The New Strategy For Victory On Port Security Contract

Bush, To Stymie Port Critics, May Send Cheney Out For Second Shooting Admission

Split In White House Wants VP Kept On Front Burner; Leak Says President Let Miers Pick Dubai Company

The White House, according to sources is "stunned" by the rebuke and growing criticism of awarding port security in six major American cities to a company owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates.

So much so that there are plans to have Vice President Dick Cheney conduct a second television interview, to give his accounting of shooting his hunting companion, Harry Whittington, in the face nearly 10-days ago.

"As much as the White House said they were at odds on how Cheney handled the shooting incident," said Eddie Mars, editor of 'Please Shoot Me', the newsletter that tracks the Fox News Channel.

Mars points to how the Cheney shooting removed from the news buzz the release of the first photo of indicted Republican Lobbyist Jack Abramoff with President Bush, the potentially devastating leak that indicted VP Chief of Staff Lewis 'Scooter" Libby testified to the Grand Jury that he was given orders to leak classified information by his superiors and then the blistering report by House Republicans on how poorly the Administration responded to Hurricane Katrina.

"They were breathing a sigh of relief … It was something they could easily contain and control," said Mars.

New Program Imminent

Sources have told The Garlic that the White House is contemplating launching "The New Strategy For Victory On Port Security Contract", to rebut critics and, more so, get Republicans back in-line.

On the Sunday news show circuit, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff defended the contract, given to Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates, saying that "certain conditions or requirements that the company has to agree to make sure we address the national security concerns."

The Bush Administration is pointing out that the United Arab Emirates is a "key ally in the war on terror", despite the contrary intelligence that two of the September 11, 2001, hijackers were from the UAE and that most of the hijackers received money channeled through various sources based in the UAE, according to the Justice Department and the 9/11 commission

Presidential adviser Dan Bartlett, in an interview with CNN said that "The process was done by the book.

"If you start deciding these issues in a guilt-by-association method, you will have a situation which has deep and harmful ramifications to the economic interests of this country, added Bartlett"

Bartlett, according to sources, is said to be working with Chief of Staff Andy Card and Special Counsel Karl Rove on "The New Strategy For Victory On Port Security Contract"

Pushback On Republicans, Media … Rebecca Role For Matalin

An element of "The New Strategy For Victory On Port Security" will be to pushback on Republicans who have joined in the criticism .

On "Fox News Sunday", Senator. Lindsey O. Graham (R-D.C.) characterized the sale of port security as "It's unbelievably tone deaf politically at this point in our history."

Yesterday, reports indicated that Lindsey received in the mail a tuning fork, with a note from Karl Rove, that read, chillingly;

"You can use this to get your pitch and tone back - especially if you plan to seek reelection and expect support from the White House."

Additional Republicans who have criticized the port security plan have received telephone calls from either Rove or Andy Card, with an equally stern message - Back the President, or else.

The challenging of the media also began on Sunday, when Mary Matalin, Special Aide to Vice President Cheney, and a member of the White House Iraq Group(WHIG) appearing on "Meet The Press", accused David Gregory, of NBC News of going on a "four-day Jihad" against Cheney and then derided New York Times Columnists Maureen Dowd as "the diva of the smart set".

"Matalin sure had her fingernails sharpened," said Mars. "The buzz around town is, that if they ever remake the film "Rebecca", they can certainly plug-in Matalin for the Mrs. Danvers role."

'They'll bait a few more members of the press," added Mars, "before they announce that Cheney will sit down with Fox and Brit Hume again, to give another accounting of the shooting … Fill in some of the gaps, go over it with more color, play up his hunting credentials and all that."

Mars speculated that the Bush Administration's pushback on the port security contract may be an overture to the neocons, who have recently expressed skepticism on just how tough the President can be.

Tensions Building

Another sign that tensions are building is that the White House announced, uncharacteristically, that further comments will be coming from this week's private citizen spokesperson, Kippy Pratt, 27, an auto mechanic from Syracuse, NY, the designated PR person that is part of the new White House Media Strategy.

"This is significant," said Mars. "They not waiting for the weekend."

And there are reports that Vice President Cheney's office is at odds with the White House over using Pratt, indicating they would like to keep Katherine Armstrong.

'She's proved already that she can obfuscate with the best of them," said Mars.

Two New Leaks, Fires To Put Out

The White House is refusing comment today that the port security contract was chosen by White House Counsel, Harriet Miers.

Rumors are circulating that President Bush, in an effort to make up to her the lack of support for her Supreme Court nomination, handed off the port security review to Ms. Miers, telling her to "run with it".

Another unconfirmed report says that President Bush will, very soon, issue a pardon to Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the indicted Congressman from California, who pleaded guilty to bribery charges last November, and received a recommended 10-year sentence, and place him as the head of procurement policy at the Office of Management and Budget, a position previously held by David H. Safavian.

Safavian resigned abruptly last September and was arrested and indicted for lying to investigators and obstructing a federal inquiry involving Jack Abramoff.

"If Cheney can't distract the media any longer," said Mars, "might as well throw a new log onto the fire."

Vice President Dick Cheney may be saddling up for another interview of his shooting incident, to take heat off the Bush Administration's awarding a port security contract to a country with terrorist ties