Random Michael Moore Deceits [#36]

Saudi embassy [from Fahrenheit 9/11]

The scene: Moore and Craig Unger are standing across the street from the Saudi embassy in D.C. Uniformed officers congregate across the way, confer for a moment and one of them makes his way to Michael, where he asks if they’re making a documentary about the Saudi Arabian embassy. Moore says that are making a documentary, and part of it is about the Saudis.

Then comes the voiceover:

“Even though we were no where 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.”
What. A. Crock.

Let’s examine the language. Moore has carefully crafted this to imply something nefarious...but let’s break it down.

“Even though we were no where near the White House.”

So? Completely inflammatory language designed to have you connect theses police officers with having been somehow “sent” by Bush to “silence” Moore.

“for some reason the Secret Service had shown up”

For some reason? We covered this awhile ago here at MOOREWATCH, and it took me five. That’s 1, 2, 3, 4, FIVE minutes with Google to get the full story on who that guard is. You can read all about it for yourself, right here. [http://www.secretservice.gov/ud.shtml]

If Moore has such a fantastic team of fact checkers, and he’s so concerned with accuracy, why is he maligning the Uniformed Secret Service? Why is he implying that they should not be be where they are?

Their mandate:

"In 1970, Public Law 91-217 expanded the role of the White House Police, newly named the Executive Protective Service, to include protection of diplomatic missions in the Washington, D.C.,area. Congress later added the protection of the Vice President’s immediate family to the Executive Protective Service’s growing responsibilities in 1974.

After several name revisions, the force officially adopted its current name, the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division in 1977. While protection of the White House Complex remains its primary mission, the Uniformed Division’s responsibilities have expanded greatly over the years.

They now protect the following:

* the White House Complex, the Main Treasury Building and Annex, and other Presidential offices;
* the President and members of the immediate family;
* the temporary official residence of the Vice President in the District of Columbia;
* the Vice President and members of the immediate family; and
* foreign diplomatic missions in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and throughout the United States, and its territories and possessions, as prescribed by statute.

Why is it that I, some doofus sitting in a living room in Hamden, CT, can find this information that clears up the “some reason” why a Uniformed Secret Service officer would be asking what a camera crew is doing outside a foreign embassy, but Moore cannot seem to explain it?

And finally,

to ask us what we were doing standing across the street from the Saudi Embassy.

And? That would be their job. Did Moore stand across the street from any other embassy that day, filming, pointing and conferring with another guy only to be ignored by the Uniformed Secret Service? Consider the fact that a terrorist or a militia nut might do the same damned thing in order to case the building. If the building, or any embassy, had been attacked by someone who scoped it out by behaving the same way Unger and Moore behaved, everyone would wonder what the cops didn’t at least stop and ask the guy why he was filming an embassy.

What we have here is a segment that lasts 2:28. As we’ve been told, 7 minutes is an eternity, so 2:28 is a significant chunk of a film to devote to this segment. One problem, though...the only thing wrong in this segment is the words chosen by Moore in the voiceover. Moore and Unger did nothing wrong by filming the buildings and talking, and the officers did nothing wrong by asking him what he was doing.

So why even use the footage? No one did anything wrong or anything that could be misinterpreted as wrong. What is the point?

The point was to connect the Secret Service with guarding the Saudis, and to plant the impression that Moore was being harassed, possibly by the White House, since that’s where the Secret Service should be according to Moore.

A simple Google search...35 seconds of his time, would have resulted in this segment being rendered useless.

Unless…

He already knows the guards are supposed to be there. And he’s hoping, once again, that the American people will be too dumb or too lazy to find out the truth.

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Moore shows himself filming the movie near the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C.:

Moore as narrator: 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….

Officer: That’s fine. Just wanted to get some information on what was going on.
Moore on camera: Yeah yeah yeah, I didn’t realize the Secret Service guards foreign embassies.
Officer: Uh, not usually, no sir.

But in fact:

Any tourist to Washington, DC, will see plenty of Secret Service Police guarding all of the other foreign embassies which request such protection. Other than guarding the White House and some federal buildings, it’s the largest use of personnel by the Secret Service’s Uniformed Division.

Debbie Schlussel, "FAKEN-heit 9-11: Michael Moore’s Latest Fiction," June 25, 2004.

According to the Secret Service website:

Uniformed Division officers provide protection for the White House Complex, the Vice-President's residence, the Main Treasury Building and Annex, and foreign diplomatic missions and embassies in the Washington, DC area.

So there is nothing strange about the Secret Service protecting the Saudi embassy in Washington—especially since al Qaeda attacks have taken place against Saudi Arabia. According to Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, an international agreement which has been ratified by the United States, every host country (including the United States) is obliged to protect every embassy within its borders.

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Moore tried yet again to gull his audience into believing that the Saudis receive special treatment from President Bush. Moore and his camera crew went to Washington where they made a show of loitering in front of the Saudi embassy until they provoked a response from the U.S. Secret Service. Moore feigns innocence: “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.” When a uniformed Secret Service guard approaches, Moore says wonderingly that he “didn’t realize the Secret Service guards foreign embassies,” to which the guard replies, “Not usually, no Sir.”

Moore skillfully exploits this exchange to suggest that the Saudis enjoy special protection from displaced White House guardians. It’s another Moore deception. Any wandering tourist can spot many uniformed Secret Service guards protecting foreign embassies in our capital city. According to article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, to which the United States is a signatory, every host nation must protect every embassy within its borders. There are 170 foreign embassies in Washington, D.C.; most of them need no more protection than can be summoned by a phone call to the Secret Service. Some embassies warrant a more immediate Secret Service presence. Because al Qaeda has threatened and attacked Saudi Arabia, its embassy, among others, is guarded more closely. This is not evidence of a personal preference on the part of George Bush. As the Secret Service explains its functions: “Uniformed Division officers provide protection for the White House complex, the Vice President’s residence, the Main Treasury Building and its Annex, and foreign diplomatic missions and embassies in the Washington, D.C. area.” Moore would have you believe that the Secret Service is just George Bush’s personal Praetorian Guard

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