White House rips critical new book

WASHINGTON – The White House on Sunday attacked investigative journalist Bob Woodward, accusing the reporter of pursuing an agenda in researching his book “State of Denial,” which portrays the Bush administration in an unflattering way.

Appearing on the ABC news program “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” White House counselor Dan Bartlett said Woodward had “already formulated some conclusions even before the interviewing began” with current and former top administration officials.

Excerpts from the book were published Sunday in the Washington Post, where Woodward is an assistant managing editor. They included allegations that President Bush gave rosy public reports about Iraq despite intelligence reports that expressed concern about the rise of the insurgency and the ability of the United States to bring stability. The book also alleged that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was warned about Osama bin Laden just months before the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Two earlier Woodward books, “Bush at War” and “Plan of Attack,” were widely considered sympathetic to the White House. But Woodward’s third book on Bush’s conduct of the war on terror alleges that the president and his team deliberately misled the public about the on-the-ground reality in Iraq.

On Friday, White House spokesman Tony Snow dismissed the book as cotton candy, suggesting it was light and repeated old news and views. Sunday, Bartlett was decidedly more hostile, cautioning, “I’m not going to use the word agenda,” then suggesting just that.

Bartlett, special counselor to the president, complained that Woodward wouldn’t listen to what he was being told during interviews with administration officials, noting that “their points weren’t getting across.”