Monday, February 1, 2016

The Foreign Service on Screen: 13 Hours

So apparently Michael Bay, blower-upper of things and ruiner of many a fond childhood memory, has turned his sights to the attack on the US diplomatic compound in Libya that killed four Americans:





















Admittedly, I haven't seen the film. I'm not big on action movies in the first place. What I d know, however, is that the movie reinforces some of the more unfortunate misconceptions both about what happened on that day but more broadly regarding the US and its envoys abroad.

In the film, the only really good guys are the mercenaries. The diplomats, the intellectuals, and the experts are all namby-pamby effetes who are too naive and cowardly to understand the danger in Libya or react to it. Ambassador Stephens, in particular, is portrayed as preening and narcissistic, decorating his bedroom with photos of himself. If this was how Bay wanted to honor those who gave their lives for their country, he's doing it wrong.

Add to which, the movie had to recycle some of the more easily debunked myths about the attack itself, such as the CIA station chief forbidding the mercenaries from rushing to the Ambassador's aid ("Stand down!") or that there was air support less than an hour away. Both of these have been disproved even by the relentlessly partisan Republican investigations of the incident. 

You can't always preserve complete honesty in a fictional medium. Still, how sad that such a tragic even did not receive a more respectful treatment. 

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