THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2005
Whitehouse.gov
White House spokesman
Scott McClellan is asked at Thursday's press briefing: "What's the White House opinion on the military using this Lincoln Group to plant stories in Iraqi newspapers?" From the transcript:
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we've seen the reports. We first learned about it when we saw the reports yesterday, I think in the Los Angeles Times was the first place that that was reported. We are very concerned about the reports. We have asked the Department of Defense for more information. General Pace has asked people to look into the matter and get the facts, and so we want to see what those facts are.
Q Well, the military has admitted that they've been doing it. Does the White House find that acceptable, unacceptable?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, what the Pentagon has said is that they don't have all the facts; they want to gather the facts and then talk about it further. We want to know what those facts are, too. We are very concerned about the reports that we have seen.
Q So this is a bit of a hypothetical, but should it be determined that, in fact, they have been doing this, would the President find that acceptable --
MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not going to engage in a hypothetical. Let's find out what those facts are.
Q Well, then what is the basis of your concern?
MR. McCLELLAN: The reports that we've seen -- the media reports.
Q But if you're concerned, that suggests that you would not approve of this.
MR. McCLELLAN: That's why we asked the Department of Defense to look into this. And we're seeking more information. I know that the Pentagon is seeking more information, as well. General Pace said he didn't know what the facts were -- he was asked about it just last night on a news program, and he said that he had just learned about it, as well.
Posted at 6:44:08 PM
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