Washington
29 May 2008
Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan is defending his controversial new book that accuses the Bush administration of deceiving the American people in the lead up to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. VOA's Michael Bowman reports from Washington.
In his book, he describes President Bush as a leader who makes decisions based on personal instinct rather than hard intelligence and critical analysis, and says Vice President Dick Cheney had unprecedented sway in both foreign and domestic affairs.
He also accuses several White House officials of misleading him about the administration's role in the highly-publicized 2003 leaking of the secret identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Reaction to the book from McClellan's White House colleagues has been swift and forceful. Wednesday, the current White House press secretary, Dana Perino, described McClellan as a "disgruntled" former administration employee.
A former counselor to President Bush, Dan Bartlett, also appeared on NBC's Today show.
"Fundamentally, I believe what Scott is saying in his book is wrong," he said. "I think his allegation that there was an effort to shade the truth, that propaganda was used to sell the war to the American people patently false. I would not personally participate in a process in which we were misleading the American people. And that is the part that I think is hurting so many of his former colleagues."
McClellan says the purpose of his book is not to tarnish the reputation of others who served in the Bush administration, but rather to highlight the need for change in the way Washington operates.