page_title: Fahrenheit 9/11 controversies
section_title: Alleged discrepancy on bin Laden's presumed innocence
hierarchical_section_title: Fahrenheit 9/11 controversies / Controversy over the film's content / Alleged discrepancy on bin Laden's presumed innocence
caption_attribution_description: Christopher Hitchens
context_page_description: The content of the 2004 documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11 generated controversy before, during, and after its release a few months prior to the 2004 U.S. presidential election. The film, directed by Michael Moore, criticizes the Bush administration's attempt to pursue Osama bin Laden in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks, as well as the Iraq War. Although Fahrenheit 9/11 was generally praised by film critics and won various awards, Bush defenders and several other commentators criticized the film for inconsistencies, lack of context and for being made available online for free download.
context_section_description: According to Christopher Hitchens, Moore had argued in a previous public debate that Osama bin Laden was to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and thus questions the treatment of bin Laden in the film. "Something – I cannot guess what, since we knew as much then as we do now – has since apparently persuaded Moore that Osama Bin Laden is as guilty as hell. Indeed, Osama is suddenly so guilty and so all-powerful that any other discussion of any other topic is a dangerous 'distraction' from the fight against him. I believe that I understand the convenience of this late conversion." Hitchens was subsequently invited to appear on Joe Scarborough's MSNBC talk show, Scarborough Country, at which point a tape recording of his debate with Moore at the Telluride Film Festival in 2002 was replayed.
  Moore: It seems as if he and his group were the ones who did this, then they should be tracked down, captured, and brought to justice.
  Hitchens:  What is the "if" doing in that last sentence of yours?
  Moore:  Well, all people are innocent until proven guilty in this country. ...  Even the worst piece of scum.
  Hitchens:  I feel I have to press you on that.  You regard it as an open question, the responsibility of Osama bin Laden?
  Moore:  Until anyone is convicted of any crime, no matter how horrific the crime, they are innocent until proven guilty.  And as Americans...
  Hitchens:  No, that's all I asked you.
  Moore:  Never leave that position.
  Hitchens: I'm sorry. So bin Laden's claims of responsibility strike you as the ravings of a clown's, say?
  When the video ended, Hitchens proceeded to explain: "Why does someone who thought that Osama was innocent and Afghanistan was no problem suddenly switch in this way?  Because unless he says that he was dead wrong all along and Osama Laden was innocent and wronged, he can't say that everything else is a distraction from the hunt for Osama." Host Joe Scarborough agreed with Hitchens and criticised Moore for inconsistency, accusing him of "hypocrisy" for assuming bin Laden is innocent one minute "and yet, in this movie, at the very beginning, he criticizes George Bush for not assuming the bin Laden family is somehow guilty, then letting them out of the country."
  Flak magazine editor Stephen Himes, after watching Scarborough Country and reviewing a transcript of the Telluride debate, wrote that Hitchens had misconstrued Moore's remarks: "Hitchens actually performs some Clintonian semantic gymnastics here. Moore's if is not intending 'I think Osama is innocent and the Afghan war is unjustified;' he's trying to make an argument for American due process: 'If he and his group were the ones who did this, then they should be tracked down, captured and brought to justice'." Film critic Christopher Parry also took issue with Hitchens' interpretation of Moore's remarks, writing "If you've got to build a case against Jeffrey Dahmer, you've got to build a case against Bin Laden."
  Allow me to explain Moore's motivation, as if it needed explaining to anyone with a concept of logic, law and due process. Bin Laden is innocent until proven guilty in the eyes of the law. That is the American Way. Indeed, it's the World Way. But in order to prove his guilt, one must build a case, capture him and put him to trial... But in Fahrenheit 9/11, Moore has a different point to make. What he's saying in Fahrenheit 9/11 is, why, exactly, when the pursuit of Osama Bin Laden is completely justified, have only 14,000 troops been sent after him, while ten times that number have been sent into Iraq to take over a country that had nothing to do with 9/11?
  CNN news anchor Daryn Kagan asked Moore why, if he is so willing to uphold the law, he could also be critical of the Bush administration for pursuing Osama bin Laden at the same time. Moore replied:
  Because if you have a suspect and the suspect gets away, the police, or our military, have a right to go after and get that suspect. In fact, they should go get the suspect. And Richard Clarke's point, and my point is, is that they make a half-hearted effort ... because they didn'
caption: Christopher Hitchens
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