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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neeka who wrote (3610)	7/22/2003 12:55:39 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793559

Sounds like blackmail to me. Just normal local politics. They have hung themselves out to dry by letting that go out. Stalling now will be used to point to this.

To: Neeka who wrote (3610)	7/22/2003 2:05:56 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793559

White House Tries to Limit Iraq Damage By TOM RAUM The Associated Press - Washington Post Tuesday, July 22, 2003; 1:59 AM WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is reaching out to its Republican allies in Congress in an effort to counter criticism of President Bush's Iraq policy and his use of discredited intelligence to advance the case for toppling Saddam Hussein. With Bush's job approval ratings slipping, and U.S. casualties in Iraq continuing to climb, the White House is in full damage-control mode, trying to reframe the debate over the Iraq war away from the flap over Bush's assertion in his State of the Union address that Iraq was trying to buy uranium in Africa. On Monday, White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett went to Capitol Hill to urge Republicans to emphasize positive aspects of the broader war against terrorism, administration and congressional officials said. Bartlett met with top GOP House and Senate aides to essentially provide "talking points" for countering Democratic attacks and to share recently declassified intelligence information with them, officials said. The administration wants its GOP allies in Congress to do more to emphasize some of the upside to deposing Saddam, including humanitarian gestures and the freeing of the Iraqi people. Other aggressive efforts are expected by the administration in the days ahead to try to regain control of the message, including a possible speech on the issue by Vice President Dick Cheney, administration and congressional GOP aides said. Cheney's own role in the leadup to the war has been challenged by administration critics. At the heart of the latest debate are 16 words in Bush's Jan. 28 State of the Union address in which he cited a British report suggesting that Saddam was actively seeking to buy uranium in Africa. The claim - based largely on an allegation that Iraq was seeking uranium ore in the West African nation of Niger - subsequently has been challenged by U.S. intelligence officials. Top-level White House aides, including Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, have said the words should not have been in the speech. Bush himself has said the phrase had been cleared by intelligence agencies. The president has sidestepped questions on whether he felt personally responsible for the tainted information, although CIA Director George Tenet has apologized for not raising objections to it ahead of the speech. The White House last week began an offensive to try to stem the criticism, including putting out newly declassified portions of an October 2002 report to the president by the U.S. intelligence community that reflected widespread concern that Iraq was in fact in pursuit of nuclear weapons. Still, release of the material raised additional questions about the rationale use by the administration and reflected deep divisions within the intelligence community. A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Monday that Bartlett's trip to Capitol Hill was an attempt to touch base with congressional allies on the subject and go over what the administration views as "misinformation." washingtonpost.com