Just over a year ago, President Bush was quoted as saying, “If [the Iraqi governmet] were to say, leave, we would leave.”
What a difference a year makes! This week, Reuters reported that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki requested that the U.S. provide a timeline for troop withdrawal. So, of course the President stayed true to his word and respected the wishes of the Iraqi government, right?
Not quite. Instead, the White House released a statement on Maliki's reported request, questioning whether the media made a transcription error. Said White House spokesman Sean McCormack:
"I've seen the same press reports that you have, but I haven't yet had an opportunity to get greater clarity as to exactly to what Mr. Maliki was refferring or if, in fact, that's an accurate reporting of what he said."
What's this? President Bush is not a man of his word? On second thought, it's never been beneath the President to blame the "liberal media" when he simply doesn't want to accept the truth. But accusing Reuters of bungling the Arabic language?
Reuters is the world's #1 international media outlet, a respectable news agency, so not only should they be offended, they should stand up for their reporting. To stay silent on this matter would be aiding the Bush administration's absurd fantasy of staying in Iraq for as long as they please. We're asking everyone who reads this to send Reuters' Head of Public Relations, Sophie Brendel, to release a statement declaring that Reuters stands by its story. Click here to tell Reuters to defend its reporting!