67th in continuing blog series on the White House push to war. Administration efforts to mold public opinion in favor of invading Iraq add some new personnel to the mix, including a pro-administration journalist whose credentials are questioned. A writer previously associated with GOP circles, who goes by the pen name Jeff Gannon, is given a White House press pass.
February 25-28, 2003:

 

Feb. 25, 2003 – U.S. Army General Eric K. Shinseki, Army chief of staff, testifies in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that a postwar Iraq would require several hundred thousand American troops.

 

This estimate is disputed or downplayed by administration officials, and is widely thought to contribute to Shinseki’s taking retirement.

 

Feb. 25, 2003 – Unusual White House journalist Jeff Gannon (James Guckert) signs into the White House for the first time, according to Secret Service White House access logs obtained through FOIA by Reps. John Conyers (D-MI) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY). Gannon will later have his press access to the White House revoked after his questions openly demonstrate his partisan zeal for the White House, and questions arise from his numerous web sites about his status and credentials as a journalist, but not until February 2005. 

 

Same day -- Bush discusses Iraq with reporters following a National Economic Council meeting:

“Q Mr. President, what would it take at this point to avoid a war with Iraq?

THE PRESIDENT: Full disarmament.

Q Any particular stand on that, sir? I mean, what --

THE PRESIDENT: There's only one thing, that's full disarmament. The man has been told to disarm. For the sake of peace, he must completely disarm. I suspect we'll see him playing games; that he will -- the world will say disarm, and he will all of a sudden find a weapon that he claimed he didn't have.

Q Happened this morning, as a matter of fact.

THE PRESIDENT: I suspect that he will try to fool the world one more time. After all, he has had a history of doing that for 12 years. He's been successful at gaming the system. And our attitude is it's now time for him to fully disarm. And we expect the Security Council to honor its word by insisting that Saddam disarm. Now is the time.”

 

Feb. 26, 2003 – White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer conducts a press briefing in advance of the President’s nighttime speech at the American Enterprise Institute:
 

“MR. FLEISCHER: I hope -- (laughter) -- at the same time. No, the President, of course, believes that democracy can spread to Iraq. Why shouldn't it? Democracy is not boxed in. Democracy doesn't live in limits. Democracy, as the President says, is God's gift to the world. Liberty does not come from America. Liberty is a naturally endowed right that comes from the Creator, according to our own Declaration of Independence. There is no reason in the world that the President does not think that democracy can spread. And the President does believe that the people of Iraq are fully capable of living under a democratic way of life. Of course, they are.

Q Then why are you going to bomb them? (Laughter.) I mean, how do you bomb people back to democracy? This is a question of conquest. They didn't ask to be liberated by the United States. This is our self-imposed political solution for them.

MR. FLEISCHER: Let me guess that you will not be at the speech tonight. Helen, the President is going to --

Q I'll be very interested in what the President has to say because I don't think -- I think if you ask five people anywhere, what's the reason the President wants to go to war, you'll get five different answers. Usually there's one defining moment and solution.

MR. FLEISCHER: Tonight, the President is going to discuss this. I think you will hear the President tonight talk about the threat of Saddam Hussein and how he poses a danger to the American –

 

Feb. 26, 2003 – MSNBC, partly owned by major military contractor General Electric/GE, cancels the Phil Donahue show. Donahue has been among very few television personalities or commentators to raise questions about the headlong rush to war with Iraq.

 

MSNBC has also taken steps to sign up rightwing talk-show host Michael Savage and former GOP congressman Dick Armey.

 

Feb. 26, 2003 -- Bush gives a speech on Iraq to the American Enterprise Institute, major neocon think tank and landlord to PNAC, which has long supported ‘regime change’:

“Our coalition of more than 90 countries is pursuing the networks of terror with every tool of law enforcement and with military power. We have arrested, or otherwise dealt with, many key commanders of al Qaeda. (Applause.) Across the world, we are hunting down the killers one by one. We are winning. And we're showing them the definition of American justice. (Applause.) And we are opposing the greatest danger in the war on terror: outlaw regimes arming with weapons of mass destruction.   

In Iraq, a dictator is building and hiding weapons that could enable him to dominate the Middle East and intimidate the civilized world -- and we will not allow it. (Applause.) This same tyrant has close ties to terrorist organizations, and could supply them with the terrible means to strike this country -- and America will not permit it. The danger posed by Saddam Hussein and his weapons cannot be ignored or wished away. The danger must be confronted. We hope that the Iraqi regime will meet the demands of the United Nations and disarm, fully and peacefully. If it does not, we are prepared to disarm Iraq by force. Either way, this danger will be removed. (Applause.)”

 

Same day -- Bush delivers remarks on Iraq in a talk to the Latino Coalition:

“There's also a threat gathering in Iraq. It's been gathering for a long period of time. The danger with Iraq is that he can strike in the neighborhood. And the danger with Iraq is that he has got the willingness and capacity to train al Qaeda-type organizations and provide them with equipment to hurt America.        

The world has waited a long time for Mr. Saddam Hussein to disarm. They've waited a long time. He is a master of disguise and delay. He'll say, oh, I'm disarming -- after he said he has no arms. (Laughter.)”