White House 'outs' Clarke as defender of anti-terror efforts

AP/WKYT.com ^ | 3-24-04 | Staff

[veronica]

White House-AP -- The White House says a briefing Dick Clarke gave two years ago "shatters" the charges he's making now -- that President Bush gave short shrift to al-Qaida before Nine-Eleven.

Continuing their effort to discredit the ex-counter-terrorism chief, White House officials took the unusual step of outing him as the anonymous official who briefed reporters in August of 2002.

In the briefing -- arranged by the White House -- Clarke outlined a multi-pronged approach for confronting the terror network that was developed in the months before the attacks.

Press Secretary Scott McClellan says Clarke's own words rebut the charges he's making now.

But testifying before the Nine-Eleven Commission, Clarke said he'd been asked by the White House to "highlight the positive" and "minimize the negative" in Bush anti-terror efforts. He says he's done it for presidents of both parties.

[LiteKeeper]

INTREP - CLARKE's 15 minutes are over. Time to "moveon"
- to quote another infamous source

[Howlin]

Continuing their effort to discredit the ex-counter-terrorism chief, White House officials took the unusual step of outing him as the anonymous official who briefed reporters in August of 2002.

Truth: Jim Angle found this tape while going back through ALL the tapes he keeps as a reporter; he personally took it to the White House and asked them if he could use it on air. After they vetted it, they said yes.

The White House had nothing to do with this.

[NutCrackerBoy]

CLARKE's 15 minutes are over.

Not yet. Clarke rebuffed this easily. And AP allowed his rebuff to appear in the same release; making the administration looking stupid that they were "outing" him, that they didn't know then was spin, now is truth.

[Howlin]

But testifying before the Nine-Eleven Commission, Clarke said he'd been asked by the White House to "highlight the positive" and "minimize the negative" in Bush anti-terror efforts. He says he's done it for presidents of both parties.

And that is a lie, too. After he was asked why he changed his story, he said that he had done interview in his position at the White House; after being asked again why it was so different from the book, he said that in interviews like that you always highlight the good.

He did NOT say the White House asked him to highlight jack.

[NutCrackerBoy]

Who scripted the AP to spin this release? Or did they do it themselves?

[Swanks]

Gee. This can't be. Nothing mentioned on CNN/Blitzer show. Only doom for the Prez there.

[McGavin999]

AP better be careful. There is probably a LOT more to come on this matter and they're about to get caught with their pants down......AGAIN!

[Peach]

AP says White House outted Clarke as the anonymous source who gave a background interview? ROFLMAO

They knew exactly who they were speaking to. This was not an interview given off the record.

[q_an_a]

for those who worry about the election, DUBYA is not your fathers Oldsmobile!!

[Atomic Vomit]

I want I.D. on who the other "journalists" there were. Why didn't they remember this interview which conflicts so with what clarke is selling today?

Anyone got names? All I've heard so far is "Andrea" who is apparently, Andrea Mitchell.

This is a good shot at further discrediting lib journos.

Mr. Atomic Vomit

[Enduring Freedom]

Loser!

[livius]

I'm glad the WH seems to be getting a little more aggressive and at least starting to fight back.

I realize Bush wanted to set a new tone, and I think that's great - but it takes two, and unfortunately, the Dems didn't want to play, and interpreted it as weakness.

[plain talk]

that they didn't know then was spin, now is truth.

Maybe it was truth then, spin now. Doesn't matter. He has a book to sell, gives campaign donations to dems and has been totally discredited as a partisan ally of Kerry.