White House Web Site to Promote Woodward Book

The official White House Web site will feature a link to Bob Woodward's new book, "Plan of Attack," even though its release has spurred a firestorm of criticism of President Bush and prompted two senior White House officials to issue strong denials of some of the book's key allegations.

"I'm told by the White House they're putting this book on - linking it to their Web site," senior Bush-Cheney adviser Mary Matalin told Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren on Monday.

Matalin, who looked somewhat chagrined as she announced the development, explained that the White House thinks the Woodward book "shows the president going through this very complicated decision-making process and puts the effort in Iraq into the bigger picture of the war on terror."

Earlier in the day, White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett delivered an enthusiastic plug for the Woodward book, telling reporters: "We encourage people to read it. We think it gives a fuller picture if people do read the book, as opposed to watching programs that may depict aspects of it."

However, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of State Colin Powell have spent the last two days explaining to reporters how Woodward got key elements of the story wrong.

In a lengthy interview with radio host Sean Hannity, Powell disputed Woodward's claim that he was out of the loop on planning for the Iraq war and was despondent when Bush decided to forge ahead with an attack.

He also denied Woodward's claim that he and Vice President Dick Cheney were feuding so badly they no longer spoke to one another.

[See related article: Powell: Woodward Got it Wrong.]

Editor's note: