From: "Rich Gauszka" 

Oh Right. The Iraqi voters were the intended target for a conference
between Bush and US Troops.



Reporter "Was the event with the troops choreographed?"

Scott Mclellan  "No. But talk to the DOD about that. I don't think it
was rehearsed."


It sounds more like Bush is trying to pep up US Troops prior to the Iraqi
elections. Nothing wrong with that at all. They didn't have to use the
'spontaneous' ruse though
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/10/20051013.html


"Mark"  wrote in message
news:434fb0c8$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>I don't suppose it occurred to you, that you were not the intended
>audience. Perhaps, just perhaps, Bush wanted some media coverage straight
>from the horses mouth to reassure the Iraqi voters -- hence the selected
>questions and the timing just before the constitutional referendum.
>
> So, yes, I think you (and the press, but they always do) did get caught up
> in insignificant side issues.
>
> "Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
> news:434fa1e3$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>> Yeah right. I reckon I just got caught up in 'side issues'. The belief
>> that Bush would engage in an honest conversation with the troops.
>> ===
>> Later, at the White House briefing, Scott McClellan, the press secretary,
>> deflected questions about the choreography, saying reporters who asked
>> about that were getting caught up in "side issues."
>>
>> "Mark"  wrote in message
>> news:434f2ab0$1{at}w3.nls.net...
>>> Why in the world you'd think any televised interview by anyone of
>>> anyone, would be anything but pre-planned for brevity and content is
>>> beyond me Rich. "Caught?" with the cameras running all along?
>>>
>>> But this is a most entertaining take on it:
>>>
>>> http://biglizards.net/blog/archives/2005/10/ap_response_to.html
>>>
>>>
>>> "Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
>>> news:434ee31b{at}w3.nls.net...
>>>> The Bushies get caught again
>>>>
>>>> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051013/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_iraq_8
>>>>
>>>> WASHINGTON - 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.
>>>>
>>>> "This is an important time," Allison Barber,
deputy assistant defense
>>>> secretary, said, coaching the soldiers before Bush
arrived. "The
>>>> president is looking forward to having just a conversation
with you."
>>>>
>>>> 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.
>>>>
>>>> "I'm going to ask somebody to grab those two water
bottles against the
>>>> wall and move them out of the camera shot for me," Barber said.
>>>>
>>>> A brief rehearsal ensued.
>>>>
>>>> "OK, so let's just walk through this," Barber
said. "Captain Kennedy,
>>>> you answer the first question and you hand the mike to whom?"
>>>>
>>>> "Captain Smith," Kennedy said.
>>>>
>>>> "Captain. Smith? You take the mike and you hand it to
whom?" she asked.
>>>>
>>>> "Captain Kennedy," the soldier replied.
>>>>
>>>> And so it went.
>>>>
>>>> "If the question comes up about partnering - how
often do we train with
>>>> the Iraqi military - who does he go to?" Barber asked.
>>>>
>>>> "That's going to go to Captain Pratt," one of
the soldiers said.
>>>>
>>>> "And then if we're going to talk a little bit about
the folks in
>>>> Tikrit - the hometown - and how they're handling the
political process,
>>>> who are we going to give that to?" she asked.
>>>>
>>>> Before he took questions, Bush thanked the soldiers for serving and
>>>> reassured them that the U.S. would not pull out of Iraq until the
>>>> mission was complete.
>>>>
>>>> "So long as I'm the president, we're never going to
back down, we're
>>>> never going to give in, we'll never accept anything less than total
>>>> victory," Bush said.
>>>>
>>>> The president told them twice that the American people were behind
>>>> them.
>>>>
>>>> "You've got tremendous support here at home," Bush said.
>>>>
>>>> Less than 40 percent in an AP-Ipsos poll taken in October said they
>>>> approved of the way Bush was handling Iraq. Just over half of the
>>>> public now say the Iraq war was a mistake.
>>>>
>>>> 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.
>>>>
>>>> "I think all they were doing was talking to the
troops and letting them
>>>> know what to expect," he said, adding that the
president wanted to talk
>>>> with troops on the ground who have firsthand knowledge about the
>>>> situation.
>>>>
>>>> The soldiers all gave Bush an upbeat view of the situation.
>>>>
>>>> The president also got praise from the Iraqi soldier who was part of
>>>> the chat.
>>>>
>>>> "Thank you very much for everything," he gushed.
"I like you."
>>>>
>>>> On preparations for the vote, 1st Lt. Gregg Murphy of
Tennessee said:
>>>> "Sir, we are prepared to do whatever it takes to make
this thing a
>>>> success. ... Back in January, when we were preparing for
that election,
>>>> we had to lead the way. We set up the coordination, we
made the plan.
>>>> We're really happy to see, during the preparation for this one, sir,
>>>> they're doing everything."
>>>>
>>>> On the training of Iraqi security forces, Master Sgt.
Corine Lombardo
>>>> from Scotia, N.Y., said to Bush: "I can tell you over
the past 10
>>>> months, we've seen a tremendous increase in the capabilities and the
>>>> confidences of our Iraqi security force partners. ... Over the next
>>>> month, we anticipate seeing at least one-third of those Iraqi forces
>>>> conducting independent operations."
>>>>
>>>> Lombardo told the president that she was in New York City
on Nov. 11,
>>>> 2001, when Bush attended an event recognizing soldiers for their
>>>> recovery and rescue efforts at Ground Zero. 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.
>>>>
>>>> "I thought you looked familiar," Bush said, and
then joked: "I probably
>>>> look familiar to you, too."
>>>>
>>>> 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." Five of the 10
>>>> U.S. troops involved were officers, he said.
>>>>
>>>> "If he wants the real opinions of the troops, he
can't do it in a
>>>> nationally televised teleconference," Rieckhoff said.
"He needs to be
>>>> talking to the boots on the ground and that's not a bunch
of captains."
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

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