Romney memo outlines 'big choice'

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney boards his campaign plane in Bedford, Massachusetts, on Monday, October 1. Romney is heading to Denver for the first presidential debate on Wednesday. President Barack Obama hugs Chasstiry Vazquez after she indroduced him at a campaign event at Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas on Sunday, September 30. Obama supporters cheer during Sunday's event in Las Vegas. Romney leaves his campaign headquarters in Boston on Sunday. A boy reaches out to shake hands with Obama on Sunday in Las Vegas. The president was in Nevada ahead of Wednesday's presidential debate in Denver. Romney arrives at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Belmont to attend Sunday services. Obama talks on the phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in the Oval Office on Friday, September 28. Romney speaks during a rally at Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Pennsylvania on Friday. Romney talks to journalists aboard his campaign plane about his phone call with Netanyahu on Friday. Cadets listen to Romney speak at a campaign rally Friday at the Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Romney addresses Friday's rally at the Valley Forge Military Academy and College. Vice President Joe Biden hugs U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, as he arrives for a campaign event Friday in Boca Raton, Florida. Romney speaks at a Veterans for Romney campaign event in Springfield, Virginia, on Thursday, September 27. Obama supporters cheer at a campaign rally Thursday in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Veterans at the American Legion Post 176 pray before Romney speaks Thursday in Springfield. People listen to Obama speak at the Farm Bureau Live arena in Virginia Beach on Thursday. Obama delivers remarks Thursday in Virginia Beach. Supporters cheer as Romney speaks at SeaGate Convention Centre in Toledo, Ohio, on Wednesday, September 26. Romney speaks during a roundtable discussion on manufacturing at American Spring Wire in Bedford Heights, Ohio, on Wednesday. Supporters wait to see Obama on Wednesday at Toledo Express Airport in Bowling Green, Ohio. Air For One aborted an initial landing attempt in Ohio due to weather conditions. Obama addresses supporters at Bowling Green State University on Wednesday. Romney delivers remarks during a campaign rally Wednesday at Westerville South High School in Westerville, Ohio. Former President Bill Clinton introduces Obama during the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York on Tuesday, September 25. Supporters cheer during a Republican campaign rally Tuesday with Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, at Dayton International Airport in Vandalia, Ohio. Ryan speaks Tuesday in Vandalia as Sen. Rand Paul, from left, Sen. Rob Portman and Romney listen. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush hugs a waitress as they wait for Ryan's arrival during a campaign stop at a restaurant in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood on Saturday, September 22. Supporters cheer as they listen to Romney speak during a Juntos Con Romney Rally at the Darwin Fuchs Pavilion on Wednesday, September 19, in Miami. Romney shakes hands with supporters during the Juntos Con Romney Rally in Miami on Wednesday. Obama and David Letterman speak during a break in the taping of the "Late Show with David Letterman" on Tuesday, September 18, at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York. A crew member opens the door to Air Force One after the jet arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on Tuesday. From left to right: Romney, his wife Ann, and son Tagg watch one of Tagg's sons play soccer in Belmont, Massachusetts, on Saturday, September 15. Ryan arrives onstage to address the Family Research Council Action Values Voter Summit on Friday, September 14. Supporters wait for Romney to speak at a campaign rally at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, on Friday, September 14. Obama arrives at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Thursday, September 13. Obama returned to Washington after a two-day campaign trip with events in Nevada and Colorado. Supporters cheer as Romney speaks at a campaign rally in Fairfax, Virginia, on Thursday. An Obama supporter attends a rally in Las Vegas on Wednesday, September 12. Obama focused on economic policies during his two days of campaigning in Nevada and Colorado. Former President Bill Clinton speaks in support of Obama during a campaign stop in Miami on Tuesday, September 11. Obama is lifted up by Scott Van Duzer, owner of Big Apple Pizza and Pasta Italian Restaurant, during a visit to the restaurant in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Sunday, September 9. Obama was on a two-day bus tour across the state. President Obama greets supporters during a campaign stop at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday. Mitt Romney walks through the garage area during a rain delay before the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday, September 8, in Richmond, Virginia. Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, waves to the crowd before speaking at a rally in Leesburg, Virginia, on Friday, September 7. Supporters try to stay dry in between rain showers while waiting for President Obama to speak at the University of Iowa on Friday. It was Obama's first day of campaigning after accepting the presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. A girl listens to President Obama speak at the University of Iowa on Friday. Vice President Joe Biden, first lady Michelle Obama, President Obama and Biden's wife, Jill, wave after Friday's campaign event at the University of Iowa. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 NEW: Romney campaign to unleash "robust" spending in final weeks of campaign NEW: Convention bounce deflates, Obama, Romney polling at August numbers Republicans step up criticism of Obama on Libya, Iran Chris Christie: "This whole race is going to be turned upside down come Thursday morning" Washington (CNN) -- Republicans intensified their criticism of President Barack Obama's foreign policy on Monday, noting questions about his administration's slow-to-evolve accounting of last month's deadly attack on an American diplomatic post in Libya and the U.S. response to Iran's nuclear ambitions. GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney said in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece two days before he meets Obama in the season's first presidential debate that the United States could be brought into another fight if the turmoil in the Middle East is not calmed. "We're not moving them in a direction that protects our people or our allies. And that's dangerous," Romney wrote, referring to current policy on Iran that he says puts Israel at risk. What is driving your vote this year? Tell us what issues matter to you "If the Middle East descends into chaos, if Iran moves toward nuclear breakout, or if Israel's security is compromised, America could be pulled into the maelstrom," Romney wrote. His running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, separately criticized the Obama administration's response to the September 11 attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. "If this event was an isolated incident that would be tragic enough," Ryan said. "Instead, it's really indicative of a broader failure of this administration's foreign policy and the crisis that is taking place across the Middle East. He noted the revised account of what occurred at the consulate - first described as an attack that U.S. officials thought grew out of a spontaneous demonstration against an anti-Muslim film. The intelligence community said on Friday it now believes the attack was "a deliberate and organized terrorist assault carried out by extremists" affiliated or sympathetic with al Qaeda. "We've seen a confused, slow, inconsistent response to what is now very clearly known as a terrorist act," Ryan said in a radio interview with Laura Ingraham on Monday. Romney will continue to focus on foreign policy and the economy heading into Wednesday's debate with Obama in Denver, according to a campaign memo obtained by CNN and campaign advisers who spoke Monday on a conference call. "Governor Romney will, over the next few weeks, crystallize the choice for voters on the issue of foreign policy and national security," said senior adviser Kevin Madden, adding that Romney would "lay out a stronger vision for American foreign policy based on the strong leadership that we need to shape world events and protect American interests and ideals." First on CNN: Romney campaign to unleash 'robust' spending The Romney campaign is planning to unleash "robust" spending in the final five weeks of the presidential election, a memo provided to CNN by a Republican source says. "We will spend as much in paid advertising, direct mail, and field operations in the next five weeks as we have spent since becoming the presumptive nominee," the memo sent out by Spencer Zwick, the campaign's National Finance Chairman and Mason Fink, the campaign's National Finance Director. The memo comes a week after a slew of polls show Romney behind in several key swing states. The Romney campaign has been criticized for spending time on fundraising rather and keeping a light campaign rally schedule. Poll: horse race for presidency neck and neck A CNN/ORC poll released Monday shows the president and Romney in a very close contest for the White House. Asked who they would vote for today, 50% of likely voters would cast a ballot for the president whereas 47% said they would opt for Romney - the difference, 3%, is within the margin of error. Neither candidate shows an edge on the economy, which remains the top issue on the minds of Americans and which may dominate Wednesday night's debate on domestic issues in Denver. "The Big Choice" Romney's campaign is characterizing the election as "The Big Choice." In the campaign memo, the Romney camp outlined to staff and surrogates what it said was a clear choice for two different futures -- one under Romney and the other under President Barack Obama. Under Obama, the memo said that the country would have "four more years like the last four years with a stagnant economy that fosters government dependency and a foreign policy that makes the world less safe." Under Romney, the memo said that both the economy and the country's leadership in the world will be stronger. "When Mitt Romney is president, our nation will have pro-growth policies that foster upward mobility -- and lift people out of poverty -- and we will ensure peace through American leadership and strength," the memo said. Both campaigns slowed the pace of their schedules ahead of Wednesday's debate in Denver. Obama flew West over the weekend with a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday, while Romney began the week in Boston with plans to travel to Colorado later on Monday. A senior campaign official told CNN the president spent "some time" practicing Sunday night and then "reconvened" his sessions this morning. What to expect at presidential debate Romney prepping 'zingers' for debate? Ron Brownstein on debate expectations Anticipation builds for the first debate Axelrod on Obama's closing strategy Who has the 2012 campaign momentum? First on CNN: Romney memo seeks to lower debate expectations Christie being Christie While the Romney's campaign and its surrogates spent the better part of the week downplaying his expectations, one of his more notable campaigners went off message and predicted Romney would turn the race "upside down." New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on Sunday that he expects Romney to shine when he shares the stage with Obama. "We have a candidate who is going to do extraordinarily well on Wednesday night," Christie said on CBS' "Face the Nation." The Republican governor said Romney will have his first chance to directly contrast his vision for the country with that of Obama. McCain: Debate will go down in history But a majority of voters aren't expecting Romney to be victorious in the first debate. According to an ABC News/Washington Post national poll released Monday, 55% of likely voters say they think the president will win the debate with 31% saying that Romney will come out on top. Crowley: Memo to Chris Christie -- did you get the memo? CNN analyst Ron Brownstein said Christie's "voice from the bleachers" reflected the campaign's dueling objectives for the debate. "Republicans at this point do have competing and somewhat incompatible goals going into this debate," Brownstein said Monday on CNN's "Early Start." On the one hand, obviously, they don't want to overhype the expectations for what Romney can do." On the other hand, Brownstein said the campaign needs a jump start with polls showing Romney trailing nationally and in key swing states. CNN's Dan Lothian, Peter Hamby, Ashley Killough, Kevin Liptak, Paul Steinhauser, Rachel Streitfeld and Allison Brennan contributed to this report

Seats come loose on American jet

MIAMI - JULY 16: American Airlines planes sit on the tarmac at the Miami International Airport July 16, 2008 in Miami, Florida. American Airlines posted a quarterly net loss of $1.4 billion as its fuel bill jumped 47.4 percent to $2.42 billion. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Flight from Boston to Miami diverted to New York; plane lands safely, no injuries reported Row of seats came loose shortly after takeoff; airline investigating Bankrupt American has wrangled with big labor unions over contracts; tensions with pilots (CNN) -- Passengers already feeling the bumpy impact of a labor dispute at American Airlines had another concern over the weekend when a row of seats dislodged during a flight and prompted an emergency landing, the airline said on Monday. A Boeing 757 from Boston to Miami carrying 175 passengers diverted to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport on Saturday when three seats in Row 12 came loose shortly after takeoff. The plane landed safely and no injuries were reported. Passengers were transferred to a second plane and the flight resumed later in the day. "We are conducting an internal investigation into why Row 12 was not locked down. There are at least a half-dozen reasons why a row of seats could become loose," Andrea Huguely, an airline spokeswoman, said in a statement. "We never have - nor will we - compromise the safety and reliability of our fleet," she said. The airline said standard maintenance practices are followed and the incident was reported to the Federal Aviation Administration. American Airlines declared bankruptcy last year and has been wrangling with its major unions over contract terms. In the past month, more than 1,000 American flights have been canceled and 12,000 delayed. Airline management blames the situation on pilots filing what it claims are frivolous reports about aircraft problems. The union representing American's pilots denies management's assertion.

Setback for Pakistani girl facing blasphemy charges

Rimsha Masih sits in a helicopter after her release from jail on September 8. Witnesses initially said an imam framed a teen girl accused of burning Quran pages Now, three witnesses have recanted those statements made to police Based partly on those statements, police determined the teen is innocent She still faces charges in juvenile court Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- Three witnesses whose testimony could absolve a 14-year-old Pakistani girl facing life in prison have changed their statements. It's the latest twist in the case of Rimsha Masih, a Christian teenager who was charged more than a month ago under Pakistan's blasphemy laws for allegedly burning pages of Islam's holy book for cooking fuel. She has denied the charges. The three witnesses initially told police they saw Khalid Jadoon Chishti, a Muslim cleric, tear pages out of a copy of the Quran and put them with police evidence that led to the charges against Rimsha. But they recanted those statements on Monday at a bail hearing for the cleric, according to the imam's lawyer, Wajid Ali Gilani. A fourth witness stood by his initial statement. The witnesses are a critical part of the police investigation that determined last week that the imam framed the teen. Based on that investigation and a lack of witnesses, her lawyers are now appealing to have the blasphemy charges dismissed. Teen blasphemy suspect speaks out Cleric accuser arrest in blasphemy case Locals react to girl's blasphemy arrest Girl arrested on blasphemy charges The teen's case has sparked international outcry against the Pakistani government, with some saying the blasphemy laws are used to settle scores and persecute religious minorities. Islamabad's police chief accused the three witnesses of lying to the court on Monday, and said investigators never pressured the witnesses when they gave their initial statements against the cleric. "If they have changed their statements, they are just lying," Chief Bin Yamin said. Police arrested Rimsha in August after her neighbor accused her of burning Quran pages to for cooking fuel, investigators said. The neighbor began to shout in protest, drawing a crowd that grew angry. Some neighbors said the teenager was beaten. Others said she ran back home and locked herself inside. When police arrived, they arrested her. Rimsha's lawyers said the neighbor wanted to settle a personal score with the girl because the two didn't get along. They said it's likely that he liked the teen and she didn't feel the same. The lawyers say that no one actually saw Rimsha burning the papers, but that the neighbor went to Chishti with the bags. According to police, Chishti wasn't certain that simply burning pages with texts from the Quran would be enough to convict Rimsha on blasphemy charges. So, he added two pages from the actual holy book to the bag to bolster the case, they said. In addition to charges of tampering with evidence, Chishti could also face blasphemy charges as a result of the police investigation. The pursuit of the accusations against the cleric is significant in Pakistan because "never before has a false accuser been held accountable," according to Ali Dayan Hasan, the Pakistan director of Human Rights Watch Hasan. After her arrest in August, Rimsha had been held in an adult jail before she was released on bail in September. A local court transferred her case to the juvenile court last week after the police investigation said she had been framed. Islamabad High Court will consider the petition to drop the charges against Rimsha on October 17, said Abdul Hamid Rana, the teen's leading lawyer. If the charges are not dismissed, her case will proceed in juvenile court. Having her case transferred to juvenile court "is a precursor to the case ending," said Hasan of Human Rights Watch. "That is quite unprecedented in the 25-year history of Pakistan's blasphemy laws," he said last week. It's unclear how the change in statements from the key witnesses will affect her case. Blasphemy laws were first instituted to keep peace between religions. Actions perceived as insults to Islam provoke fierce reactions in the predominantly Muslim nation, as demonstrated by the recent angry protests in response to an anti-Islam film produced in the United States and made available online. There have been 1,400 blasphemy cases since the laws were first enacted in 1986, according to Human Rights Watch. There are more than 15 cases of people on death row for blasphemy in Pakistan, and 52 people have been killed while facing trial for the charge, he said. Rimsha and her family spoke to CNN last month from an undisclosed location after she was released on bail. The teen denied that she defiled the Quran. She said she was happy to be with her family, but feared for her life. "I'm scared," she said by phone. "I'm afraid of anyone who might kill us." No matter how her case pans out, it's unclear what kind of life she might be able to have. Aid groups in the United States, Italy and Canada have offered the teen and her family a home outside Pakistan, a family representative said. But she has said she wants to stay in her home country.

Frum: 10 questions for Obama

President Barack Obama campaigns Sunday at a high school in Las Vegas. David Frum: President Obama has a record that should be questioned in the debates He says Obama should be asked about results of Afghan surge and "green-on-blue" attacks Frum: Ask about slow economic recovery and what level of taxation he thinks is too high Ask Obama how he would govern differently in second term, Frum says Editor's note: David Frum is a contributing editor at Newsweek and The Daily Beast and a CNN contributor. He is the author of seven books, including a new novel, "Patriots." Washington (CNN) -- Mitt Romney has had a bad couple of weeks, really a bad month since the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. The media spotlight has relentlessly focused on him. But there is an incumbent in the race, too, and an incumbent with a record that also reveals important disappointments, errors and failures. Over the next month, President Barack Obama will stand on stage beside Romney and submit to press questioning before millions of TV viewers. Here are 10 questions I'd like to hear him answer: 1) More than 50 U.S. and coalition soldiers have been killed so far this year by supposedly friendly Afghan forces. Two Americans were fatally shot just last week by Afghans we trained and equipped. These so-called "green on blue" attacks now account for 14% of all coalition casualties. What questions would you like to ask the candidates? Share a short video question. In 2009, you ordered 33,000 additional U.S. forces into Afghanistan. Three years later, Afghanistan looks no more stable than it did in 2009. Can you tell us specifically what the Afghan surge accomplished? 2) Campaigning in 2008, you called for tearing down the walls that separated the Muslim world from the West. You granted your first post-inauguration interview to Al Arabiyya television and told the interviewer: "My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy." You traveled to Cairo, Egypt, in 2009 to deliver a speech offering "a new beginning" in U.S. relations with the Islamic world. With the discovery that our ally Pakistan was home to Osama bin Laden, with a 9/11 denialist now elected president of Egypt, with our embassies under attack, with the news only in this past week that an Egyptian schoolteacher was sentenced to six years in prison for postings judged offensive to Islam on his Facebook page and mobs in Bangladesh burning Buddhist temples -- why have your hopes for change been so brutally disappointed? McCain: White House naive or deceitful Axelrod defends envoy on Libya Education urged as priority in U.S. 3) After the lethal attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, U.S. intelligence agencies collected information that the attacks were premeditated and coordinated by elements of al Qaeda in Libya, and timed to the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Yet your administration insisted for more than a week that the attacks were a spontaneous reaction to a YouTube video. Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was sent to five Sunday morning shows to repeat a claim that she -- and you -- had to have known was untrue. The video maker is now under arrest, ostensibly because of parole violations, but pretty obviously for exercising his free-speech rights. Why didn't you just tell the truth to the American people from the start? 4) Can you today guarantee that Iran will not have acquired a nuclear weapon by the time you finish a second term in office? 5) You inherited the worst economic crash since the 1930s. The economy hit bottom in the summer of 2009 and a recovery then began. Congratulations. Yet this recovery has been the slowest and weakest since World War II. Nobody blames you for the collapse. But why shouldn't Americans blame you for the meager record since recovery began more than three years ago? 6) You propose to allow the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 to expire on income above $250,000. That would raise the top rate of federal income tax back to 39.6%. When the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented, the top rate will rise past 40%, including the new health care surtax. Almost all states collect income taxes of their own, rising nearly to 10% in California and even beyond in Oregon. Do you believe there a percentage level at which the government is taking just too much? What is it? 7) You emphasize more college education as the most important way to raise worker wages. Yet even before the Great Recession began, wages were actually dropping for new college graduates. As technology enables the outsourcing of white-collar jobs, too, it's ceasing to be true that a college degree in itself translates into a rising standard of living. Got any other ideas? 8) You've expressed concern about growing wealth disparities in America. One cause of those disparities is the huge surge of low-wage immigration since 1970: almost 30 million newcomers. These newcomers are three times as likely as the native-born to lack a high-school diploma. Even before the Great Recession, they were 50% more likely to be poor than the native-born. The best data show that even the great-grandchildren of low-skill Latino immigrants continue to struggle in the high-tech economy. Your immigration proposals call for granting illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, creating incenti ves for more illegal entry in the future and continuing family reunification policies that will maintain our present low-skill immigration intake for years and decades to come. How do you reconcile your immigration proposals with your promise to strengthen the American middle class? 9) Your administration reacted to the financial crisis with an $800 billion fiscal stimulus. You promised that it would create jobs and rebuild American infrastructure. Yet Amtrak's latest plan for the Northeast rail corridor can promise no shortening of travel times until the 2040s. Can you give examples of any real-life improvements to our infrastructure that were achieved by your stimulus? Please be as specific as possible. 10) If you're re-elected in 2012, what hope is there that the next four years will be less acrimonious and ineffectual than the past two? Can you acknowledge any fault at all on your own side for the paralysis in Washington -- and what will you change to try to make your second term less rancorous than your first? Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Frum.

Ahmadinejad cameraman defects to U.S.

Attorney Paul O'Dwyer says he is working with U.S. authorities on behalf of Hassan Golkanbhan Calls to the Iranian mission at the United Nations have not been returned The whereabouts of Golkanbhan are not clear New York (CNN) -- A cameraman who accompanied Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to New York for the U.N. General Assembly has applied for asylum in the United States, his attorney said Monday. New York City-based attorney Paul O'Dwyer said he is working with U.S. authorities on behalf of Hassan Golkanbhan, but would not disclose further details about his client. "Once you've filed, which Hassan has, you are legally allowed to remain in the U.S.," O'Dwyer said. "So we've gotten him that initial protection." Calls to the Iranian mission at the United Nations have not been returned, and the whereabouts of Golkanbhan are not clear. The Iranian president addressed delegates for the last time on Wednesday at the annual U.N. session.

Hollywood, Persian Gulf oil barons have common foe: fracking

By John Carney, cnbc.com The times they are a-changing. Who would have thought that Hollywood environmentalists would find themselves aligned with Persian Gulf oil barons? But the strange politics of energy have managed to bring the greens into line with the OPEC-member United Arab Emirates on the issue of fracking. "Promised Land" is a new film starring and written by Matt Damon and John Krasinski, based on a story by San Francisco-based writer Dave Eggers. In the film, Damon and actress Frances McDormand play a team that shows a rural town hard hit by economic decline, offering to pay big money for drilling rights. Krasinski plays a local activist who leads the town into rebellion against the drillers, arguing that their plans would damage the local environment. To anyone who is familiar with the debates about fracking in, say, upstate New York, this will be a familiar story. The more interesting twist here isn't in the move — it's in the movie's creation. The film was produced "in association with" Image Media Abu Dhabi, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Media, as first reported by the Heritage Foundation. Abu Dhabi Media — which has never had a role in a major American film before — is wholly owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates, a small but extremely wealthy federation of absolute monarchies along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf. The UAE has the world's seventh largest oil reserves, according to the CIA Factbook. It is ranked ahead of Russia and just behind Kuwait in proven oil reserves. It is the fourth largest exporter of oil in the world. And, of course, it is a member of OPEC. Very obviously, the UAE has an interest in slowing down the expansion of hydraulic fracking that has created an energy boom in the United States. A popular film — there's even talk of it being an Oscar candidate — might give a boost to the opponents of fracking.  Although that's not necessarily what will happen. There's already a Facebook group formed by residents of the area in Pennsylvania where much of the movie was filmed who claim they were deceived about the filmmakers intentions.  "They filmed this movie in our backyard. They told us it would be fair to drilling. It's not. We're p*ssed," the group complains.  No doubt news of the UAE's involvement in the film will make backlash even more likely. More content from NBCNews.com: California becomes first state in nation to bay 'gay cure' therapy for children 2 killed, 1 wounded in biker shooting at VFW lodge shooting Family demands answers in fatal shooting of woman by Border Patrol agent LA drivers steer clear of 'Carmageddon' freeway closure Wild horses sold by US later ending up at slaughterhouses? Video: Soldier surprised with message from military father Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook