to help determine U.S. foreign policy.
In 1990, Othman, acting as a representative of Mahfouz, Bakhsh, and the Saudi royal family, along with 15 other Saudis, began attending White House meetings with President George H. W. Bush and National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, to discuss not only Middle East policy, but Iraq (23,25). Three of these meetings took place during the period just before and after Iraq invaded Kuwait.
-- America Betrayed, by Rhawn Joseph, Ph.D.


Bush and Bath had become good friends when they both served in the Texas Air National Guard.
After they were discharged, when Bush's dad was head of the CIA ...
Bath opened up his own aviation business after selling a plane to a man by the name of ...
Salem bin Laden ...
heir to the second-largest fortune in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Binladin Group.

[James Moore, Investigative Reporter and author] W. at that time was just starting off in the world as a businessman. Because he's a guy who's always tried to emulate his father, he decided to go into the oil business. He founded an oil company, a drilling company, out in west Texas, called Arbusto, which was very very good at drilling dry holes that nothing came out of. But the question has always been, "Where did this money come from?" Now, his dad was rich. His dad could have done this for him, but his dad didn't do this for him. There's no indication that Daddy wrote a check to start him off in his company.

[Michael Moore] So where did George W. Bush get his money?

[George Bush] I'm George Bush.

[Michael Moore] One person who did invest in him was James R. Bath. Bush's good friend, James Bath was hired by the bin Laden family to manage their money in Texas, and invest in businesses. And James Bath himself, in turn, invested in George W. Bush. Bush ran Arbusto into the ground, as he did every other company he was involved in, until finally one of his companies was bought by Harken Energy, and they gave him a seat on their board.

[TRUST AGREEMENT
8th July, 1976
I, Salem M. Binladen, do hereby vest unto James Reynolds Bath, 2330 Bellefontaine, Houston, Texas, full and absolute authority to act on my behalf in all matters relating to the business and operation of Binladen-Houston offices in Houston, Texas, located at 1405 and 1109 Fannin Bank Bldg., Houston, Texas 72030.
James Reynolds Bath shall have full authority to disburse funds for Company, or Binladen family expenses, and shall have discretion to disburse funds for all other expenses related to the Binladen-Houston office, or the Binladen family, or any other purpose as directed by Salem M. Binladen.
Salem M. Binladen]


[James Moore, Investigative Reporter and author] A lot of us suspected through the years that there has been Saudi oil money involved in all of these companies] Harken, Spectrum 7, Arbusto Drilling, all of the Bush companies. Whenever they got into trouble, there were these angel investors who flowed money into the companies.

[Craig Unger, Author, House of Bush, House of Saud] So the question is, why would Saudis, who had all the oil in the world, go around the globe to invest in this lousy oil company? And the thing is, Harken had one big asset. Harken had one big thing going for it, which is that George W. Bush was on its board of directors at a time when his father was president of the United States.

[George Bush (August 1992)] When you're the president's son, and you've got unlimited access, combined with some credentials from a prior campaign, in Washington, D.C., people tend to respect that. I mean, access is power. And I can find my dad and talk to him any time of the day.

[Michael Moore] Yes, it helps to be the president's son, especially when you're being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

[Newscaster] In 1990, when Mr. Bush was a director of Harken Energy, he received this memo from company lawyers warning directors not to sell stock if they had unfavorable information about the company.
One week later, he sold $848,000 worth of Harken stock. Two months later, Harken announced losses of more than $23 million.

[Michael Moore] The James Baker law partner who helped Bush beat the rap from the SEC, was a man by the name of Robert Jordan who, when George W. became president, was appointed ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
After the Harken debacle, the friends of Bush's dad got him a seat on another board, of a company owned by the Carlyle Group.

[Dan Briody, Author, The Halliburton Agenda] We wanted to look at which companies actually gained from September 11th.
It turned up this company Carlyle Group, a multinational conglomerate that invests in heavily government-regulated industries like telecommunications, health care and particularly, defense.
Both George W. Bush and George H. W. Bush worked for the Carlyle Group, the same company that counted the bin Laden family among its investors.
The Carlyle Group was holding its annual investor conference on the morning of September 11th in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington D.C.
At that meeting were all of the Carlyle regulars:
James Baker, likely John Major ...
definitely George H.W. Bush -- though he left the morning of September 11th --
Shafiq bin Laden, who is Osama bin Laden's half brother, and was in town to look after his family's investments in the Carlyle Group.
All of them together in one room, watching as the planes hit the towers. And in fact, the bin Laden family was invested in one of their defense funds, which ironically meant that as the United States started increasing its defense spending, the bin Laden family stood to gain from those investments through the Carlyle Group.

[UDI Spokesman] Our commander in chief, President George W. Bush.

[Michael Moore] With all the weapons companies it owned, the Carlyle Group was, in essence, the 11th largest defense contractor in the United States.

[George Bush] Thanks a lot.

[Michael Moore] It owned United Defense, makers of the Bradley armored fighting vehicle.

-- Crusader, by United Defense


September 11th guaranteed that United Defense was going to have a very good year. Just six weeks after 9/11, Carlyle filed to take United Defense public, and in December made a one-day profit of $237 million.
But sadly, with so much attention focused on the bin Laden family being important Carlyle investors, the bin Ladens eventually had to withdraw.
Bush's dad, though, stayed on as senior adviser to Carlyle's Asia board for another two years.

[Dan Briody, Author, The Halliburton Agenda] As unseemly as it seems to know that George H. W. Bush was meeting with the bin Laden family while Osama was a wanted terrorist well before September 11th, it's very discomforting for Americans to know that.
George H.W. Bush is a man who has, obviously, incredible reach into the White House. He receives daily CIA briefings, which is the right of any ex-president, but very few ex-presidents actually exercise that right. He does.
And I think, in a very real way, they are benefiting from the confusion that arises when George H. W. Bush visits Saudi Arabia on behalf of Carlyle, and meets with the royal family, and meets with the bin Laden family.
Is he representing the United States of America?
Or is he representing an investment firm in the United States?
Or is he representing both?

[Elder Bush in Big G.O.P. Cast Toiling for Top Equity Firm]

[Former President George Bush met with King Fahd, right, on a trip to Saudi Arabia last year as part of his work for the Carlyle Group.]

[Dan Briody, Author, The Halliburton Agenda] This company is about money, not conspiracies to run the world or engineer political maneuvering, and things like that. It's about making money. And it's about making a lot of money. And they've done very well.

[Helen Thomas, White House Correspondent] I could get you on-the-record on this question. In the White House view, there is no ethical conflict in former President Bush and former Secretary of State Jim Baker using their contacts with world leaders to represent one of the most well-known military arms dealers, the Carlyle Group?

[Whitehouse Spokesman] The president has full faith that his family will conform with all proper ethics laws, and will act properly in their conduct.

[Michael Moore] Okay, let's say one group of people, like the American people, pay you $400,000 a year to be president of the United States.
But then another group of people invest in you, your friends, and their related businesses, $1.4 billion over a number of years.
Who are you gonna like? Who's your daddy?
Because that's how much the Saudi royals and their associates have given the Bush family, their friends, and their related businesses in the past three decades.

[George H. W. Bush] Seems like a very nice reunion with friends.

[Song: Shiny happy people holding hands.
Shiny happy people laughing
Everyone around, love them, love them
Put it in your hands
Take it, take it.
There's no time to cry.
Happy, happy.
Put it in your heart.
Where tomorrow shines.
Gold and silver shine.]


[Michael Moore] Sooner or later, this special relationship with a regime that Amnesty International condemns as a widespread human-rights violator, would come back to haunt the Bushes.
Now, after 9/11, it was an embarrassment. And they preferred that no one ask any questions.

[Carol Ashley, mother of 9/11 victim] The investigation should have begun on September 12th. There's no reason it shouldn't have. Three thousand people were dead, it was murder, and it should've gotten started immediately.

[THE WASHINGTON POST: Bush Seeks to Restrict Hill Probes of Sept. 11]

[Michael Moore] First, Bush tried to stop Congress from setting up its own 9/11 investigation.

[George Bush] It's important for us to not reveal how we collect information. That's what the enemy wants.
And we're fighting an enemy.

[Michael Moore] When he couldn't stop Congress, he then tried to stop an independent 9/11 commission from being formed.

[Newscaster] The president's position was a break from history. Independent investigations were launched within days after Pearl Harbor and President Kennedy's assassination.

[Michael Moore] But when Congress did complete its own investigation, the Bush White House censored 28 pages of the report.

[Newscaster] The president is being pressed by all sides to declassify the report. U.S. officials tell NBC News most of the secret sources involve Saudi Arabia.

[George Bush] We've given extraordinary cooperation with Chairmen Kean and Hamilton.

[Thomas H. Kean, Chairman 9/11 Commission] We haven't gotten the materials we needed, and we certainly haven't gotten them in a timely fashion. And the deadlines we'd set have passed.

[Reporter] Will you testify before the commission?

[George Bush] This commission? You know, I don't testify. You know, I'd be glad to visit with them.

[Rosemary Dillard, Widow of 9/11 victim] What it will do is, the hole that's in my heart, and has been in my heart since September 11th, I lost my husband of 15 years. I am now by myself. I need to know what happened to him. I know what I got back from the autopsy.
That man was my life, and I have no plan. I was taking a class, and they asked me what was I gonna do in the next five years. And if I'm not doing something with this, I don't know what reason I have to live. So it's very important. Very important. Okay. Okay.

[Michael Moore] Ignored by the Bush administration, more than 500 relatives of 9/11 victims filed suit against Saudi royals and others.

[DID U.S. $$ USED TO BUY SAUDI OIL HELP FUND CARL'S MURDER ??]

[9/11 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism]

[Michael Moore] The lawyers the Saudi defense minister hired to fight the 9/11 families? The law firm of Bush family confidante, James A. Baker.
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Re: FAHRENHEIT 9/11 -- ILLUSTRATED SCREENPLAY

Postby admin » Thu Sep 17, 2015 6:12 am

Part 2 of 3

[Michael Moore] So we're right here in the center of three important American landmarks --
the Watergate Hotel and office building ...
the Kennedy Center over there ...
and the embassy of Saudi Arabia. How much money do the Saudis have invested in America, roughly?

[Craig Unger, Author, House of Bush, House of Saud] I've heard figures as high as $860 billion.

[Michael Moore] Eight hundred and sixty billion?

[Craig Unger, Author, House of Bush, House of Saud] Billion.

[Michael Moore] That's a lot of money.

[Craig Unger, Author, House of Bush, House of Saud] A lot, yeah.

[Michael Moore] And what percentage of our economy does that represent? I mean, it seems like a lot.

[Craig Unger, Author, House of Bush, House of Saud] Well, in terms of investments on Wall Street in American equities, it's roughly 6 or 7 percent of America. They own a fairly good slice of America. And most of that money goes into the great blue-chip companies] Citigroup, Citibank, the largest stockholder is a Saudi. AOL-Time Warner has big Saudi investors.

[Michael Moore] So I read where, like, the Saudis have a trillion dollars in our banks of their money. What would happen if like one day they pulled that trillion dollars out?

[Craig Unger, Author, House of Bush, House of Saud] A trillion dollars? That would be an enormous blow to the economy.

[Steve Kimball, Secret Service] Can I speak to you for a moment, please, sir?

[Michael Moore] Yeah, sure. How are you doing?

[Steve Kimball, Secret Service] Steve Kimball with the Secret Service. We're just ascertaining information. Are you doing a documentary on the Saudi Arabian Embassy?

[Michael Moore] No. I am doing a documentary, and part of it is about Saudi Arabia.

[Michael Moore] Even though we were nowhere near the White House, for some reason the Secret Service had shown up to ask us what we were doing standing across the street from the Saudi Embassy.

[Michael Moore] We're not here to cause any trouble.

[Steve Kimball, Secret Service] Okay.

[Michael Moore] You know, is that --

[Steve Kimball, Secret Service] No, that's fine. We just wanted to get some information as far as what was actually going on.

[Michael Moore] What's going on -- yeah, yeah, yeah. I didn't realize the Secret Service guards foreign embassies.

[Steve Kimball, Secret Service] Not usually, no, sir.

[Michael Moore] No. Do they give you any trouble? The Saudis?

[Steve Kimball, Secret Service] No comment on that.

[Michael Moore] Okay, I'll take that as a yes.

[Steve Kimball, Secret Service] Good. Thank you very much.

[Michael Moore] It turns out that Saudi Prince Bandar is perhaps the best-protected ambassador in the U.S.
The U.S. State Department provides him with a six-man security detail.
Considering how he and his family and the Saudi elite own 7 percent of America, it's probably not a bad idea.
Prince Bandar was so close to the Bushes they considered him a member of the family. They even had a nickname for him: Bandar Bush.
Two nights after September 11th, George Bush invited Bandar Bush over to the White House for a private dinner and a talk.
Even though bin Laden was a Saudi, and Saudi money had funded al Qaeda ...
and 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis ...
here was the Saudi ambassador casually dining with the president on September 13th.
What were they talking about?
Were they commiserating or comparing notes?
Why would Bandar's government block American investigators from talking to the relatives of the 15 hijackers?

[U.S. is reluctant to upset flawed, fragile Saudi ties: Riyadh has not yet fully joined the international effort to block bank accounts -- Houston Chronicle, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2001]

[Michael Moore] Why would Saudi Arabia become reluctant to freeze the hijackers' assets?
The two of them walked out on the Truman Balcony ...
so that Bandar could smoke a cigar and have a drink.
In the distance, across the Potomac, was the Pentagon, partially in ruins. I wonder if Mr. Bush told Prince Bandar not to worry because he already had a plan in motion.

[Newscaster] You came in September 12th ready to plot our response to al Qaeda. Let me talk about the response that you got from top administration officials. On that day, what did the president say to you?

[Richard Clarke] The president, in a very intimidating way, left us, me and my staff, with the clear indication that he wanted us to come back with the word that there was an Iraqi hand behind 9/11.
Because they had been planning to do something about Iraq from before the time they came into office.

[Newscaster] Did he ask about any other nations other than Iraq?

[Richard Clarke] No, no, no, not at all. It was, "Iraq, Saddam, find out, get back to me."

[Newscaster] And were his questions more about Iraq than about al Qaeda?

[Richard Clarke] Absolutely. He didn't ask me about al Qaeda.

[Newscaster] And the reaction you got from the defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld ...
and from his assistant, Paul Wolfowitz?

[Richard Clarke] Well, Donald Rumsfeld said, when we talked about bombing the al Qaeda infrastructure in Afghanistan, he said, "There are no good targets in Afghanistan. Let's bomb Iraq." And we said, "But Iraq had nothing to do with this." And that didn't seem to make much difference. And the reason they had to do Afghanistan first was, it was obvious that al Qaeda had attacked us. And it was obvious that al Qaeda was in Afghanistan. The American people wouldn't stand by if we had done nothing on Afghanistan.

[Afghanistan, Starring
George W. Bush
Donald Rumsfeld
Dick Cheney
Tony Blair]


[Michael Moore] The United States began bombing Afghanistan just four weeks after 9/11.
Mr. Bush said he was doing so because the Taliban government of Afghanistan had been harboring bin Laden.

[George Bush] We will smoke them out of their holes.
We're gonna smoke 'em out.
Smoke 'em out.
Smoke him out of his cave.

[Actor] Let's rush 'em and smoke 'em out!

[Michael Moore] For all his tough talk, Bush really didn't do much.

[Richard Clarke] But what they did was slow and small.
They put only 11,000 troops into Afghanistan. There are more police here in Manhattan. More police here in Manhattan than there are U.S. Troops in Afghanistan. Basically, the president botched the response to 9/11, and should have gone right after bin Laden. Our U.S. Special Forces didn't get into the area where bin Laden was for two months.

[Michael Moore] Two months?
A mass murderer who attacked the United States was given a two-month head start? Who in their right mind would do that?

[George Bush] Dang!
Anybody say "nice shot"?

[Man] Nice shot.

[Man] Hell of a shot.

[Michael Moore] Or was the war in Afghanistan really about something else?
Perhaps the answer was in Houston, Texas.
In 1997, while George W. Bush was governor of Texas ...
a delegation of Taliban leaders from Afghanistan flew to Houston ...
to meet with Unocal executives ...
to discuss the building of a pipeline ...
through Afghanistan, bringing natural gas from the Caspian Sea.
And who got a Caspian Sea drilling contract the same day Unocal signed the pipeline deal?
A company headed by a man named Dick Cheney.
Halliburton.

[Martha Brill Olcott, Unocal Project Consultant] From the point of view of the U.S. Government, this was kind of a magic pipeline, because it could serve so many purposes.

[Michael Moore] And who else stood to benefit from the pipeline?
Bush's number-one campaign contributor, Kenneth Lay ...
and the good people of Enron.
Only the British press covered this trip.

[Wednesday, 3 December, 1997: Taleban to Texas for Pipeline Talks]

Then in 2001, just five and a half months before 9/11 ...

[Sayed Rahmatullah Hashimi, Taliban Minister]

[Michael Moore] the Bush administration welcomed a special Taliban envoy to tour the United States to help improve the image of the Taliban government.

[Protesting Woman] You have imprisoned the women. It's a horror, let me tell you.

[Sayed Rahmatullah Hashimi, Taliban Minister] I am really sorry to your husband. He must have a difficult time with you.

[Michael Moore (March 19, 2001)] Here is the Taliban official visiting our State Department to meet with U.S. Officials. Why would the Bush administration allow a Taliban leader to visit the United States ...
knowing that the Taliban were harboring the man ...
who bombed the U.S.S. Cole ...
Well, I guess 9/11 put a stop to that.
When the invasion of Afghanistan was complete, we installed its new president, Hamid Karzai. Who was Hamid Karzai?
He was a former adviser to Unocal.
Bush also appointed, as our envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad ...
who was also a former Unocal adviser.
I guess you can probably see where this is leading.

[Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Gas Pipeline Summit]

[Michael Moore] Faster than you can say, "Black gold, Texas tea" ...
Afghanistan signed an agreement with her neighboring countries to build a pipeline through Afghanistan ...
carrying natural gas from the Caspian Sea.
Oh, and the Taliban?
Oh, they mostly got away.
As did Osama bin Laden and most of al Qaeda.

[George Bush] Terror is bigger than one person. And he's a person who's now been marginalized. So I don't know where he is. Nor [do I care]. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him, to be honest with you.

[Michael Moore] Didn't spend much time on him? What kind of president was he?

[George Bush] I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign policy matters ...
with war on my mind.

[Michael Moore] With the war in Afghanistan over, and bin Laden forgotten, the war president had a new target:
The American people.

[Newscaster] We've got an unusual terror warning from the feds to tell you about. Fox News has obtained an FBI bulletin that warns terrorists could use pen guns, just like in James Bond, filled with poison as weapons.

[Newscaster] Good evening, everyone. America is on high alert tonight, just four days before Christmas.
A possible terror threat.

[Newscaster] As bad as or worse than 9/11.

[Newscaster] But where? How? There's nothing specific to report.

[Newscaster] Be on the lookout for model airplanes packed with explosives.

[SCREAM!]

[Newscaster] The FBI is warning ferries may be considered particularly at risk for hijacking.

[SCREAM!]

[Newscaster] Could these cattle be a target for terrorists?

[Michael Moore] Fear works.

[Congressman Jim McDermott (D-Washington), Psychiatrist and Member of Congress] Fear does work, yes. You can make people do anything if they're afraid.

[Michael Moore] And how do you make them afraid?

[Congressman Jim McDermott] Well, you make them afraid by creating an aura of endless threat.
They played us like an organ. They raised the orange, and up to red ...
then they dropped it back to orange.
I mean, they gave these mixed messages, which were crazy-making.

[George Bush] The world is changed after September the 11th. It's changed because we're no longer safe.

[George Bush] Fly and enjoy America's great destination spots.

[Donald Rumsfeld] We have entered what may very well prove to be the most dangerous security environment the world's known.

[George Bush] Take your families and enjoy life.

[Dick Cheney] Terrorists are doing everything they can to gain even deadlier means of striking us.

[George Bush] Go down to Disney World in Florida.

[Congressman Jim McDermott] It's like training a dog. You tell him sit down or you tell him to roll over at the same time, the dog doesn't know what to do. Well, the American people were being treated like that. It was really very, very skillful and ugly what they did.

[George Bush] We must stop the terror. I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. Thank you. Now watch this drive.
All right. Give me another one.

[Congressman Jim McDermott] They will continue, in my view, as long as this administration is in charge, of every once in a while stimulating everybody to be afraid. Just in case you forgot.
It's not gonna go down to green or blue. It's never gonna get there. There clearly is no way that anyone can live constantly on edge like that.

[Promotional Video, Zytech Engineering] The harsh reality facing American families today is that they're not as safe as they used to be. Drug dealers and users looking for their next fix. Gangs who roam the streets in search of their next victim. And the growing threat of terrorists means the need for protection is ever greater.
And now that protection is here. Zytech Engineering, LLC has developed and tested ...
a safe room, finally affordable to the average American citizen.
The kind of protection formerly obtainable only by the wealthy or powerful.

[Zytech Spokesman] Heck, you can be sitting in here, drinking your finest Bordeaux and enjoying life ...
while chaos is erupting outside.

[Zytech Spokesman] Every family in America should prepare itself for a terrorist attack.


[Newscaster] Now to escaping from a skyscraper. John Rivers is the CEO of the Executive Chute Corporation. Good morning to you, John.

[John Rivers] Good morning, Matt.

[Newscaster] Tell me about the product you're bringing to the market.

[John Rivers] It's an emergency escape chute. It's an option of last resort.

[Newscaster] How high do you have to be in the building for that chute to actually take effect?

[John Rivers] You only have to be on the 10th floor or above.

[Newscaster] They can put this on themselves?

[John Rivers] Right. They can put this on themselves in as easy as about 30 seconds.
It's real easy to put on. Here.

[Jamie] Sorry.

[John Rivers] That's okay.
Real easy to put on, but when you first get this chute, you're gonna wanna put it on and try it on a few times yourself.

[Newscaster] Jamie's having a little trouble putting that thing on, I want to mention. I mean, is this something that you honestly think, in a moment of panic, that someone can operate properly?

[John Rivers] Oh, yeah. Yeah, it is.
This is actually -- Jamie's probably never put this thing on before in her life. So, it's okay. Don't worry about it. It's something that, when you get it, you're gonna wanna put it on several times.

[Newscaster] Despite the raising of the terror alert level, residents here in Saginaw are continuing with their Christmas errands.
Frances Stroik and her family do some last-minute holiday shopping knowing that al Qaeda is planning to attack America. She says being in Saginaw doesn't make her feel any safer than if she was in New York City.

[Frances Stroik] Midland is close by, and I said, "Detroit's not that far away." I said, "That could be something, and Flint could be something, be concerns for people around here."

[Mel Stroik] Well, you never know where they're gonna hit. You never know where they're gonna hit.

[Newscaster] But one potential target specifically mentioned by the terrorists has security officials baffled.
It's tiny Tappahannock, Virginia ...
population, 2016.
Such an attack could generate widespread fear that even here in rural, small-town America ...

no one is entirely safe.

[Roy Gladding, Mayor] On the 6]00 news there was something about a terrorist alert in Tappahannock.
[Michael Moore] What did the FBI tell you?

[Stanley Clarke, County Sheriff] Well, they contacted me by phone. Basically let me know about this word Tappahannock. That's how it started.

[Roy Gladding, Mayor]
And their so-called chatter that they pick up, they wasn't sure Tappahannock.
There's a Rappahannock County.
There's the Rappahannock River.

[Woman] There is a Rappahannock, a place called Rappahannock. And they got it mixed up.

[Man] This is Tappahannock, not Rappahannock.

[Michael Moore] Is there any target around here?

[Roy Gladding, Mayor] Not that we can really think of.

[Stanley Clarke, County Sheriff] It can happen anywhere.

[Roy Gladding, Mayor] We have a Wal-Mart here.

[Woman] We have a big spaghetti supper in here.

[Man] Wal-Mart, probably.

[Michael Moore] Do you feel extra suspicious of outsiders?

[Man] Oh, everybody does that. That's just something that happens.

[CIA Agent] When I look at certain people, I wonder, "Oh, my goodness. Do you think they could be a terrorist?"

[Man] You never know what's gonna happen.

[Man] That's right. You never know what's gonna happen.

[Man] You never know what's gonna happen. It could happen right now.

[Man] Never trust nobody you don't know. And even if you do know them, you really can't trust them then.

[Michael Moore] From Tappahannock ...
to Rappahannock ...
to every town and village in America ...
the people were afraid.
And they turned to their leader to protect them.
But protect them from what?

["Let the Eagle Soar", Words and Music by John Ashcroft
John Ashcroft: Let the eagle soar
Like she’s never soared before
From rocky coast to golden shore
Let the mighty eagle soar]




[Michael Moore] Meet John Ashcroft.
In 2000, he was running for re-election as senator for Missouri ...
against a man who died the month before the election.
The voters preferred the dead guy.
So George W. Bush made him his attorney general. He was sworn in on a stack of Bibles. Because when you can't beat a dead guy, you need all the help you can get.
During the summer before 9/11 Ashcroft told acting FBI director, Thomas Pickard, that he didn't want to hear anything more about terrorist threats.

[Senator] Mr. Watson had come to you and said that the CIA was very concerned that there would be an attack. You said that you told the attorney general this fact repeatedly in these meetings. Is that correct?

[Thomas Pickard, Acting FBI Director, Summer 2001] I've told him at least on two occasions.

[Senator] And you told the staff, according to this statement, that Mr. Ashcroft told you that he did not want to hear about this anymore. Is that correct?

[Thomas Pickard, Acting FBI Director, Summer 2001] That is correct.

[Title: Zakaria Mustapha Soubra;
IT-OTHER [DELETE]
Synopsis: UBL [DELETE] supporters attending civil aviation universities/colleges in the State of Arizona.
Full Field Investigation Instituted] 04/17/2000 )NONUSPER)
Details: (S) [The purpose of this communication is to advise the Bureau and New York of the possibility of a coordinated effort by USAMA BIN LADEN (UBL) to send students to the United States to attend civil aviation universities and colleges. Phoenix has observed an inordinate number of individuals of investigative interest who are attending or who have attended civil aviation universities and colleges in the State of Arizona. The inordinate number of these individuals attending these type of schools and fatwas [DELETE]]


[Michael Moore] His own FBI knew that summer there were al Qaeda members in the U.S. And that bin Laden was sending his agents to flight schools around the country.
But Ashcroft's Justice Department turned a blind eye and a deaf ear.
But after 9/11, John Ashcroft had some brilliant ideas for how to protect America.

[Newscaster] The U.S.A. Patriot Act, adopted by Congress ...
and signed by Bush six weeks after the attacks ...
has changed the way the government does business.

The U.S.A. Patriot Act allows for searches of medical and financial records, computer and telephone conversations, and even for the books that you take out of the library. But most of the people we spoke to say they're willing to give up some liberties to fight terrorism.

[Man] Maybe that's a good thing.

[Ignorant Girl-Child] It's definitely sad, but it has to be done.

[Michael Moore] Yes, something needed to be done. These are the good people who make up Peace Fresno.
A community group in Fresno, California. Unlike the rest of us, they received an early lesson in what the Patriot Act is all about.
Each week, they meet to discuss matters of peace.
They sit around, they share stories, they eat cookies.
Some have more than one.
This is Aaron Stokes, a member of Peace Fresno.
The other members liked him.

[Woman] He had come to the meetings. He went with us. We'd go out on Friday nights and stand on a very busy corner in Fresno. And he had gone with us, he had handed out fliers.
He went with us in June to a WTO protest.

[Michael Moore] Then one day, Aaron didn't show up to the meeting.

[Woman] My friend Dan and I were reading the Sunday newspaper ...
and when I picked up the paper, in the local section, Aaron's picture caught my eye.
The article said that a sheriff's deputy had been killed. And I saw it had a name that wasn't the right name, that said that he was a member of the sheriff's antiterrorism unit.

[Michael Moore] That's right. The photo of the man in the newspaper was not the Aaron Stokes they had come to know. He was actually Deputy Aaron Kilner, and he had infiltrated their group.

[Woman] Sheriff Pierce made it very clear that, yes, in fact, Aaron Kilner was assigned to infiltrate Peace Fresno, that he was able to infiltrate organizations that are open to the public.

[Michael Moore] You could understand why the police needed to spy on a group like Peace Fresno.
Just look at them.
A gathering of terrorists if I ever saw one.
This is Barry Reingold, a retired phone worker from Oakland, California.
Barry likes to work out in the gym. Somewhere between his cardio and his strength training, Barry got political.

[Barry Reingold] We were up in the gym, and it was after we were working out, and a number of us were talking about 9/11 and Afghanistan and bin Laden, and someone said, "Bin Laden's a real asshole for murdering those people." And I said, "Yeah, that's true. But he'll never be as big an asshole as Bush who bombs all over the world for oil profits."

[Michael Moore] Barry didn't have to worry about the police spying on him. His fellow weightlifters were more than willing to turn him in.

[Barry Reingold] I was taking a nap, and I guess it was 1]30, 2]00 in the afternoon. And they came to my place, and I said, "Well, who's there?" And they said, "The FBI." I said, "The FBI? I mean, why are they here?"

[Michael Moore] Yes, the FBI had come to see Barry. And they weren't there to Jazzercise.

[Barry Reingold] The FBI said, "Have you been talking to people about 9/11 and bin Laden and oil profits and Afghanistan?" I said, "A lot of people are talking about these things." I feel my rights have been, you know, trampled on. I mean, if you have something to say to me in the gym, well, then, fine. Don't tell the FBI, and they come to my apartment while I'm taking a nap.

[Congressman Porter Goss (R-Florida), Chair, House Intelligence Committee] There's nothing to be ashamed of here. There's full transparency. There's nothing about the Patriot Act that I am ashamed of in any way, shape or form. I have a 1-800 number. Call me.

[Not really true. But, here's his private office line] (202) 225-2536.]

[Congressman Porter Goss (R-Florida), Chair, House Intelligence Committee] I'm the guy you call if there's a violation or an abuse. If you've got a poster child on this, I wanna see it. That's what I do. I'm hired by the people of the United States to provide oversight. I provide oversight.

[Congressman Jim McDermott (D-Washington)] Trent Lott said, the day the bill was introduced: "Maybe now we can do things we've wanted to do for the last 10 years."

[George Bush] No, I've always -- a dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier. There's no question about it.

[Congressman Jim McDermott (D-Washington)] I mean, they had all this on the shelf somewhere. Ideas of things they would like to do.
And they got 9/11, and they said, "It's our chance. Go for it."

[Congressman John Conyers (D-Michigan), House Judiciary Committee] There was an immediate assumption on the part of the administration that there had to be a surrender of certain of our rights.

[Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin), House Judiciary Committee] There's several definitions in the bill that are quite troubling. First of all, the definition of terrorist. And it's so expansive that it could include people who --

[Michael Moore] Like me.

[Congressman Jim McDermott (D-Washington)] No one read it. That's the whole point. They wait till the middle of the night, they drop it in the middle of the night, it's printed in the middle of the night. And the next morning when we come in, it passes.

[Michael Moore] How could Congress pass this Patriot Act without even reading it?

[Congressman John Conyers (D-Michigan), House Judiciary Committee] Sit down, my son. We don't read most of the bills. Do you really know what that would entail if we were to read every bill that we passed?
Well, the good thing, it would slow down the legislative process.

[Michael Moore] I couldn't believe that virtually no member of Congress had read the Patriot Act before voting on it. So I decided the only patriotic thing to do was for me to read it to them.
"Members of Congress, this is Michael Moore.
I would like to read to you the U.S.A. Patriot Act.
Section 1: ... Section 210 of this code reads as follows ...
Section 2703C ..."

[George Bush] My job is to secure the homeland, and that's exactly what we're gonna do. But I'm here to take somebody's order. That would be you, Stretch. What would you like?

[Stretch] Right behind you.

[George Bush] I'm gonna order some ribs.

[Michael Moore] We all know you can't secure the homeland on an empty stomach. And in order to remain secure, everyone needs to sacrifice. Especially little Patrick Hamilton. I'm sure each of us has our own airport-security horror story. But here's my favorite. The terrorist threat that was posed by his mommy's breast milk.

[Mrs. Hamilton] I thought, well, if I put just a little bit on my lips, then, that would be sufficient, because obviously I'm tasting it. And she looked at me, and I felt like she was telling me, "You need to chug that." She goes, "No, you need to drink more." And of a 4-ounce bottle, I wound up drinking 2 more ounces of breast milk that then, because it's touched my lips, has to be tossed.

[Michael Moore] While homeland security was making sure breast milk was kept off our planes ...
they were also doing everything possible to ensure no one could light a firebomb onboard.

[Woman] I can bring that on the plane?

[Security Person] Actually, you can, yes, you're fine. Oops -- one too many books of matches. You can have four books of matches and two lighters.

[Senator Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), Senate Subcommittee on Aviation] When we already have the experience of Richard Reid, the shoe-bomber, who would have blown up an airplane with his shoe bomb had he had a butane lighter, according to the FBI, why would the Transportation Security Agency say it's okay to take four books of matches and two butane lighters in your pockets as you board an airplane?
I'm guessing that somebody put pressure on them ...

[Somebody]

[Senator Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), Senate Subcommittee on Aviation] to say, "You know, when an airplane lands, people wanna light up pretty quickly, so don't take their lighters away."

[Michael Moore] Okay, let me see if I got this straight. Old guys in the gym, bad.
Peace groups in Fresno, bad.
Breast milk, really bad.
But matches and lighters on the plane? Hey, no problem. Was this really about our safety? Or was something else going on?

[Michael Moore] This is where the Pacific Ocean ...
meets the shores of Oregon. Over 100 miles of beautiful, open coastline on our border. And, thanks to the budget cutbacks, the total number of state police protecting it] one. Part-time. Meet Trooper Brooks.

[Trooper Brooks] I maybe get a chance to hit this stretch of highway once, maybe twice a week during my shifts. You know, just to even drive up here and look. You know, I mean, as far as I know, somebody -- there's lots of things they could do. I don't even wanna suspect, because it just makes me ill inside.

[Michael Moore] Back at the state trooper patrol office, thanks to the budget cuts, Trooper Kenyon had to come in on his day off to catch up on some paperwork.

[Trooper Kenyon] For the most part, especially during the summer time, when people show up here, this is exactly what they get. They close the door. They can read the sign about the office closure. And it just basically explains that due to our cutbacks that our office is not open for administrative business.
And there's a little sign down at the bottom that explains when the office is closed, that they can use the phone booth to get in touch with our dispatch. Ironically enough, that phone is a piece of junk. It doesn't work very well, so half the time they pick up the phone and dispatch gets a bunch of static, and they don't hear anything.
For Tuesday, there'll be no troop on patrol. Wednesday, there'll be no troop on patrol. Thursday, there'll be no troop on patrol. You get calls all the time. People will call in a suspicious vehicle, or somebody looking suspicious. And I don't hardly ever respond to that anymore. I just don't have the time to do it. One time I asked, "How many people do we have in the State of Oregon on duty tonight?" And we had eight troopers on for the entire state of Oregon, working. I think Oregon is a prime example that homeland security is not as secure as I think what people would like to believe.

[Trooper Brooks] Nobody's sent me any manual that says, "Here's how you catch a terrorist." You know, and if I had that manual, I'd read it. But I don't. So ... yeah.

[Michael Moore] Of course, the Bush administration didn't hand out a manual on how to deal with the terrorist threat, because the terrorist threat wasn't what this was all about. They just wanted us to be fearful enough so that we'd get behind what their real plan was.

[Intercom] Four minutes.

[George Bush] Right from the top.

[Man] All right.

[March 19, 2003, 10:11 PM]

[George Bush] How much time?

[Woman] Three minutes.

[Man] Okay, folks.

[Woman] Thirty seconds.

[Man] Stand by.

[Man] Fifteen seconds.

[Woman] Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

[George Bush] My fellow citizens ...

[Baghdad, March 2003]

[George Bush] At this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq ...
to free its people, and to defend the world from grave danger.
On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war.

[Michael Moore] On March 19th, 2003, George W. Bush and the United States military invaded the sovereign nation of Iraq. A nation that had never attacked the United States. A nation that had never threatened to attack the United States. A nation that had never murdered a single American citizen.

[Iraqi Man] What's this baby's crime? Was he going to fight the soldiers? Cowards! I went out with a bat and asked the soldier to hit me. I swear on the Koran. Those who don't fear death don't die.

[Iraqi Man] We're going to find this, I think this piece of my neighbor. Young girl, age 20. I think it's the other part of her body. That's all.

[Sadistic American Soldier] There is a lot of innocent civilians that were killed. And I think that is because the U.S. Army you know, we came in, and we knew it wasn't gonna be easy.
And we pretty much at first shot anything that moved.

[Sadistic American Soldier] When war happens and the fighting starts, you know, it's kind of like we're pumped up, motivated, ready to go.

[Sadistic American Soldier] It's the ultimate rush. Because you know you're going into the fight to begin with, and then you got a good song playing in the background. And that gets you real fired up. Ready to do the job.

[Sadistic American Soldier] You can hook your CD player up to the tank's internal communications system. So that way when you put your helmet on you can hear it through the helmet.

[Sadistic American Soldier] This is the one, when we travel and we kill the enemy.
Drowning Pool, "Let the bodies hit the floor," is just fitting for the job that we're doing.

[Sadistic American Soldier] We picked "The Roof is on Fire" because basically it symbolized Baghdad being on fire. And at the time we wanted it to burn to get Saddam and his regime out.

[Soldier Singing: The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire
We don't need no water
Let the motherfucker burn
Burn, motherfucker, burn!]

[Bloodhound Gang Singing: We don't need no water, let the motherfucker burn
burn, motherfucker
burn.]


[American Soldier] This is a whole, totally different picture here being pushed into the city.
Urban warfare in a tank, you know.
Civilians, the civilians -- you don't know who's friendly, who's the enemy.

[American Soldier] This was a lot more real and true than just a video game. A lot of people thought it was just going to be, "Ah, yeah, look through the sight and shoot." No. A lot of this is face to face.
Especially riding by after some of the bombs have went off, and seeing all the people on the side of the road bloated up. And all the smells around you, I mean from the people lying dead, rotted. It's a lot more gruesome than you think.

[American Soldier] We called in with some artillery and some napalm, and things like that.
Some innocent women and children got hit.
We met them on the road.
And they had little girls with noses blown off. And, like, husbands carrying their dead wives, and things like that.
That was extremely difficult to deal with 'cause you're like, "Shoot. What the hell do we do now?"

[Donald Rumsfeld] The targeting capabilities ...
and the care that goes into targeting ...
is as impressive as anything anyone could see.

[Sadistic American Soldier] Got him.

[Sadistic American Soldier] Good. Second one. Get the other one.

[Donald Rumsfeld] The care that goes into it, the humanity that goes into it.

[Iraqi Woman] They have no conscience! They know nothing! They slaughtered us! They destroyed our houses! God will destroy their houses! God is great! God destroy their houses! Victory to Iraq!

[Reporter] You mean they killed civilians?

[Iraqi Woman] Yes, civilians! It's our uncle's house! We're all civilians. There is no militia here. I pray to God to avenge us! I can only count on you God! We've had five funerals because of the bombings.
Oh God! Oh God! God save us from them! Where are you God? Where are you?

[Diana the Huntress, aka Britney Spears] Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes, and we should just support that. You know?
And be faithful in what happens.

[Reporter] Do you trust this president?

[Lying Britney Spears, Saying What She Has to Say To Not Lose Her Children] Yes, I do.

[Michael Moore] Britney Spears was not alone. The majority of the American people trusted the president. And why shouldn't they? He had spent the better part of the last year giving them every reason why we should invade Iraq.

[George Bush] Saddam Hussein has gone to elaborate lengths, spent enormous sums, taken great risks, to build and keep weapons of mass destruction.

[Colin Powell] Saddam Hussein is determined to get his hands on a nuclear bomb.

[George Bush] Nuclear weapon.
Nuclear weapon.
Nuclear weapon.

[Colin Powell] Active chemical munitions bunkers. Mobile production facilities.

[George Bush] We know he's got chemical weapons.
He's got 'em.
He's got 'em.
He's got 'em.

[Michael Moore] Huh, that's weird. Because that's not what Bush's people said when he first took office.

[Colin Powell, February 2001] He has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbors.

[Condoleezza Rice, July 2001] We are able to keep arms from him. His military forces have not been rebuilt.

[George Bush] Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of al Qaeda.

[Dick Cheney] There was a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda.

[George Bush] Saddam.
Al Qaeda.
Saddam.
Al Qaeda.
Saddam.
The al Qaeda.
Saddam.
Saddam.
Saddam.
Al Qaeda.

[Donald Rumsfeld] It is only a matter of time before terrorist states, armed with weapons of mass destruction, develop the capability to deliver those weapons to U.S. Cities.

[Colin Powell] What we're giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence.

[George Bush] He's a man who hates America.
This is a man who cannot stand what we stand for.
There's willingness ...
to terrorize ...
himself.
He hates the fact, like al Qaeda does, that we love freedom.
After all, this is a guy that tried to kill my dad at one time.

[Congressman Jim McDermott (D-Washington), House Ways and Means Committee] They simply got people to believe that there was a real threat out there, when in fact there wasn't one.

[Donald Rumsfeld] You get told things every day that don't happen. It doesn't seem to bother people.

[Michael Moore] Of course, the Democrats were there to put a stop to all these falsehoods.

[Senator Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota), Senate Democratic Leader] I will vote to give the president the authority he needs.

[Colin Powell] The United States is prepared to lead the coalition of the willing. That will do it.

[George Bush] When I say we will lead a coalition of the willing to disarm him if he chooses not to disarm, I mean it.

[Reporter] Who's in that coalition of the willing?

[George Bush] You will find out who's in the coalition of the willing.

[THE COALITION OF THE WILLING ROLL CALL.
The Republic of Palau.
The Republic of Costa Rica.
The Republic of Iceland.]


[Michael Moore] Of course, none of these countries has an army, or for that matter, weapons. So it looked like we'd be doing most of the invading stuff ourselves.
Then there was also:

[Romania.
The Kingdom of Morocco.]


[Michael Moore] Morocco wasn't officially a member of the coalition, but according to one report ...
they did offer to send 2000 monkeys to help detonate land mines.

[George Bush] These are men of vision.

[The Netherlands.]

[George Bush] And I'm proud to call them allies.

[Afghanistan.]

[Michael Moore] Afghanistan? Oh, yeah. They had an army.
Our army! I guess that's one way to build a coalition. Just keep invading countries.
Yes, with our mighty coalition intact, we were ready.

[Donald Rumsfeld] One could almost say it's the mother of all coalitions.

[Michael Moore] Fortunately, we have an independent media in this country who would tell us the truth.

[Newscaster] They are rallying around the president, around the flag, and around the troops clearly has begun.

[Sadistic American Soldier] And we're gonna win!

[Newscaster] You really have to be with the troops to understand that kind of adrenaline rush that they get.

[Newscaster] I just want you to know, I think Navy Seals rock.

[Reporter] The pictures you're seeing are absolutely phenomenal.

[Dan Rather] When my country's at war, I want my country to win.

[Newscaster] Iraqi opposition has faded in the face of American power.

[Reporter] What you're watching here is truly historic television and journalism.

[Reporter] It was absolutely electrifying. They actually had to strap me in with my camera at the back of the plane.

[Reporter] An awesome, synchronized killing machine.

[Dan Rather] There is an inherent bias in the coverage of the American press in general.

[Newscaster] Am I slanted and biased? You damn well bet I am.
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Re: FAHRENHEIT 9/11 -- ILLUSTRATED SCREENPLAY

Postby admin » Thu Sep 17, 2015 6:12 am

Part 3 of 3

[Michael Moore] But one story the media wasn't covering ...
was the personal story of each and every soldier who was killed in the war.
The government would not allow any cameras to show the coffins coming home.
That kind of story is a downer ...
especially when you're getting ready for a party on a boat.

[Song: Look at what's happened to me
I can't believe it myself
Suddenly I'm up
on top of the world
It should have been
somebody else.
Believe it or not
I'm walking on air.
I never thought I could feel
so free.
Flying away on a wing
and a prayer.
Who could believe?
Believe it or not
it's just me."]


[George Bush] My fellow Americans, major combat operations in Iraq have ended.
In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.

[Soldier] Get out of the way!

[Soldier] Get out of the way!

[Soldier] Move! Move! Move! Move!

[WOUNDED SCREAM IN AGONY]

[Newscaster] 162, the number of troops killed by hostile fire.

[Newscaster] 244 U.S. Troops.

[Newscaster] 384 U.S. Troops have lost their lives.

[Newscaster] Total killed, 484.

[Newscaster] Died in the line of duty, 500.

[Newscaster] 631 American troops.

[Newscaster] More than 825 troops have been killed in Iraq.

[Newscaster] The largest number of American military deaths since Vietnam.

[George Bush] There are some who feel like that if they attack us, that we may decide to leave prematurely. They don't understand what they're talking about, if that's the case. Let me finish. There are some who feel like that, you know, the conditions are such that they can attack us there.
My answer is, bring them on.

[Soldier] The United States was planning on walking through here like it was gonna be easy and all. But it's not that easy to conquer a country, is it? Huh!

[Dan Rather] The renewed battle for control of Iraq raged for a fourth day today with street clashes in nearly every corner of the country.
Iraq could become "another Vietnam."

[Newscaster] Officials say they see evidence that Sunni and Shiite extremists might be joining forces.

[George Bush] They're not happy they're occupied. I wouldn't be happy if I were occupied either.

[Song: Come on, party people!
Throw your hands in the air.
Come on, party people.
Throw your hands in the air.]


[Newscaster] Two Japanese aid workers and a journalist, kidnapped by men calling themselves the Mujahideen Squadrons. They threatened to burn the hostages alive if Japan does not withdraw its troops from Iraq within three days.

[Newscaster] What's happened?

[Thomas Hamill, Halliburton Fuel Tanker Driver] They attacked our convoy.

[Newscaster] You wanna give us your name?

[Thomas Hamil] Hamill, Thomas.

[Newscaster] The Pentagon might keep up to 24,000 troops in combat beyond their tour.

[Soldier] I know our numbers in the military have gone down.
You know, they talk about retention.

[Soldier] You know, I never really expected to be deployed this long. I don't think anybody did.

[Soldier] I don't have any clue as to why we're still in Iraq.

[Soldier] If Donald Rumsfeld was here, I'd ask him for his resignation.

[Michael Moore] With the war not going as planned, and the military in need of many more troops, where would they find the new recruits?

[Newscaster] Military experts say three times the 120,000 U.S. troops now deployed would be needed to pacify and rebuild the country.

[Michael Moore] They would find them all across America ...
in the places that had been destroyed by the economy. Places where one of the only jobs available was to join the Army.
Places like my hometown of Flint, Michigan.

[Boy] And I was watching TV one day, and they showed some of the areas that had been hit by bombs, and things like that. And while watching, I got to thinking, like, there's parts of Flint that look like that. And we ain't been in a war.

[Kids] Exactly!

[Man] Look at the neighborhood I live in. Most of them are abandoned. I mean, you know, that's not right. You wanna talk about terrorism?
Come right here, President Bush, right here. Come right here. He knows about this corner. I e-mailed him.

[Lila Lipscomb, Executive Assistant, Career Alliance] At the end of January of '04, the unemployment rate in Flint was actually 17 percent.
But you have to take into consideration as well that when your unemployment runs out you're no longer counted.
I would say that we're probably close to at least 50 percent not working or underemployed. Because being underemployed is just as dangerous.
So my family has gone through the welfare system when it was Job Central. In the mid-'80s I came through the job training partnership program here at Job Central. And I went to a secretary school. Years later, I'm executive assistant to the president of the agency.
Interesting.
My mother used to tell me all the time that, "Why do you always go for the underdog?" It was because the underdog is who needed me. People that don't have anything, that's who I have to fight for. And that's who I have fought for my entire life.
I started taking my children, and telling my children] "The military is a good option. I can't afford to have you go to college. I cannot pay your way. Financial aid will not help you." So I, as a mother, started teaching my children about the options that the military could do. They would take them around the world. They would see all the things that I, as a mother, could not let them see. It would pay for their education that I, as their mother and their father, could not pay for.

[Michael Moore] The military is a good option for kids in Flint?

[Lila Lipscomb, Executive Assistant, Career Alliance] The military is an excellent option for the people in the city of Flint.

[Michael Moore] How many of you have a friend or a family member in the service?
Anybody currently serving overseas?

[Boy] A brother of mine.

[Boy] My cousin.

[Boy] Yeah, cousin.

[Michael Moore] Where's your brother?

[Boy] Iraq.

[Boy] Germany.

[Boy] My cousin got shipped off to Iraq, like, three days ago.

[Boy] Dang.

[Boy] There's, like, an Army or Navy recruiter, or Marines recruiter, up there almost every week in the lunchroom recruiting students at the lunchroom.

[NATIONAL GUARD: YOU CAN
There are people
with a calling
A time like no other
Most serve one weekend
a month
and two weeks a year
LET'S ROLL
Earning money for college
The will to succeed
Protecting their community
The strength from within
In the Army National Guard
YOU CAN
1-800-GO-GUARD, http://WWW.1-800-GO-GUARD.COM]


[Boy] I'm going into the Air Force, myself. I'm gonna take a year off probably after high school. And then just go and make a career. I wanna be an aircraft maintenance technician.

[Boy] I ran into a recruiter, and there was something I noticed about it. And this is kind of on another issue. I noticed it was odd. It was more like he was hiring me for a job than recruiting me for the Army. It was the way he approached me and he approached a friend of mine. I was in Borders Books and Music. He just came up like he was handing us a business card. He had business cards made for the Army and everything.

[Michael Moore] Meet Marine Staff Sergeant Dale Kortman and Sergeant Raymond Plouhar. They are two of the many recruiters assigned to Flint, Michigan. They're very busy these days.

[Dale Kortman] Look-it, he's running away already.

[Raymond Plouhar] He's seen us coming.

[Dale Kortman] Yeah.

[Raymond Plouhar] What have we got here?

[Dale Kortman] Uh-huh.

[Raymond Plouhar] We don't need no gangster.

[Dale Kortman] Yeah.

[Raymond Plouhar] We're heading over to the Courtland Mall right now.

[Michael Moore] They decided not to go to the wealthier Genesee Valley Mall in the suburbs. They have a hard time recruiting young people there. Instead, they went to the other mall.

[Raymond Plouhar] Let's go in through Mervyn's.

[Dale Kortman] In through Mervyn's.

[Raymond Plouhar] And then we'll walk straight down ...

[Dale Kortman] straight down ...

[Raymond Plouhar] straight back and then go down ...

[Raymond Plouhar] Gents, you know we're looking at you, right? You guys ever think about joining up?

[Boy] I thought about going to college and playing basketball.

[Raymond Plouhar] You any good?

[Boy] Oh, yeah. Especially basketball.

[Raymond Plouhar] Good. You can play ball for the Marine Corps, as well. You know, travel around the world, get on the Marine Corps basketball team. David Robinson was in the military, as well.

[Boy] Oh, was he?

[Raymond Plouhar] So yeah, you can definitely hook it up.

[Dale Kortman] Right now there's somebody out there who wants to be a Marine but has no idea how to do it.

[Raymond Plouhar] Where do you work at?

[Boy] I work at KFC.

[Raymond Plouhar] Sweet. You can hook us up with some deals.

[Boy] Yes.

[Dale Kortman] They're waiting to get recruited.

[Boy] I don't know, I'm probably going to try to get a little career in music or something.

[Raymond Plouhar] Career in music? Maybe we can get you a career in music. You know, let the Marines go for it.
I'm sure you know who Shaggy is, right?

[Boy] Yeah.

[Raymond Plouhar] You know anything about him?

[Boy] Yeah, he's the Jamaican singer.

[Raymond Plouhar] Yeah? How about a former Marine?

[Boy] Oh.

[Raymond Plouhar] Did you know it? You definitely need to know discipline if you're gonna get into music.

[Boy] Yeah, I understand.

[Raymond Plouhar] Especially discipline with the money. If you make a million, you need to manage that money.
So come into the office, we can sit down and talk, show you everything we know about the Marines. Sound like a plan?

[Dale Kortman] What you got going on later on this afternoon? How about tomorrow? Say at around 10]00 Monday morning?

[Boy] That sounds pretty good.

[Dale Kortman] Okay. You want me to come pick you up?

[Dale Kortman] It's better to get them when they're in ones and twos ...

[Raymond Plouhar] Hey, pal! How are you?

[Dale Kortman] and work on them that way.

[Raymond Plouhar] Ladies, you ready to join up?

[Raymond Plouhar] Green hat right behind us. Looks young. He's young.

[Dale Kortman] Yeah.

[Raymond Plouhar] We got two over here ...

[Dale Kortman] Yeah.

[Raymond Plouhar] Right over by the red van.

[Dale Kortman] Yeah.

[Raymond Plouhar] You go that way, I go this way, we corner them.

-- Dale Kortman and Raymond Plouhar -- "We Don't Need No Gangster"


[Raymond Plouhar] You're in the ninth grade?

[Boy] Yes, sir.

[Raymond Plouhar] Man, you look older than ninth grade. All right, here's my card.

[Dale Kortman] You ever thought about being a Marine, man?

[Boy] Um, yeah, I've thought about it. I've got a wife and kid now. So.

[Dale Kortman] Okay.

[Raymond Plouhar] Even more reason to join up.

[Raymond Plouhar] What I want to do, man, real quick, is just get some information from you so I can scratch you off my list saying I've already talked to you, and, you know, you're not interested. Is that cool?

[Boy] Uh.

[Raymond Plouhar] Alright. What's your name? What's your phone number? What's your address?

[Raymond Plouhar] Add another one to the list.

[Boy] However, you know, one would love to have that chance to experience college life. You know, stuff young people can do without having the risk of dying in the process, I guess I can say candidly.

[Iraq, Christmas Eve]

[Soldier] The holidays do add a little bit more friction, as opposed to just another night, in the fact we wanna give our guys a little bit time off, a little bit time to relax. However, we are in a combat zone, and my soldiers do recognize that fact.

[Soldier] Everybody's a little bit nervous about it, I guess. But ...

[Soldier] We're professionals. We're gonna take care of you. I promise.

[Soldier] Every house here has the right to have weapons. Maximum -- excuse me -- one AK-47. We always expect the targets to be armed.

[Soldier with gun] Rock 'n' roll.

[Soldier] These are fucking bolt cutters. This goddamn thing will pry doors open. Pop this in there ...

[Frank Sinatra singing: You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town, gather 'round.
He's making a list
He's checking it twice, he's going to find out who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town.
He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows when you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake. You better watch out]


[SOLDIERS CRASH IN THE DOOR]

[Soldier] Hey, Adele, just hold up.

[Soldier] No, no, no, no, no. Where's she going?

[Woman] I'll go with her.

[Soldier] Where's she going?

[Woman] She's gonna call him.

[Soldier] She's gonna call him? No, no, no, no, no.
Where is he at right now? Not on the phone. Not on the phone. Is he in the house? Is he in the house?

[Soldier] Passerelli! Passerelli!

[Soldier] He is in the house? Where?

[Soldier] This is him?

[Soldier] Get up there, second floor, second floor!

[Soldier] Watch out, watch out, watch out. Go, go, go! Watch out, Adele, watch out, watch out.

[Soldier] Hey, one coming up.

[Soldier] That's Suheib Al Douri?

[Soldier] What's your name?

[Man] Suheib, Suheib.

[Soldier] This is Suheib.

[Woman] Yeah.

[Soldier] Stand him up. Get up.

[Terrorized Woman] What has he done? He is just a college student.

[Soldier] Tell them to calm down, please. We will not be long.

[Soldier] We appreciate your cooperation. This is the target! Suheib Al Douri. Bring him out.

[Soldier] Alright!

[Soldier] We have to, as you go back to the old saying, "Win the hearts and minds of the people." That's our job. We have to, we have to bring the ideal of democracy and freedom to the country, and show them that the American people are not here to rule Iraq.

Dr. Josef Goebbels, Reich Minister of People Enlightenment and Propaganda, Gauleiter of Berlin, and later General Plenipotentiary for Total War

May the bright flame of our enthusiasm never be extinguished.
It alone gives light and warmth ...
to the creative art of modern political propaganda.
This comes from the depths of the People ...
and from these depths of the people ...
it must always again find its roots and its strength.
It may be good to possess power based on strength ...
but it is better to win and hold the heart of a People.

-- Triumph of the Will, directed by Leni Riefenstahl


[Woman] Don't be afraid. He's not going to hit you.

[Terrorized Woman] What did he do?

[Terrorized Woman] Why don't you tell us? God keep you, what did he do?

[Soldier] I start doing evidence turn-in. That process takes about three hours. So that's gonna be it for the night. And that concludes Christmas Eve.

[Frank Sinatra singing: He's making a list, and checking it twice
He's going to find out who's naughty and nice]


[Santa Claus] Merry Christmas, PRT. Merry Christmas. Santa came to Iraq just for you guys.

[Soldier] Yeah! We're trying to keep the skies clear for you, Santa.

[Michael Moore] Do you consider yourself a proud American?

[Lila Lipscomb] Absolutely. I'm an extremely proud American. I'm probably more proud than the average Joe. When I put my flag out, I can't allow it to touch the ground. Because I know the lives that were lost and the blood that was shed so that I could be here and have a flag.

[Michael Moore] How often do you put the flag out?

[Lila Lipscomb] Every single day. Every single day. I started when my daughter was in Desert Storm. I had the same flag flying on my front porch, and the same yellow ribbons. Praying and hoping every single day that my child would come home safe. And that everybody's child would come home safe.

[Michael Moore] And she did.

[Lila Lipscomb] And she did.

[Michael Moore] Do you have other family members that have been in the military?

[Lila Lipscomb] Absolutely. Uncles, aunts, cousins, brothers, father.

[Michael Moore] You're a very strong military family.

[Lila Lipscomb] Very strong. My family was, my family is what I consider part of the backbone of America. It's families like mine. And it's not just my family. There's hundreds of families, millions of families out here, that this country was founded on their backs. I have been known to be a conservative Democrat. Yeah.

[Michael Moore] That's what you consider yourself?

[Lila Lipscomb] Yeah.

[Michael Moore] Yeah, it's a great country.

[Lila Lipscomb] It's a great country. It's a great country.
The cross that I choose to wear, if you notice, it's a multicultural, a multicolor cross. That's because I believe that all God's people come in many colors. And my family itself is multicultural.

[Michael Moore] You have a daughter who went into the military.

[Lila Lipscomb] Into the military.

[Michael Moore] Then your first-born son, in the military. That's, you know, quite a gift to the country from your family.

[Lila Lipscomb] Exactly right.

[Michael Moore] So having a son in the Army, pretty proud thing.

[Lila Lipscomb] Oh, you know what? He made it.

[Michael Moore] What was your reaction to protestors during, say, the Gulf War or Vietnam?

[Lila Lipscomb] I always hated the protestors. I always hated the protestors. It was just a slap in my face.
It was just like they were dishonoring my son.

[DON'T KILL FOR ME: LET IRAQ LIVE]

And I burned in my soul to tell them, "You don't understand. They're not there because they wanna be there."
But then I came to understand that they weren't protesting the men and the women that were there. They were protesting the concept of the war.

[Soldier] I know I'm a soldier, and I'm here to do a job. I've been a soldier for a while. Once you have to go and do your job, and you see the things that you see, I was saying, there's some disillusionment in that.

[Soldieress] Battalion commander fully expects us to be attacked in some type of way before we get to FARP Shell. I know that so far
it's been pretty calm. Not much has happened.
But be aware that it can, and it probably will.

[Soldier] They're beginning to organize themselves, just in neighborhoods. The kids get together a lot. Well, I can't say kids, but guys about 17, 18, starting to come together. And they hate us. Why, I'm not really sure.

[Michael Moore] Immoral behavior breeds immoral behavior.
When a president commits the immoral act of sending otherwise good kids to war based on a lie, this is what you get.

[Soldier] Hey, is he ticklish?

[Soldier] Don't tell me you don't know what it is.

[Soldier] Ali Baba still has a hard-on.

[Soldier] Why are you touching someone else's --

[Soldier] He touched his dick!

[Soldieress] To have these people shoot at us, kill us, blow us up, by whatever means they can. And I don't understand it. We're trying to help these people, and it seems they don't want our help. "Get out of here!" But the minute something goes wrong with them, "Oh, why weren't you here? Why didn't you do this?" You know, it's -- I hate this country.

[Soldier] You know, you, I feel that a part of your soul is destroyed in taking another life. Yeah, that statement is very true. You cannot kill someone without killing a part of yourself.

[Michael Moore] If you get called up will you go back to Iraq?

[Cpl. Abdul Henderson USMC, Served in Iraq] No, no.

[Michael Moore] What repercussions do you face if you don't?

[Cpl. Abdul Henderson USMC, Served in Iraq] Possible jail time. That's one possible thing.

[Michael Moore] Are you willing to risk that?

[Cpl. Abdul Henderson USMC, Served in Iraq] Yes. Yes, I, I will not let my person, I will not let anyone send me back over there to kill other poor people. Especially when they pose no threat to me and my country. I won't do it.

[George Bush] This is an impressive crowd. The haves, and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite. I call you my base.

[Michael Moore] While Bush was busy taking care of his base, and professing his love for our troops, he proposed cutting combat soldiers' pay by 33 percent, and assistance to their families by 60 percent.
He opposed giving veterans a billion dollars more in health-care benefits, and he supported closing veteran hospitals.
He tried to double the prescription drug costs for veterans ...
and opposed full benefits for part-time reservists.
And when Staff Sergeant Brett Petriken from Flint was killed in Iraq on May 26th ...
the Army sent his last paycheck to his family, but they docked him for the last five days of the month that he didn't work, because he was dead.

[Congressman Jim McDermott (D-Washington)] They say they're not gonna leave any veteran behind, but they're leaving all kinds of veterans behind.

[Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.]

[Wounded Soldier] To say that we're forgotten, I know we're not forgotten, but missed? Yes. Yes. You know, there's a lot of soldiers that have been missed, you know, that have been skipped over.
That didn't get the proper coverage that they deserved.

[Nearly 5,000 soldiers wounded in the first 13 months of the war.]

[Wounded Soldier] They have the death toll, but they're not showing the amount of people who have been injured or amputated because of the injuries, you know.

[Wounded Soldier] I still feel like I have hands. Yeah. And the pain is like my hands are being crushed in a vise. But they do a lot to help it, and they take a lot of the edge off it. It makes it a lot more tolerable.

[Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, Fort Campbell, Kentucky]

[Wounded Soldier] I was injured in late April on patrol in Baghdad. A couple of guys came out and ambushed us. I got nerve damage and stuff like that. I've got a lot of pain. I'm constantly in pain. I take a lot of morphine to help with that and stuff. I'm doing, doing, you know, just readjusting. Getting life back on track. You know what I'm saying? I'm not gonna do what it is that I did before. I was a Republican for quite a few years. And for some reason, they, they conduct business in a very dishonest way. I'm gonna be incredibly active in the Democratic Party down where I live once I get out. So I'm gonna definitely do my best to ensure that the Democrats win control.

[Lila Lipscomb] Iraq, Baghdad, I didn't know anything of those things.
And we were in the hallway in the upstairs of our house, and he was crying and he said that he was really scared.
And he didn't want to have to go to Iraq. So we were able to have a whole conversation about, sometimes some fear is healthy, because it keeps our senses about us.
And that's when he told me that he had not told anybody else. But he knew he was going to Baghdad.
We were, as everybody, we were glued to the TV. Just glued.
Completely glued to the television in hopes of seeing a glimpse of him.
"Can't you please go to where the helicopters are? Can't you please let us see him?" Then that night, it was about 10 something, I went upstairs to the bedroom. And I was laying in bed, and I was flipping the channels with the remote. All I heard was, "Black Hawk down, in South Central Iraq."

[Soldier] What I can tell you at this hour is that last night the Army did, indeed, lose a Black Hawk helicopter. We are being told by officers on the ground that there were six occupants inside the Black Hawk.

[Lila Lipscomb] The next morning I got up, and I said] "You push those sad thoughts out of your mind.
Okay, Jesus, I need you to come in. I need you, Jesus. You gotta help me through this."
The Army called me, and I remember getting on the phone and him saying, asking me was I Lila Lipscomb, and I said, "Yes." And he said, "Mother of Sergeant Michael Pedersen?" And I remember dropping the telephone.
And all I can honestly say that I remember is, "Ma'am, the United States Army, the secretary of defense, regretfully informs you ..."
That's all I know.
The grief grabbed me so hard that I literally fell on the floor. And I was alone. I didn't have anybody to pick me up. So I literally crawled over to my desk, and was hanging on. And I remember screaming] "Why does it have to be Michael? Why did you have to take my son? Why is it my son you had to take? He didn't do anything. He wasn't a bad guy. He was a good guy. Why did you have to take my son?"

[George Bush] I ... I ... I ... I'm ... I can't imagine what it must be like to lose a son or a daughter, or a husband and/or a wife, for that matter. And I ... it pains me.

[Michael Moore] Do you have his last letter?

[Lila Lipscomb] Uh huh. It was mailed March 16th, but I didn't get it until probably a week before he was killed.
"Hello. Hey, Mama. Well, sorry I haven't been able to call. They took the phone seven days ago. I got the letter and box. That is so cool. Your first grandson came the same day your oldest son did. How is everyone? I'm doing fine. We are just out here in the sand and windstorms waiting. What in the world is wrong with George? Trying to be like his dad, Bush. He got us out here for nothing whatsoever. I am so furious right now, Mama. I really hope they do not re-elect that fool, honestly. I am in good spirits, and I am doing okay. I really miss you guys. Thanks for the Bible, and books and candy. I really look forward to letters from you guys.
Well, tell all the family hello and that I am doing fine. We don't expect anything to happen any time soon. I cannot wait to get home and get back to my life. Tell Sputnik congrats, and I'll see my first nephew soon, as soon as I get back to the States. Hope you guys are doing okay, and keep sending the mail. It makes getting through the days easier. Well, I am on my way to bed, so I will write you guys soon. I love and miss all of you guys."

[Lila Lipscomb] I want him to be alive, and I can't make him alive.
But your flesh just aches. You want your child. It's out of sync. A parent is not supposed to bury their child.

[Howard Lipscomb] I feel, I feel sad for my family because we lost our son. But I really feel sorry for the other families that is losing their kids as we speak. And for what? I, I don't -- that's the, I guess the sickening part. For what?

[Dave Lesar, CEO, Halliburton] You've heard a lot about Halliburton lately. Criticism is okay. We can take it. Criticism is not failure. Our employees are doing a great job.
We're feeding the soldiers.
We're rebuilding Iraq.
Will things go wrong?
Sure they will. It's a war zone. We're serving the troops because of what we know, not who we know.
[HALLIBURTON: PROUD TO SERVE OUR TROOPS]


[Dick Cheney, July 2000] Well, let me tell you about Halliburton, the company I ran.
I'm very proud of what I did at Halliburton. The people of Halliburton are very proud of what they've accomplished. And I, frankly don't feel any need to apologize for the way I've spent my time over the last five years as the CEO and chairman of a major American corporation.

[George Bush] This is also an attempt to divert attention away from the fact they have no energy policy. And as the secretary of energy said, "We were caught unawares."

[Michael Moore] In the middle of the war ...
Microsoft, DHL and other corporations invited Halliburton to a conference ...
to figure out how much money could be made in Iraq.

[Michael Mele, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers] Having worked this effort even since before the the invasion, the liberation of Iraq started. You, industry, are definitely a vital part of that effort. We appreciate your interest in this. We need you.

The reconstruction of Iraq has emerged as a vast protectionist racket, a neocon New Deal that transfers limitless public funds -- in contracts, loans and insurance -- to private firms, and even gets rid of the foreign competition to boot, under the guise of "national security." Ironically, these firms are being handed this corporate welfare so they can take full advantage of CPA-imposed laws that systematically strip Iraqi industry of all its protections, from import tariffs to limits on foreign ownership. Michael Fleisher, head of private-sector development for the CPA, recently explained to a group of Iraqi businesspeople why these protections had to be removed. "Protected businesses never, never become competitive," he said. Quick, somebody tell OPIC and Paul Wolfowitz.
-- Risky Business, by Naomi Klein (The Nation, 1/5/04)


[Youssef Sleiman, Iraq Initiatives, Harris Corporation] Now lots of you are small businesses and struggling] "How do we get a piece of this big action? All of you, the big guys, are gonna get it. And the rest of us will have subcontracting capability or none at all."
USTDA is for you. Once that oil starts flowing, and money coming, there's gonna be lots of money. It's the second-largest reserve of oil in the world. There's no question about how much money's there.

[Dr. Sam Kubba, American Iraqi Chamber of Commerce] I've been getting complaints from Iraqi firms, and from American firms, about the lack of transparency, the corruption.
I think the profits American companies are making -- the major, the main companies -- are so overwhelming. I mean, like when you have a line item for a million dollars, and you subcontract it out for 50 or 60 or $70,000 that's a huge profit. And it's the American taxpayer that's gonna pay for that.

[Youssef Sleiman, Iraq Initiatives, Harris Corporation] And it's gonna get better.
Start building relationships. Because it's gonna get much better as the oil flows and their budgets increase. And the good news is, whatever it costs, the government will pay you.

[Dr. Sam Kubba, American Iraqi Chamber of Commerce] War is always good for certain companies that are in the war, the business of war.

[George Sigalos, V.P. Halliburton] We're very proud of the work we're doing, again, in supporting the U.S. Government and the U.S. Military. And the real heroes in the campaign and the real heroes in the reconstruction are the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces. And we're very proud of being any part of that that we can in supporting them.

[Adcaster] Halliburton delivers hot meals ...
supplies ...
clean clothing ...
and communications to our soldiers so they can be a little closer to home.
[Soldier] It's a girl? It's a girl!
Halliburton. Proud to serve our troops.


[Woman 1] I just read in the paper. Halliburton got another contract. Halliburton got another contract.

[Woman 2] That's right.

[Woman 1] Which is not being contested at all.

[Woman 2] Because nobody knows.

[Woman 1] Well, it's in the paper, so somebody knows.

[Woman 2] But that's after it happens. It's after the fact. It's too late.

[Newscaster] The United States is now a major player in the Iraqi oil business.
American troops guard the oil fields as Texas oil workers assess their potential.

[Oilman] So it's a safe environment to work in. We don't feel any risk. We feel like we're being well protected here, or we wouldn't be here.

[Soldier] It's no secret. I mean I make anywheres -- I don't know -- between 2 and 3000 a month.
A Halliburton employee out here driving a bus can make between 8 and 10,000 a month. Explain that one to me. For 40 hours a week. Driving the same two-and-half-mile route. Go figure. Where's the justification in that?

[Gordon Bobbitt, Kalmart RT Center] There's no other single area of the world today with the opportunity for business, new business, similar to the opportunity that's available today in Iraq.

[Grant Haber, American Innovations, Inc.] The president went in, and did what he did. We're all supporting him and our troops. And we wanna make sure that -- you know -- the efforts and the lost lives wasn't for no reason.

[Dr. Sam Kubba, American Iraqi Chamber of Commerce] If it wasn't for the oil, nobody would be there. Nobody would worry about it.

[Blaine Ober, High Protection Company] Unfortunately, at least for the near term, we think it's gonna be a good situation, a dangerous situation.
Good for business, bad for the people.

[Woman 1] Today on the news, Rumsfeld was saying, and Wolfowitz was saying] "Oh, the Iraqi people are much, much better off. Isn't it better that we got rid of Saddam, and now the Iraqi people can do what they wanna do, and really be free?" Will they ever be free? No, they'll not be free. And where are the weapons of mass destruction? It was a, we were duped. We were really duped. And these poor people, the young men and women who are being killed there. It's unnecessary.

[Woman 2] That's a disgrace.

[Woman 1] That's it. No more.

[Woman 2] That's a disgrace.

[George Bush] They died in a just cause, for defending freedom, and they will not have died in vain.

[Michael Moore] Lila had called to tell me that she was coming down from Flint to Washington, D. C. to attend a jobs conference.
On her break, she said she was going to go and pay a visit to the White House.

[Protester] Bush killed children. Iraqi children.

[Lila Lipscomb] My son, killed.

[Protester] Killed my people in Spain, yesterday. Bush lies kill people. Your children too.

[Lila Lipscomb] Yes, my son.

[Protester] They have no business to do in Iraq now. They're killing all these young Americans.

[Lila Lipscomb] Yes.

[Protester] What for? For oil. Bush is a terrorist.

[CIA Agent] No, he isn't. This is all staged.

[Protester] Yes, he is.

[CIA Agent] This is all staged.

[Lila Lipscomb] My son.

[CIA Agent] Where was he killed?

[Lila Lipscomb] You tell me my son is not a stage.

[CIA Agent] Where was he killed?

[Lila Lipscomb] He was killed in Karbala. April 2nd. It's not a stage. My son is dead.

[CIA Agent] There are a lot of other people too. Blame al Qaeda.

[Michael Moore] What did that woman yell at you?

[Lila Lipscomb] That I'm supposed to blame the al Qaeda. The al Qaeda didn't make a decision to send my son to Iraq. Ignorance that we deal with, with everyday people. Because they don't know. People think they know, but you don't know. I thought I knew, but I didn't know.
I need my son.
God, it's tougher than I thought it was gonna be to be here.
But it's freeing also ...
because I finally have a place to put all my pain and all my anger, and to release it.

[Michael Moore] I guess I was tired of seeing people like Lila Lipscomb suffer.
Especially when, out of the 535 members of Congress, only one had an enlisted son in Iraq. I asked Corporal Henderson of the United States Marine Corps to join me on Capitol Hill to see how many members of Congress we could convince to enlist their children to go to Iraq.
Congressman, I'm Michael Moore.

[John Tanner, D-Tennessee] Hey, Michael. How are you doing?

[Michael Moore] Good.

[John Tanner, D-Tennessee] John Tanner, from Tennessee.

[Michael Moore] Very nice to meet you.

[John Tanner, D-Tennessee] What y'all doing?

[Michael Moore] Well, I'm here with Corporal Henderson. United States Marine Corps.

[John Tanner, D-Tennessee] Corporal, I was in the Navy years ago. 1968 to '72.

[Corporal Henderson] Okay.

[John Tanner, D-Tennessee] We had Marines guarding the base.

[Michael Moore] You have kids?

[John Tanner, D-Tennessee] Yeah.

[Michael Moore] Is there any way that we can get them to enlist, uh, and go over there and help out with the effort?
I've got all the brochures.

[John Tanner, D-Tennessee] One of them has got two children.

[Michael Moore] Yeah, well, see, there's not many congressmen that have kids over there. In fact, only one. You know. So we just thought maybe you guys should send your kids there first.

[John Tanner, D-Tennessee] That's right.

[Michael Moore] What do you think about that idea?

[John Tanner, D-Tennessee] I don't disagree with it.

[Michael Moore] Oh, you don't? Oh, good. Well, here, take some brochures.
Here, at least take a Marine brochure.

[John Tanner, D-Tennessee] Thank you.

[Michael Moore] Pass it around.

[John Tanner, D-Tennessee] Yeah, well.

[Michael Moore] Encourage the fellow members that, you know, if they're for the war to get behind it. You know, and send their own.

[John Tanner, D-Tennessee] (Slapping Michael Moore on the chest with the brochure) Thank you, Mike.

[Michael Moore] Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.
Congressman? Michael Moore.

[Congressman] How you doing today?

[Michael Moore] Good. I'm trying to get members of Congress to get their kids to enlist in the Army, and go over to Iraq.
Congressman. Congressman.
Congressman Castle? Congressman Castle?
Congressman. Congressman.
Congressman Doolittle, I was wondering if ...

[Congressman Doolittle] I don't know (unintelligible).

[Michael Moore] Is there any way to ...?
Of course, not a single member of Congress wanted to sacrifice their child for the war in Iraq.
And who could blame them? Who would wanna give up their child? Would you?
Would he?
I've always been amazed that the very people forced to live in the worst parts of town, go to the worst schools, and who have it the hardest ...
are always the first to step up to defend that very system. They serve so that we don't have to.
They offer to give up their lives ...
so that we ...
can be free.
It is remarkable their gift to us.
And all they ask for in return ...
is that we never send them into harm's way unless it's absolutely necessary.
Will they ever trust us again?

[George Bush] He had used weapons.

[Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense] We know where they are.
They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad, and east, west, south and north.

[Condoleezza Rice] There is a tie between Iraq and what happened on 9/11.

[Dick Cheney] The struggle can only end with their complete and permanent destruction.

[George Bush] We wage a war to save civilization itself. We did not seek it.
But we will fight it, and we will prevail.

[Michael Moore] George Orwell once wrote that, "It's not a matter of whether the war is not real or if it is.
Victory is not possible.
The war is not meant to be won. It is meant to be continuous.
A hierarchical society is only possible on the basis of poverty and ignorance.
This new version is the past, and no different past can ever have existed.
In principle, the war effort is always planned to keep society on the brink of starvation.
The war is waged by the ruling group against its own subjects.
And its object is not the victory over either Eurasia ...
or East Asia ...
but to keep the very structure of society intact.

[George Bush] There's an old saying in Tennessee. I know it's in Texas -- probably in Tennessee -- that says, "Fool me once, shame on, shame on you. You fool me, but you can't get fooled again.

[Michael Moore] For once, we agreed.

A FILM BY MICHAEL MOORE

THIS FILM IS DEDICATED TO
Michael Pedersen, Brett Petriken, and all the soldiers from the Flint area who have died in the Iraq War.
Bill Weems and the 2,973 who died on 9/11/01
And the countless thousands who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq as a result of our actions.
LINE PRODUCER: MONICA HAMPTON
FIELD PRODUCERS
NICKY LAZAR
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ANNE MOORE
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ANDREW BLACK
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ADDITIONAL SOUND
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