Mike Huckabee: "Liberal media" hiding truth of Sept. 11 attacks
Former Republican presidential candidate and Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee said in an email to supporters Thursday the "liberal media" wants to "control" what Americans can teach their children about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"Don't let the liberal media tell you how to educate your kids," wrote Huckabee. "They deserve to understand the truth, even though the media and educational establishment will fight like crazy to keep them from knowing it."
Huckabee made the comments as part of an appeal for supporters to purchase an animated educational video meant to teach children about the Sept. 11 attacks. The video on "9/11 and the War on Terror," which costs $9.95, is the latest in a series of videos marketed by Huckabee that are meant to teach children about American history.
Complete coverage: 9/11 anniversary
You can watch a preview of the video below. It shows an animated child screaming "no" as he watches an airplane approach the World Trade Center, and says onscreen that "America was attacked by Al Qaeda...anti-American Muslim terrorists." Later, an animated version of Osama bin Laden is shown saying "death to the Americans!"
Huckabee is being criticized for what some have cast as capitalizing on the tragedy: On MSNBC Tuesday, retired New York City fire chief Jim Riches, whose son was killed in the attacks, called profits from the videos "blood money," adding "it'll come back to haunt them someday."
Learn our History said MSNBC's coverage of the video was "filled with shocking inaccuracies and false statements" in a statement Thursday, complaining the network used out-of-context clips. The company also noted that a portion of the proceeds from the video are being donated to charities serving victims of the attacks, though MSNBC said later the company had previously made no mention of such donations.
"We are releasing this video now because children will be having a lot of questions about 9/11 and we felt it appropriate to offer this film as a tool parents can use to address those questions in a way kids can understand," said Learn Our History CEO Bradley Saft in the statement.
Left-leaning website TPMDC, which watched the full video, says it includes "A lot of praise for the PATRIOT act...a lot of praise for the Department of Homeland Security, a lot of praise for Israel and the clear implication that President George W. Bush was responsible for the death of Osama bin Laden."
In his appeal to supporters, Huckabee, who has ruled out a 2012 presidential run, called on Americans to "start giving some thought to how you're going to answer [your kids'] toughest questions" about the September 11 attacks.
"If you listen to the media, they'll tell you I did the video for profit," he writes. "But what they failed to mention is that Learn Our History is going out if its way to identify many charities associated with 9/11 victims. We'll be donating a considerable portion of proceeds from the $9.95 purchase price to these charities. Why not order your copy today?"