Your are correct. What Hitchens seems to say is that the Admin needs compensate for the very anti-American leftist press and push to the front the points he made. I agree the Admin has stated the truth but not in a way that can get around the anti-Bush press.
As much as I hate to say it, the administration is at a loss on just how to do this. They do pressers and release statements and some do the talk show circuit, but it's no match for the slick sloganeering coming out of the left.
One reason is that the left isn't reliant on TRUTH when writing their slogans. Another is that if they hire a PR agency like Cindy and her 70 member (including the bogus ones) protest group, the left will preemptively project the usual acusations at it. Also, we on the right are terribly inexperienced with the left's word games and don't believe in constant repition of lies in order to brainwash the masses, which makes sloganeering more difficult.
It LOOKS like a lose lose scenario for the administration, which is exactly the left's intent. I believe we've got to actively look for some good, CONVERVATIVE PR people and preemptively announce that we're FORCED to in self defense, in order to counter the left.
The only way he can do that is by going to the people directly, which he has done since 9/11. Watch any of these speeches on C-Span (when and if shown) or on Fox News... and he lays out a brilliant and inspiring justification for this war.