http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/editorial_...d/10071327.html

Published: 10/01/2006 12:00 AM (UAE)

A long record of deceit and denial
Gulf News



The Bush White House does not have much time for journalists, unless they have been thoroughly vetted or work for the "right" channels. But there may be some sleepless nights on Pennsylvania Avenue over a new book by Bob Woodward, of Watergate fame.

Woodward has written previously since 9/11 on the White House, but in those books he was largely uncritical. This time he paints a disturbing picture of a White House misleading the American public about the true picture of the Iraq catastrophe.

Woodward claims that an attack by insurgents takes place on average every 15 minutes, far higher than admitted by the White House. He argues that the White House disregarded warnings from advisers in the autumn of 2003 that it needed thousands more troops to put down the insurgency. He paints a picture of a divided administration where Condoleezza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld barely talk to each other.

Of course, there is nothing in the book that is new to the Iraqis. More than anyone, politician or journalist, they know the true state of the country they live in. They have to contend with the mayhem, daily tragedies, blackouts, consequences of invasion and the lies that led to it. But if Woodward is right, and he is a consummate Washington insider, then the title of his book State of Denial, aptly describes the administration's mindset. It refuses to send more troops to Iraq because of the domestic political price. But if the administration actually believed its own propaganda, that Iraq was crucial to winning America's war on terror, then surely it would have no option but to send more troops.

And while books are written and the political pundits discuss them on TV chat shows and White House spokesman rush to the podium under the bright camera lights, the Iraqi people continue to suffer.