Looks like Bob Woodward is willing to take any side of an issue and certainly can tell which way the wind is apt to be blowing in order to take advantage of the latest pro or anti-Bush feelings in order to generate book sales. That being said it appears that he has uncovered a few little gems that should ingraciate him to the administration for good now.
Woodward Finds Reality: Condi Blew Off 9/11 Warnings, Andrew Card Wanted Rumsfeld Fired, Saudis are Lowering Prices to Help Republicans Maintain Control of Congress, And More...
White House 'Ignored' Iraq Warning
Financial Times
All Financial Times News
The Bush administration was shaken on Friday by revelations from a new book by Bob Woodward, the veteran investigative reporter, which said Andrew Card, the former White House chief of staff, had twice tried to force the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld, defence secretary, over his handling of the Iraq war.
State of Denial by the Washington Post reporter who uncovered the Watergate scandal, paints a picture of an administration riven by personal rivalries, with Mr Rumsfeld at one point refusing to take calls from Condoleezza Rice, then national security adviser. It claims that even Laura Bush, President George W. Bush's wife, had misgivings about the defence secretary.
It also suggests Ms Rice "brushed off" a July 2001 briefing from the CIA director and former head of counterterrorism, about an imminent terrorist threat. That contrasts with claims from Ms Rice that the administration had in its first eight months been "at least as aggressive" as the Clinton administration.
Critics could use the account to question the White House's credibility on its handling of the Iraq war and the "war on terror". It comes at a time when Mr Bush has forcefully made the case that his actions since 9/11 have made the US safer.
Tony Snow, White House spokesman, dismissed the book as "like cotton candy. It kind of melts on contact", and said it was driven by those on the "losing side of the argument...The average Washington memoir ought to be subtitled: 'If only they had listened to me'.?"
He rejected some of the book's central allegations, denying the White House played down the threats from the insurgency in Iraq and ignored urgent calls for more troops. Mr Bush has consistently defended Mr Rumsfeld.
The New York Times was the first to report on the book, an embarrassment to the Washington Post, which is due to publish extracts on Sunday. It is the second blow to the newspaper, which was also scooped on the outing of Deep Throat, Mr Woodward's source during Watergate.
In a claim that could fuel conspiracy theories about the recent oil price decline – in an interview to be broadcast on CBS on Sunday – Mr Woodward described a conversation between Prince Bandar bin Sultan and Mr Bush in which the former Saudi ambassador said he could ease oil prices ahead of the elections.
"They could go down very quickly. That's the Saudi pledge. Certainly over the summer, or as we get closer to the election, they could increase production several million barrels a day," Mr Woodward said.
Full Story
Woodward Finds Reality: Condi Blew Off 9/11 Warnings, Andrew Card Wanted Rumsfeld Fired, Saudis are Lowering Prices to Help Republicans Maintain Control of Congress, And More...
White House 'Ignored' Iraq Warning
Financial Times
All Financial Times News
The Bush administration was shaken on Friday by revelations from a new book by Bob Woodward, the veteran investigative reporter, which said Andrew Card, the former White House chief of staff, had twice tried to force the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld, defence secretary, over his handling of the Iraq war.
State of Denial by the Washington Post reporter who uncovered the Watergate scandal, paints a picture of an administration riven by personal rivalries, with Mr Rumsfeld at one point refusing to take calls from Condoleezza Rice, then national security adviser. It claims that even Laura Bush, President George W. Bush's wife, had misgivings about the defence secretary.
It also suggests Ms Rice "brushed off" a July 2001 briefing from the CIA director and former head of counterterrorism, about an imminent terrorist threat. That contrasts with claims from Ms Rice that the administration had in its first eight months been "at least as aggressive" as the Clinton administration.
Critics could use the account to question the White House's credibility on its handling of the Iraq war and the "war on terror". It comes at a time when Mr Bush has forcefully made the case that his actions since 9/11 have made the US safer.
Tony Snow, White House spokesman, dismissed the book as "like cotton candy. It kind of melts on contact", and said it was driven by those on the "losing side of the argument...The average Washington memoir ought to be subtitled: 'If only they had listened to me'.?"
He rejected some of the book's central allegations, denying the White House played down the threats from the insurgency in Iraq and ignored urgent calls for more troops. Mr Bush has consistently defended Mr Rumsfeld.
The New York Times was the first to report on the book, an embarrassment to the Washington Post, which is due to publish extracts on Sunday. It is the second blow to the newspaper, which was also scooped on the outing of Deep Throat, Mr Woodward's source during Watergate.
In a claim that could fuel conspiracy theories about the recent oil price decline – in an interview to be broadcast on CBS on Sunday – Mr Woodward described a conversation between Prince Bandar bin Sultan and Mr Bush in which the former Saudi ambassador said he could ease oil prices ahead of the elections.
"They could go down very quickly. That's the Saudi pledge. Certainly over the summer, or as we get closer to the election, they could increase production several million barrels a day," Mr Woodward said.
Full Story
