Narrator/Michael Moore quotes from Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

While Bush was busy taking care of his base and professing his love for our troops, he proposed cutting combat soldiers' pay by 33% and assistance to their families by 60%. He opposed giving veterans a billion dollars more in health care benefits, and he supported closing veteran hospitals. He tried to double the prescription drug costs for veterans and opposed full benefits for part-time reservists. And when Staff Sergeant Brett Petriken from Flint was killed in Iraq on May 26th, the army sent his last paycheck to his family, but they docked him for the last five days of the month that he didn't work because he was dead.

Not even Ricky Martin could fly.

Not a single member of Congress wanted to sacrifice their child for the war in Iraq. And who could blame them? Who would want to give up their child? Would you? [on George W. Bush] Would he? I've always been amazed that the very people forced to live in the worst parts of town, go to the worst schools, and who have it the hardest are always the first to step up, to defend us. They serve so that we don't have to. They offer to give up their lives so that we can be free. It is remarkably their gift to us. And all they ask for in return is that we never send them into harm's way unless it is absolutely necessary. Will they ever trust us again?

He couldn't get his judges appointed. He had trouble getting his legislation passed, and he lost Republican control of the Senate. His approval ratings in the polls began to sink. He was already beginning to look like a lame duck president. With everything going wrong, he did what any of us would do. He went... on vacation

As the attack took place, Mr. Bush was on his way to an elementary school in Florida. When informed of the first plane hitting the world trade center, where terrorists had struck just eight years prior, Mr. Bush decided to go ahead with his photo opportunity. When the second plane hit the tower, his chief of staff entered the classroom and told Mr. Bush the nation is under attack. Not knowing what to do, with no one telling him what to do, and with no secret service rushing in to take him to safety, Mr. Bush just sat there, and continued to read "My Pet Goat" with the children. Nearly seven minutes passed with nobody doing anything.

The FBI was coming to see Barry, and they weren't there to jazzercise.

I couldn't believe that virtually no member of Congress had read the Patriot Act before voting on it. So I decided that the only patriotic thing to do, was for me to read it to them.

Meet John Ashcroft. In 2000, he was running for re-election as Senator from Missouri against a man who died the month before the election. The voters preferred the dead guy, so George W. Bush made him his Attorney General. He was sworn in on a stack of Bibles, 'cause when you can't beat a dead guy, you need all the help you can get.

It's not a matter of whether the war is not real, or if it is, Victory is not possible. The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous. Hierarchical society is only possible on the basis of poverty and ignorance. This new version is the past and no different past can ever have existed. In principle the war effort is always planned to keep society on the brink of starvation. The war is waged by the ruling group against its own subjects and its object is not the victory over either Eurasia or Eastasia but to keep the very structure of society intact.

You can understand why the police needed to spy on a group like Peace Fresno. (camera shows the members) Just look at them! (member rolls his eyes) A gathering of terrorists if I ever saw one.

Okay, let me see if I've got this straight, old guys in the gym: bad. Peace groups in Fresno: bad. Breast milk: really bad. But matches and lighters on the plane, hey, no problem.

The people were afraid so they turn to their leader for help. help from what [Then the politicians sing Let The Eagle Soar].

On the day George W. Bush was inaugurated, tens of thousands of Americans poured into the streets of D. C. in one last attempt to reclaim what had been taken from them. They pelted Bush's limo with eggs. (Shouting:Stay back! Get back!) and brought the inauguration parade to a halt. The plan to have Bush get out of the limo for the traditional walk to the White House was scrapped. Bush's limo hit the gas to prevent an even larger riot. No president had ever witnessed such a thing on his inauguration day.

Afghanistan? Oh, yeah. They had an army; Our army!

the terrorist threat wasn't what this was all about. They just wanted us to be fearful enough, so that we'd get behind what their real plan was.

Immoral behavior breeds immoral behavior.

The first time I met him, he had some good advice for me.

It's Michael Moore!

Behave yourself, will ya? Go find real work!

We had some airplanes authorized at the highest levels of our government to fly to pick up Osama Bin Laden's family members and others from Saudi Arabia and transport them out of this country.

It turns out that the White House approved planes to pick up the bin Ladens and numerous other Saudis. At least six private jets and nearly two dozen commercial planes carried the Saudis and the Bin Ladens out of the U.S. after September 13th. In all, 142 Saudis, including 24 members of the bin Laden family, were allowed to leave the country.

Bush: [on the hunt for Osama bin Laden] I just don't spend that much time on it, to be honest.

'Don't spend that much time on it?' Just what kind of President was he?

I'm a war President!

Is there any terrorist target around here?

We have a big spaghetti supper in here.

As Bush sat in that Florida classroom, was he wondering if maybe he should have shown up to work more often? Should he have held at least one meeting since taking office to discuss the threat of terrorism with his head of counter terrorism? Or maybe Mr. Bush was wondering why he had cut terrorism funding from the FBI. Or perhaps he just should have read the security briefing that was given to him on August 6, 2001 that said that Osama bin Laden was planning to attack America by hijacking airplanes. Or maybe he wasn't worried about the terrorist threat because the title of the report was too vague.

I believe the title of the report was 'Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States.'

A report like that might make some men jump, but as in days passed, George W. just went fishing. As the minutes went by, George Bush continued to sit in the classroom. Was he thinking, "I've been hanging out with the wrong crowd. Which one of them screwed me? Was it the man my daddy's friends delivered a lot of weapons to? Was it that group of religious fundamentalists who visited my state when I was governor? Or was it the Saudis? Damn, it was them." [an image of Hussein appears onscreen] "I think I better blame it on this guy."

Was it all just a dream?

God bless you, Florida! Thank you!

Did the last four years not really happen? Look, there's Ben Affleck. He's often in my dreams. And the Taxi Driver guy. He was there too. And little Stevie Wonder, he seemed so happy... like, like a miracle had taken place. Was it a dream? Or was it real?

The coalition of the willing, Roll..... The Republic of Palauuuuuuu...The Republic of Costa Ricaaa...The Republic of Icelaaand...

None of these countries has an army, or for that matter, weapons. So it looked like we'd be doing most of the invading stuff ourselves.

Mike, I wouldn't do this if it weren't big. Florida goes for Al Gore. CNN announces that we call Florida in the Al Gore column.

Then something called the 'Fox News Channel' called the election in favor of the other guy....