Posted on 11/27/2003 7:40:29 PM PST by jern
To Philip Taubman, the Washington bureau chief of The New York Times, that briefing appeared to constitute "deliberate deception."
Mr. Taubman said he respected pool protocol but questioned why the press corps traveling on Air Force One yesterday could not have been enlarged somewhat, given the gravity of a visit by the president to Iraq on Thanksgiving.
from DrudgeNOT EVERYONE THRILLED, SAYS HOWARD KURTZ FRIDAY: 'Philip Taubman, Washington bureau chief of the New York Times, said that 'in this day and age there should have been a way to take more reporters. People are perfectly capable of maintaining a confidence for security reasons. It's a bad precedent." Once White House officials "decided to do a stealth trip, they bought into a whole series of things that are questionable''
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On Wednesday afternoon, Mike Allen, a White House correspondent for The Washington Post, was talking on his cellphone outside a school in Crawford, Tex., not far from President Bush's ranch, when an aide to the president motioned him toward the passenger seat of a rented Dodge pickup truck.
In a scene out of a Tom Clancy novel, Mr. Allen was then driven several blocks to what he later described as "a concealed parking lot" and told only that "someone wanted to talk" to him.
That person was Dan Bartlett, Mr. Bush's communications director, who came bearing a message: "The president's going to Baghdad."
It was just before 4 p.m. in Texas. A little more than four hours later, Mr. Allen and several other journalists were seated aboard Air Force One and flying toward Washington. By 9:35 a.m. Eastern time the next day, the journalists, including writers from The Associated Press, Bloomberg News and Reuters, as well as a camera crew from Fox News, would touch down with the president in Iraq. The outside world — including in many cases, their bosses and families — would not learn of their journey until after they were on their way back home.
The extraordinary steps the White House took to conceal Mr. Bush's whereabouts were undertaken primarily to ensure his safety, his aides said yesterday.
But several of the editors, news directors and producers responsible for directing coverage of the Bush administration said that they found aspects of the White House strategy to be deceptive, excessively secretive and disruptive of the relationship between writer and editor.
One editor objected , for example, to a briefing that Claire Buchan, a White House spokeswoman, gave to reporters in Crawford early Wednesday afternoon.
"The president will be spending Thanksgiving at his ranch here in Crawford." Ms. Buchan said. "If there are updates, additionally, to what he does on Thanksgiving, we'll try and keep you posted."
Ms. Buchan said yesterday she learned of the president's plans to go to Baghdad only after that news briefing. Mr. Allen, in a report to his colleagues in the White House press corps, quoted Mr. Bartlett as saying that the president signed off on the Iraq trip several hours before the briefing.
To Philip Taubman, the Washington bureau chief of The New York Times, that briefing appeared to constitute "deliberate deception."
Mike Abramowitz, the national editor of The Washington Post, said he did not learn that Mr. Allen had gone to Iraq until after the reporter contacted the newspaper's foreign desk from Air Force One on the ride back. He said he found it troubling that the White House had made it difficult for the journalists to apprise their editors of their travel plans.
In a news conference in Crawford yesterday, Ms. Buchan said that the journalists had been told they could disclose their plans to their supervisors, but only "in person."
"I don't feel entirely comfortable with that," Mr. Abramowitz said in an interview yesterday. "I do know that in this case, there are obviously security concerns. But I need to talk to Mike. I need to find out more about what actually happened. I prefer to know what our White House reporter is doing." Mr. Abramowitz, who did not expect to speak to Mr. Allen until after he was scheduled to land in Texas before dawn today, added: "I'm not mad at him."
At least one news executive was told of the plan by his reporter in advance. John Moody, a senior vice president of the Fox News Channel, said the correspondent, Jim Angle, told him in a phone call early in the afternoon on Wednesday that he was heading to Baghdad, with the president. (It was not clear yesterday if Mr. Angle knew of Ms. Buchan's admonition.)
"He said I've got something to tell you but you've got to remain silent," Mr. Moody said. "My first question was, `Iraq or Afghanistan?' "
Mr. Moody said he kept the news to himself, telling his staff only to be alert for "any unexpected calls" on Thanksgiving Day but nothing more.
"When somebody's told you, `You've got the security of the president of the United States resting on your discretion,' you can be pretty discreet."
Aboard Air Force One, said David Shott, a Fox producer, a senior White House official told reporters that the plane would turn around "if security was compromised at any time." Mr. Allen said he was asked to remove the batteries from his cellphone, `so the movement could not be tracked."
The Washington Post was the only newspaper represented in yesterday's pool. Such pools, in which news organizations rotate in and out on a fairly fixed schedule, are used when bringing the entire White House press corps would be too cumbersome.
Mr. Taubman said he respected pool protocol but questioned why the press corps traveling on Air Force One yesterday could not have been enlarged somewhat, given the gravity of a visit by the president to Iraq on Thanksgiving.
For the journalists involved, the president's surprising appearance before the troops was unmistakably exciting.
In his report to the press corps, Mr. Allen described sitting on Air Force One across from Richard Keil of Bloomberg News. At one point, Mr. Allen wrote, Mr. Keil "leaned across the aisle, shoved aside his I-Pod headset and grinned as he said, `The president of the United States is AWOL, and we're with him. The ultimate road trip.' "
A little look in the mirror might answer his question.
Was there no more room on Hillary's jet for the media?
Naaaaah ... REALLY!!??
I wouldn't trust some in the left stream media not to give the infomration to the enemy.
This guy is either dreaming or lying.
A lie if ever one was told by left wing lunatics.
The press ranks right down there in trust with those who chase ambulances in the legal profession.
Their rankings will now take another hit.
The President got over there and got the hell back BEFORE any terrorists or assassins had wind of it. He is safe. Risky, indeed, but no attack upon him or his entourage. American soldiers went to bed tonight on the war front not only filled with turkey, but filled with inspiration, courage and fighting spirit--to continue taking it to the enemy. Mission accomplished. Mission accomplished. Nuff said.
What do these TRAITOROUS American liberal journalists actually want? What assholes. They seem to have wanted that the President in some way would be noticed and then harmed. They ought to all just shut the f up and quit moaning and just admit they have been defeated and their apple cart has been overturned.
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