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U.S. Documentary Maker Lashes
out at Bush's ‘War on Terror’
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American director Michael Moore
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CANNES, France, May 17 (News Agencies) - A celebrated U.S. documentary maker known for his crusading films, Michael Moore, launched a scathing and derisive attack on the "war on terrorism" Friday at Cannes, and accused U.S. President George W. Bush of Orwellian manipulation.
Speaking at a press conference presenting his "Bowling for Columbine" - a look at the culture of guns and violence in America, in the official competition for the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or - Moore said his compatriots had been systematically duped by the Bush administration since September 11.
"To use the dead of that day as the cover to push their right-wing agenda, to shred our constitution, to take away civil liberties... to try and distract people from Enron, 'because we need to focus on the war on terrorism' - I think it's immoral, I think it's abhorrent.... You're being hoodwinked," he said, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Bush, like all right-wing leaders, he said, was simply trying to stretch out the feeling of insecurity in the United States to consolidate power and blow off opposition to his political priorities - priorities Moore asserted were in several cases decided by big U.S. corporations.
Moore, 48, has long been at odds with the White House because of his controversial films and biting books targeting contemporary social problems.
He also questioned the U.S. actions taken immediately after the September 11 attacks.
"Fifteen of the 19 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia - but we bombed Afghanistan. Did we miss? I know that we're geographically challenged as Americans," he said.
And the Bush family, he alleged, had been funded "by bin Laden money" for the past 20 years.
Bush even allowed a Saudi plane to jet around the United States after September 11 to pick up Osama bin Laden's relatives and get them out of the country without being questioned by authorities, Moore claimed.
"You know, what's going on here? I want the answers. I'm not drawing any conclusions, of course. I'm just, as an American, I'd like to know this.
"Where's my media, where are the journalists. Why aren't they doing their job?... I want the truth."
The emphatic assertions of the director was a galvanizing moment for Cannes, overshadowing even the controversy inherent in his film, whose title refers to the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.
If Moore actually goes on to win the Cannes festival - and his film stands a good chance, at least this early in the competition - it will give his profile an even bigger boost around the world, and further opportunities to publicly challenge the direction of U.S. policy.
His previous documentaries, "Roger and Me", about the head of General Motors and the auto giant's downsizing, and "The Big One", about U.S. corporate greed, earned him a reputation as a fearlesss and funny social crusader with influence to make changes happen.
His latest book, "Stupid White Men", a critique of U.S. politicians, companies and dumped-down culture, is currently number four on the New York Times book list for non-fiction.
The fact that the criticism is coming from such a respected figure is certain to embarrass the White House, which was Friday trying to recover after revelations that pre-September 11 U.S. intelligence data highlighted the threat of hijackings by extremist groups including al-Qaeda.
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