Message

� Counselor To The President Dan Bartlett: "What's Interesting About This Book Is That [Woodward] Doesn't Connect His Own Dots." BARTLETT: "What's interesting about this book is that he doesn't connect his own dots. What he talks about in here is that there is a grim picture in Iraq that the President wasn't sharing with the American people, that we didn't have a strategy, when in fact he references throughout the book time after time after time where the President was being presented with the bad information, was pushing the internal process to make sure that we were adapting to the enemy, and he was sharing this news with the American people." (ABC's "This Week," 10/1/06)

� Former White House Chief Of Staff Andy Card: "I Think The Right Title For The Book Really Should Be The 'State Of Resolve.'" CARD: "I think the right title for the book really should be the "State of Resolve" � the resolve that the President has to have the benefit of a lot of diverse counsel that comes from many different sectors, not just within the Cabinet and the White House staff, but throughout the country, but he has the resolve to do that which he believes is right, knowing that the decisions are always tough, but they are important, and he has the resolve to see us through to victory." (MSNBC's "MSNBC Live," 10/1/06)

Accounts Of Secretary Rice's Pre-9/11 Meeting With Cofer Black And George Tenet: "That Is Just Not How [Secretary Rice] Recalls It Whatsoever"

� Bartlett: The Book's Account "Really Didn't Match Secretary Rice's Recollection Of The Meeting At All." BARTLETT: "We were very surprised to see the account in this book, because it really didn't match Secretary Rice's recollection of the meeting at all. In fact, these very vivid accounts we're hearing from � allegedly from Cofer Black and from George Tenet � were not shared with the 9/11 Commission. As we all know, that eight months of the President's presidency is one of the most investigated eight months of any presidency, because of 9/11. And nowhere over the last several years have these quotes showed up. � I talked to Secretary Rice this morning. She disputes it vigorously." (CBS' "Face The Nation," 10/1/06)

� Bartlett: "That Is Just Not How She Recalls It Whatsoever." BARTLETT: "She does remember meeting � this meeting and other meetings that they had where they were talking generalized about the threats and about what we're doing. But the suggestion in this is that they asked for a very specific plan to go after bin Laden � we knew an attack to America was going to happen. That is just not how she recalls it whatsoever. And none of the evidence as shown in the 9/11 Commission book says otherwise." (CBS' "Face The Nation," 10/1/06)

"The Politically Expedient Thing To Do These Days � Has Been To Draw Down The Troops"

� Bartlett: "The Politically Expedient Thing For The President To Do In The Last Two Years Has Been, Let's Just Pull Down The Troops And Get Out." BARTLETT: "The politically expedient thing for the President to do in the last two years has been, let's just pull down the troops and get out. Let's not follow � a conditions-based approach to this. What he has done is said, I'm going to listen to my commanders on the ground. I'm going to constantly adapt our tactics to meet a very important strategic objective." (ABC's "This Week," 10/1/06)

"The President Has Been Very Blunt With The American People About The Challenges We Face In Iraq"

� Bartlett: "The President Has Been Very Blunt With The American People About The Challenges We Face In Iraq." BARTLETT: "Last year and the early part of this year, he gave a series of speeches where he talked about how we're constantly adapting our strategy, where we had to fix things on reconstruction, on training Iraqi security forces. So I think the President � I know the President has been very blunt with the American people about the challenges we face in Iraq." (CBS' "Face The Nation," 10/1/06)

� Card: The President Has "Told Us Repeatedly This Would Be A Long And Arduous Challenge." CARD: "The President understands the realities of the challenges in Iraq, and he listens to a lot of different advisers. � So, he is not seeing the world through rose-colored glasses � he's told us repeatedly that this would be a long and arduous challenge, but it's very important that we complete it to success." (MSNBC's "MSNBC Live," 10/1/06)

"The President Did Not Reject Advice From The � Central Command Or From [General] Tommy Franks For More Troops"

� Bartlett: "At Every Step Of The Way, The President [Has] Given The Commanders What They Wanted." BARTLETT: "The President did not reject advice from the CENTCOM � from the Central Command or from Tommy Franks for more troops and they didn't get it. At every step of the way, the President has given the commanders what they wanted." (CBS' "Face The Nation," 10/1/06)

� Card: Discussions Of Personnel Changes "Applied To Every Member Of The Cabinet" And Were In The "Context Of Broader Changes." CARD: "One of the things that I did as the chief of staff was to make sure the President always understood when there would be opportunities for change. And it applied to every member of the Cabinet. � I can't deny that there were at least two times we talked about potential changes at the Defense Department, but they were usually in the context of broader changes that the President might want to consider, after an election, before a January 1st date, or before a Labor Day date, I would talk to the President about this is a good opportunity to make changes." (MSNBC's, "MSNBC Live," 10/1/06)

� Bartlett: The President Believes "Secretary Rumsfeld Is The Right Person To Help Him Lead" The Fight Against The Terrorists. BARTLETT: "The President has full confidence in Secretary Rumsfeld. Every Cabinet member serves at the pleasure of the President. � But what President Bush looks to in Secretary Rumsfeld is to bring him the type of information he needs to make the right decisions in this war. � The enemy we're up against is determined to do everything they can to bring America to its knees. And we have to do everything we can to fight this enemy. And he believes that Secretary Rumsfeld is the right person to help him lead that fight." (ABC's "This Week," 10/1/06)

"The President Wants Advisors That Are Strong-Willed, That Have Differences Of Opinion"

� Bartlett: "You Want To Have An Administration � That Has Differences Of Opinions." BARTLETT: "You want to have an Administration � a team � that has differences of opinions. These are very tough issues, Wolf. � The President wants advisors that are strong-willed, that have differences of opinion, share those opinions with him so then he can make the best decision possible. Now, the issue about Secretary Rumsfeld, and if you read the book carefully, Secretary Rice didn't call for Secretary Rumsfeld's dismissal. She suggested to the President maybe he ought to bring in a whole national security team starting the second term." (CNN's "Late Edition," 10/1/06)

�The reality is the President knows we�re in a long war with a determined enemy, and has said so from the start.�

�White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, 9/30/06

MYTH #1: Woodward Says The Facts Of A May 24 Intelligence Assessment Refuted The President�s Forecasts In A Chicago Speech Two Days Earlier. (Bob Woodward, State Of Denial, 2006)

� FACT: President Bush Knows We Are In A Tough, Critical Struggle And Consistently Reminds The American People Of This, Including In His Chicago Remarks. In Chicago, the President said: �Our nation has been through three difficult years in Iraq. And the way forward will bring more days of challenge and loss.� (President Bush, Remarks, Chicago, IL, 5/22/06)

MYTH #2: Woodward Claims The Administration Ignored Paul Bremer�s Requests For More Troops. (Bob Woodward, State Of Denial, 2006)

� FACT: Bremer Has Said His Request Was Considered. BREMER: �[Rumsfeld] said he�d received it and would consider it and he did he consider it.� (NBC�s �Meet The Press,� 1/15/06)

� FACT: Sec. Rumsfeld Has Said Bremer�s Request Was Considered. RUMSFELD: �Just before he left he sent a memorandum to me indicating that he thought there should be more troops, and it was within a matter of weeks before he departed. And I took that and sat down with General Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and said, this is a reasonable proposal from a reasonable person; let�s look at it. And he took it down into the Joint Staff and the tank and had the chiefs � and they spent several weeks in making evaluations with respect to it, and at some moment came back to me � I acknowledged receiving the memo from Jerry Bremer when I received it, told him what I was going to do with it, giving it to General Myers.� (Sec. Donald Rumsfeld, Press Briefing, 1/12/06)

� FACT: Gen. Pace Has Said Bremer�s Request Was Considered. PACE: �Sir, we did a very thorough analysis of that recommendation and when we got done, all the chiefs agreed with the commanders in the field that the numbers of troops in the field then, as now, was appropriate to what we were fighting.� (Gen. Peter Pace, Press Briefing, 1/12/06)

MYTH #3: Woodward Claims Condoleezza Rice Brushed Off George Tenet And Cofer Black�s July 2001 Warning About Al Qaeda. (Bob Woodward, State Of Denial, 2006)

� FACT: According To State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack, The Recollections Portrayed By Woodward Do Not Reflect Tenet And Black�s 9/11 Commission Testimony. �But Rice and other State Department officials denied [Woodward�s claim], noting that the report of the Sept. 11 commission, which had sworn testimony from Tenet and others at the meeting, made no mention of the July 10 encounter. �The recollections as portrayed in the Woodward book in no way reflect the public and private testimony under oath of those individuals to the 9/11 commission,� said Sean McCormack, the State Department spokesman.� (David E. Sanger, �White House Disputes Book�s Account Of Rifts On Iraq,� The New York Times, 9/30/06)

MYTH #4: Woodward Claims Gen. Abazaid Alleged Sec. Rumsfeld �Doesn�t Have Any Credibility Anymore.� (Bob Woodward, State Of Denial, 2006)

� FACT: Gen. Abizaid�s Spokesman Says Gen. Abizaid Denies Saying This, And In Fact �General Abizaid Has Nothing But The Greatest Respect For Mr. Rumsfeld.� (David E. Sanger, �White House Disputes Book�s Account Of Rifts On Iraq,� The New York Times, 9/30/06)

MYTH #5: Woodward Claims Then-Chief Of Staff Andy Card Tried To Remove Sec. Rumsfeld, And Mrs. Bush Also Wanted Him Removed. (Bob Woodward, State Of Denial, 2006)

� FACT: Card Has Made Clear That Woodward Ignored The Situation�s Context. ��Right after the election, I went to Camp David and talked to the president, and we talked about a lot of changes, starting with the chief of staff,� Mr. Card said, recounting how he used to tote around what he called his �hit by a bus book,� a notebook of lists of potential replacements for senior White House staff members and top cabinet officials. �It�s not inaccurate to say that we talked about Rumsfeld,� he said. �I can understand why Bob would try to create a climate around these conversations.� But he added: �There was no campaign, and I didn�t go out and solicit others to back any view about getting rid of anyone. I could talk about these things with the president, and plant seeds, because there is a cadence to life in Washington and you raise these issues periodically.� Mr. Card acknowledged that he renewed the question of replacing Mr. Rumsfeld this year, but again insisted that it was not part of a specific effort to single out the defense secretary for removal.� (David E. Sanger, �White House Disputes Book�s Account Of Rifts On Iraq,� The New York Times, 9/30/06)

� FACT: �Mrs. Bush�s Office Has Said, Not True � Flatly Not True.� (Tony Snow, Press Briefing, Washington, DC, 9/29/06)

"We've read this book before. This tends to repeat what we've seen in a number of other books that have been out this year where people are ventilating old disputes over troop levels. � And rather than a state of denial, it's a state of the obvious, which is that there have been a number of disagreements over the years about troop levels and very � people with very strong opinions have disagreed with this, and that this � but if you take a look at what the President has been saying in recent weeks, where he was accused of fear-mongering, he understands that you got a tough and committed enemy. ... All of those things will continue to be a focus of administration opinion, and the President, again, is not looking through rose-colored glasses."

? White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, Press Briefing, 9/29/06

Tony Snow: "The President � Was Not, In Fact, Painting A Rose-Colored Picture." "Mr. Woodward talks about an intelligence assessment the President has, and said � it had contradicted something [the President] had said two days earlier [in a press conference in Chicago]. Well, you all happened to be there two days earlier. � Here's what he said. He said, 'The central front in the war on terror is Iraq, and I know Iraq is on the minds of a lot of people here in Chicago. It's hard work. It's hard work because we face an enemy that will [kill] innocent people in order to achieve an objective' � The President, contrary to the assertion, was not, in fact, painting a rose-colored picture. He has been saying that it's a tough war, it's a long war, it's a war that's going to outlive his presidency." (White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, Press Briefing, White House Conference Center, 9/29/06)

� The President Wants "The Best Data He Can Get." "The President, as he said, worries everyday about what's going on in the war and how best to fight it. And the last thing he ever wants � and many of you have dealt with him � when he asks questions, it's not to sugar coat something. Instead, what he's trying to find out is exactly what the situation is. That means he is looking for the best data he can get."

Tony Snow: "The Fact Is, [Rumsfeld Was] Saying That We Are Now [Evaluating] Any Kind Of Action That May Be Directed At American Forces, And The President Is Informed Of That." "Now, when it comes, for instance, to the issue of assault on troops, this is something on which the President is regularly briefed, and people know about it. Nobody's tried to mislead anyone about it. Secretary Rumsfeld did say that one of the things we're trying to do is to document more carefully and exhaustively what is going on. � The fact is, he is saying that we are now taking any kind of action that may be directed at Americans, and �that is, the American forces, and the President is informed of that. But there is no attempt to mislead."

Tony Snow: Reports That Abizaid Said Rumsfeld's Lost All Credibility Are "Gossip, And I Will Let The Generals Handle That."

Tony Snow: "The Idea That Somehow The President Rejects Or Ignores Advice Is Simply Wrong." "Defense Secretary Rumsfeld a while back was asked about [the Blackwill memo] and he said the following � he said, 'Just before he left, he sent a memorandum to me indicating that he thought there should be more troops. And it was within a matter of weeks before he departed. I said that, and sat down with General Myers, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and said, "This is a reasonable proposal from a reasonable person. Let's look at it."' Jerry Bremer also said in the "Meet the Press" interview that that's, in fact, what Don Rumsfeld did � There is a chain of command, and the chain of command involves a lot of people, and the President will give differing advice. But the idea that somehow the President rejects or ignores advice is simply wrong."

� "And Rather Than A State Of Denial, It's A State Of The Obvious, Which Is That There Have Been A Number Of Disagreements Over The Years About Troop Levels." "� [T]here have been a number of disagreements over the years about troop levels and � people with very strong opinions have disagreed with this."

� "What You Have Not Heard, I Don't Think, Are The Generals Involved In The Theaters Saying, I Asked For Something And I Didn't Get It." "And so what you have here are people making serious determinations. Donald Rumsfeld is the Secretary of Defense, and in the chain of command, he is the person who will make the recommendations. What you have not heard, I don't think, are the Generals involved in the theaters saying, I asked for something and I didn't get it. Tommy Franks' book is replete with discussions of that. And you can ask the Generals in the field, because the President has said it over and over again, If they ask for it, they'll get it."

� "But On The Other Hand, If You Take A Look At The Arc Of Troops During That Year, Guess What Happened? More Troops Were Added During The Course Of The Year." "As a matter of fact, by the time elections occurred in late [2005], I think the troop number had risen from about 100,000 at the beginning of the year to about 160,000. The President has also made it clear that he continues to respond, as Commander-in-Chief, to developments on the ground and to requests from commanders."

Tony Snow: What General Garner Was Presenting "Was Something That They Had Known And Seen." "� [T]here was also some concern that [Jay Garner] had done a briefing and nobody asked questions. That's because the proposals, in fact, had been before people for a long time. It had been vetted. It had gone through the principals. The President and everybody else were familiar with what General Garner was presenting. It was something that they had known and seen."

� "The President Is Not Sitting Around Trying To Make Political Judgments About [Troop Levels]." "Instead, what the President and the commanders have said is, no, the battlefield requirements indicate that we're going to need 140,000, at least into the first quarter of next year. � [The President] doesn't sit around and try to take a look at the latest poll numbers to figure out what you do when American lives are at risk and when the operation needs to proceed. He considers all the recommendations laid before him."

Reports Chief Of Staff Andy Card Recommended Secretary Rumsfeld's Resignation

Tony Snow: "Not True." "He was asked to take a look at everybody, including himself. And it's typical, as a matter of fact, quite often in administrations at this point people are asked to submit their resignations. � There are two characterizations that at least I can say on good authority are incorrect, which is, number one, that he was bitter about what was going on in Iraq; and, two, that he left as a bitter man. Anybody who knows Andy Card knows that there's not a bitter bone in his body."

Tony Snow: "I Talked With Secretary Rice Today And Her Quote Was, 'This Is Ridiculous.'" "In particular, there are allegations of conflicts between Secretary Rumsfeld and Secretary Rice. The two of them have been having daily phone conversations throughout this Administration. There is a daily phone conversation between the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State and the National Security Adviser. And Condi has been either the National Security Adviser or the Secretary of State from day one. So she could not have been more clear."

Tony Snow: "You're Going To Have To Ask The Publishers" If The Timing Was Political.

Tony Snow: "The President Has A Lot Of People In, And He Listens To Them. And Dr. Kissinger Is One Of Them. And He Is Not Going To Characterize Individual Conversations." "But what he did say to me � and it was interesting, is he gives the President his honest advice. And he also said that what does happen is � he doesn't come in necessarily when he agrees, but also when there are points of disagreement. And the President listens carefully and thoughtfully to his views. � I think it offers a nice counterpoint to the idea that the President is just plugging his ears, closing his eyes and not taking a look at what's going on."