February 8, 2007 -- 5:15 PM EST // //
BREAKING: WHITE HOUSE AND PENTAGON AT ODDS OVER INTERPRETATION OF MILITARY LEADERS' TESTIMONY!
Okay, maybe not quite, but this is funny. Yesterday Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace testified before Congress, saying that they didn't think Senate debate of the anti-escalation resolution hurt troop morale. The news orgs played the story as such, playing up fact that the two men's assertions went counter to GOP claims that Congressional debate undercuts the troops and emphasizing the fact that Gates and Pace were saying that such debate isn't a bad thing, after all.
Today the White House communications shop blasted out an email questioning that interpretation of the event, and insisting that the more important aspect of the story was a few quotes from the two military leaders about Congressional funding of the war. The missive blared:
It turns out, however, that the way the news orgs played the story is supported by none other than the Department of Defense. Here's how the Defense Department's own official in-house news service, the American Forces Information Service, played the story:
Note that the DOD news service's headline is: "Debate on Iraq Strengthens U.S. Democracy, Defense Leaders Say." And if you check out the DOD service's full story, you'll see that the thing emphasized in the White House's missive -- the question of Congressional funding -- is completely downplayed, and gets only a couple of buried sentences. Meanwhile, the DOD service's account heavily emphasizes the fact that the two military leaders were saying that Congressional debate about Iraq isn't a bad thing and even gives plenty of space to the idea that the troops don't see it as undercutting them.
Kind of fun, that.