Breaking News! President’s Staunch Iraqi Progress Claims Based On Pentagon PR Firm Reports

Second Woodward Bombshell: Holds Back Postscript, Claims Cheney, Rumsfeld Feeding President Lincoln Group Writings

Pentagon PR Firm Reports Masked, As If From Spy Agencies For PDB’s, Other Meetings With President

The nation’s capital was hit with a second, Bob Woodward rocking late this afternoon.

Already reeling from the the news of Woodward’s new book, ‘State of Denial’, which depicts a confused and dysfunctional White House, hiding the true, grim news of the state of the war in Iraq, Woodward disclosed that he is holding back a postscript - possibly the makings of a new book - in which the President’s staunch defense that progress is being made in Iraq stems from being fed, by Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, reports from the Pentagon PR firm hired to plant propaganda in Iraqi and Middle East media.

The reports from the Lincoln Group, summaries, and sometimes full articles written to promote the United States and the U.S. Military to Iraqis, are being reformatted to resemble reports from intelligence agencies. Cheney and Rumsfeld then present the faux reports to President Bush, at times including them in the President Daily Briefings, as well as in private and full cabinet meetings.

Ironically, just today, President Bush charged that critics of his war policy, who say the war is making America less safe, are embracing the “enemies propaganda” and that “the terrorists attack us because we're provoking them."

Woodward claims in his postscript that the Joint Chiefs of Staff may have also been fed the reworked Lincoln Group reports.

A spokesperson said that, if that is the case, it’s likely the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would “immediately fire off a letter” looking for an explanation as well as demanding an end to the practice.

White House Friends Says “Maybe Woodward Was Fed The Lincoln Info”

The Lincoln Group, a private public relations firm, formerly known as Iranex, was hired by Rumsfield and the Pentagon in 2005, to launch a new, some say “Military PSYOPS” media program, of planting news stories that promote the United States and the U.S. Military in Iraqi media. At times, Iraqi journalists were paid by the Lincoln Group, as well as newspapers receiving payments to run Lincoln Group penned stories and editorials.

According to its’ President, Paige Craig, a West Point dropout and former Marine intelligence specialist, the company has some 12 contracts with the U.S. Government, worth more than $130-Million.

“This is a bombshell, if it’s true,” offered Hugh P. Varicator, a consultant with the conservative hawkish think tank, “Cry Wolf”, that is said to be closely affiliated with The Project for the New American Century (PNAC), and, some say, may be an adjunct to the White House Iraq Group, or WHIG.

“I mean, who’s to say Woodward wasn’t feed the Lincoln Group material,” said Varicator. “It was just last year that Woodward was said to be jumping over to the New York Times ... That he didn’t want to write breaking news anymore and now, here he is, writing a bombshell of breaking news ... Look, it would be farfetched that they gave Woodward the runaround, bad intel. You think the Pentagon is running only one media-planting program? Hell, they have so many programs that Woodward wouldn’t know what was what ... Whether to piss or wind his watch ...”

Just prior to the news of ‘State of Denial” hitting, with Woodward due to appear Sunday evening on ’60-Minutes, as well as the Washington Post running excerpts from the book Sunday and Monday, the White House was battling to get back on message after the leaking of the National Intelligence Estimate report that depicts "cause celebre" for jihadists, and the that the situation in Iraq is making things less safe, not, as the President offers, more safe.

The bleak N.I.E. report offers that global terrorism is being fueled by the war in Iraq, attracted to it by the U.S. presence and occupation of Iraq, not, as often stated by the President that “we have to fight them over there, so we don’t have to fight them here.”

A secondary brouhaha broke out, as news leaked that Vice President Dick Cheney objected to the President declassifying and releasing the N.I.E. report, without smearing or outing a CIA Agent or their spouse.

Plenty Of Stumbles Between The White House and Lincoln Group

And this would not be the first instance where President Bush was tripped up by the Lincoln Group. In fact, there’s been a series of snafu’s involving the specialty PR firm.

- In November 2005, it came out that President Bush’s first "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq" speech was written by the Lincoln Group and was intended for the Iraqi Media. A folder mix-up placed it with the President and in Iraq, residents picked up the morning newspapers and read on "the Democrats were undermining the war effort".

- Due to the President giving the wrong speech, it was disclosed that the CIA was running a “Blue Hole Newspaper” operation, forcing detainees to write pro-American stories and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld was forced to disclose the contract and hiring of the Lincoln Group, and placing blame for the snafu’s with them.

- In March of this year, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was forced to backtrack on her statement of “caught off guard” by the Hamas victory in the Palestinian elections. Again, the Lincoln Group was involved, and took the blame, as Rice indicated she mixed up her papers.

Already With Millions, Lincoln Group Wins New Contract

Ironically, just days before the Woodward bombshell, it was announced that the Lincoln Group won a two-year contract with the U.S. Military, worth over $6.2-Million, to monitor a number of English and Arabic news outlets and to produce public-relations products like talking points or speeches for American forces in Iraq

So far, no official comment from the White House, or the Vice President’s office.

When reached, Secretary Rumsfeld brusquely offered that “Do I talk to the President? ... Yes I do ... Do I share information and intelligence with the President? ... You betcha’ ... Will I continue to do so, to perform my duties? ... You can count on it ...”

When repeatedly asked by a throng of media if he, and Vice President Cheney, fed the President doctored assessments of the Iraq war, Rumsfeld squinted and dismissively asked the reporter “What planet are you from?”

With the news that Woodward is claiming, it’s likely the White House will firmly deny the charge and Washington insiders say it’s a toss-up as to where the material for the denial will come from - the White House Press Office, or from the Lincoln Group

“I think it will be safe to say,” lamented Varicator, “that the President will, simply, stay the course,”

A new Woodward charge claims President Bush was fed the upbeat Iraq War reports, by Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, written the the Pentagon's PR firm, the Lincoln Group, who is contracted to plant pro-American stories in Iraqi media