This is not a source I would normally search out, but I have to admit that actor Donnie Wahlberg gives one of the most thoughtful responses I've seen to the controversy over ABC's "The Path to 9/11" miniseries in this TV Guide interview:
TVGuide.com: What do you think of the brouhaha that's going on now? You had to know that this project could be a hot potato. Wahlberg: I didn't think it was a hot potato. I think there's a stink being made because certain people aren't happy with the way they're being portrayed, but the reality is that in most cases, the producers took a gentle hand with this stuff. The writers and the producers and the director tried to use as much integrity as possible. This isn't an attempt to slight anyone or short anyone. The real problem is its hindsight. Look at Kenneth Lay; there were probably tons of businessmen having dinner with him up until like a week before the Enron mess was uncovered, and all those people are probably looking at themselves saying, "Damn. What an idiot I am." I've seen people watch The Path to 9/11 and say, when my character gets word that they can't [kill] Bin Laden, "Why didn't your character do it anyway?" It's obvious that anyone who sees themselves portrayed in it is going to feel sensitive about it. But the reality is, these events took place way before 9/11, pre-U.S.S. Cole, before any of this stuff. We have to look at the other side of it — if the people in question had made the decision to get Bin Laden, what would have happened then? For people to be not committed to do [that] is understandable, at that point in time. Look at things now: [President] George Bush, in his mind, thinks he's doing everything he can to keep Americans safe from terrorism, but he's being questioned at every turn. Everything's different in hindsight. The brouhaha is based in hindsight. How many people died on 9/11? How many innocent lives were lost? Somebody made a mistake, many parts of our government made a mistake, and we can't ignore it.
Exactly. Now, if everybody would take a deep breath and calm down...
