The following is now being reported by the

Associated Press

It was billed as a conversation with U.S. troops, but the questions
President Bush asked on a teleconference call Thursday were choreographed to
match his goals for the war in Iraq and Saturday’s vote on a new Iraqi
constitution.

“This is an important time,” Allison Barber, deputy assistant defense
secretary, said, coaching the soldiers before Bush arrived. “The president
is looking forward to having just a conversation with you.”

Barber said the president was interested in three topics: the overall
security situation in Iraq, security preparations for the weekend vote and
efforts to train Iraqi troops.

As she spoke in Washington, a live shot of 10 soldiers from the Army’s
42nd Infantry Division and one Iraqi soldier was beamed into the Eisenhower
Executive Office Building from Tikrit — the birthplace of former Iraqi
leader Saddam Hussein.

“I’m going to ask somebody to grab those two water bottles against the
wall and move them out of the camera shot for me,” Barber said.

A brief rehearsal ensued.

“OK, so let’s just walk through this,” Barber said. “Captain Kennedy, you
answer the first question and you hand the mike to whom?”

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here.

This is yet another slap in the face to the troops and the citizens of this
country. The President continues to ignore the facts of what is happening in
Iraq and that ignorance is costing lives and money. Simple solution – send his
daughters over there to fight. Prove to America how great it is. Come on George
if you don’t then you are truly a liar that needs his ass kicked right out of
D.C.