1993 World Trade Center bomber cheers as he drives van into WTC garage on 2/26/1993 as reenacted in 1997 HBO docu-drama, "Path to Paradise:"
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1997 NY Times review of 1997 HBO docu-drama about Feb. 26, 1993 World Trade Center bombing notes Yousef's closing prediction: ''Next time, we'll bring them both down.'' The Times described the statement as "presumably apocryphal."
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1997 NY Times review of 1997 HBO docu-drama about Feb. 26, 1993 World Trade Center bombing notes Yousef's closing prediction: ''Next time, we'll bring them both down.'' The Times described the statement as "presumably apocryphal."
6/14/1997, "Bombing of the Trade Center, Simplified for a TV Audience," NY Times, Ralph Blumenthal
"The terrorists, are shown, accurately, as
beneficiaries of some staggering law enforcement bungling. Ramzi Ahmed
Yousef, accused of being the main bomb maker and plot mastermind,
arrives at Kennedy International Airport without a visa and is allowed
into the country on a promise to return for a hearing in three months.
Later captured and now awaiting trial, he is given
the sinister-and presumably apocryphal-last word: ''Next time,
we'll bring them both down.''" [end of article]
(Beginning of NY Times article): "More than four years after a car bomb erupted under
the World Trade Center, killing 6 people and injuring more than 1,000,
the attack that brought the nightmare of terrorism to American soil is
getting the full Hollywood treatment on HBO tonight.
The made-for-television movie, at 8 P.M., follows
the investigation through the eyes of a buddy team of F.B.I.
investigators as they battle a law enforcement bureaucracy almost as
bungle-prone as the terrorists themselves.
...........
As history, the film, ''Path to Paradise,'' tracks
much of the riveting story as it emerged in the investigations and
trials that followed the attack on Feb. 26, 1993. It even uses some of
the words of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and other conspirators-as they
were later proved to be-from secret tape recordings...............
..........
''Path to Paradise'' drew controversy this week with
complaints by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in
Washington that the movie prejudicially portrays Muslims as a menace to
American society. The group called every Arab or Muslim character in the
movie ''an ugly stereotype'' and said that the film would be given the
group's ''Intolerance Award.''
HBO defended the film and said it would broadcast a
statement that the movie was not intended to reflect the views of most
Muslims and Arabs.
It was unclear who actually wrote the screenplay for
the television movie. HBO's publicity material on the film does not
mention the writer, and the on-screen credits list Ned Curren, a name
that HBO officials said is a pseudonym. No reason was given for the use
of the pen name.
Scenes in the film accurately reflect the disarray
of law enforcement officials when it came to tracking potential
terrorists. But as the lead F.B.I. agent, John Anticev, played by the
actor Peter Gallagher, keeps reminding colleagues and viewers, it is a
free country unless you do something illegal. ''Great,'' Agent Anticev says at one point.
''Freedom of religion protects a bunch of murdering fanatics.''
The movie diverges from reality as it glosses over
the tangled relationship between the informer, Mr. Salem, and the F.B.I.
team of Mr. Anticev and Agent Nancy Floyd, played by Marcia Gay Harden....Also left undetailed is the way Mr. Salem secretly
taped Mr. Anticev and Ms. Floyd in backstage law enforcement
strategizing that embarrassed the F.B.I. when it became public....
Also coming in for a hit (not totally undeserved)
are reporters, who pop up just as the F.B.I. is about to carry out its
crucial arrest of Mohammed A. Salameh, the bungler who rented the
bomb-carrying van and later returned to the rental office so he could
get his money back.
The terrorists, are shown, accurately, as
beneficiaries of some staggering law enforcement bungling. Ramzi Ahmed
Yousef, accused of being the main bomb maker and plot mastermind,
arrives at Kennedy International Airport without a visa and is allowed
into the country on a promise to return for a hearing in three months.
Later captured and now awaiting trial, he is given
the sinister -and presumably apocryphal-last word: ''Next time,
we'll bring them both down.''"
"Photos: Ned Eisenberg, left, portrays F.B.I.
informer Emad Salem, above, who double-crossed agents by taping their
conversations, in the HBO movie ''Path to Paradise.'' (HBO); Andreas
Katsulas, plays Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, whose taped words are used in
the film. (HBO)" [As of 11/29/15, the photo described doesn't appear with NYT article).
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Comment: "Path to Paradise" was released on VHS July 10, 2001. Commenters observe it hasn't been shown on HBO since Sept. 11, 2001, when Islamists easily finished the job they started on 2/26/1993.
"Path to Paradise-The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing," [VHS] Rated: R" "VHS release date: July 10, 2001."
As of 11/29/15, the film is available on You Tube.
Among comments at Amazon: "A wakeup call unheeded"
"10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format: VHS Tape
Verified Purchase
"An HBO production, amazing actors, superb dialog. A bomb-making expert
from Iraq attempts entry to the U.S. without a visa. He states he's
leaving Iraq for political asylum in the U.S. The INS agent questions
him a bit, looks over his fishy looking passport. She approaches her
superior with the asylum application and urges that "he should be
detained". "Jails are full. You want to take him home?" her boss
retorts. The film shows just how these terrorists jumped through about
any and every loophole in the system under the guise of religious
freedom. Bomb-making right in the apartment. Operating right under the
nose of the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. Anti-American
propaganda tapes found in an apartment which, truth be told, is not
against the law. And of course there was the chilling prophetic line at
the end: "Next time we'll bring them both down." Absolutely worth
watching again and again." Image above from Amazon.com
Below, closing scenes from 1997 HBO film, Ramzi Yousef in helicopter with US officials saying, "Next time we'll bring them both down."
Below, closing scenes from 1997 HBO film, Ramzi Yousef in helicopter with US officials saying, "Next time we'll bring them both down."
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