Originally published November 4 2005
Teleconference between Bush and troops designed for positive spin
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Allison Barber, deputy assistant defense secretary, helped to coordinate troop answers to the President's prepared questions, which centered on election security and the training of Iraqi troops.
It was billed as a conversation with U.S. troops, but the questions President Bush asked on a teleconference call Thursday were choreographed to match his goals for the war in Iraq and Saturday's vote on a new Iraqi constitution.
Barber said the president was interested in three topics: the overall security situation in Iraq, security preparations for the weekend vote and efforts to train Iraqi troops.
As she spoke in Washington, a live shot of 10 soldiers from the Army's 42nd Infantry Division and one Iraqi soldier was beamed into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building from Tikrit _ the birthplace of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
"Captain Kennedy, you answer the first question and you hand the mike to whom?"
"If the question comes up about partnering _ how often do we train with the Iraqi military _ who does he go to?"
Less than 40 percent in an AP-Ipsos poll taken in October said they approved of the way Bush was handling Iraq.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Thursday's event was coordinated with the Defense Department but that the troops were expressing their own thoughts.
With satellite feeds, coordination often is needed to overcome technological challenges, such as delays, he said.
On the training of Iraqi security forces, Master Sgt.
She said the troops began the fight against terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and were proud to continue it in Iraq.
Paul Rieckhoff, director of the New York-based Operation Truth, an advocacy group for U.S. veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, denounced the event as a "carefully scripted publicity stunt."
"If he wants the real opinions of the troops, he can't do it in a nationally televised teleconference," Rieckhoff said.
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