The New York Times reported that U.S. President George Bush had
approved a covert plan to influence the outcome of Iraq's January 2005
election.
According to Sunday's edition of the NYT, following debate within the
White House, "the president's national security team recommended that
he sign a secret, formal authorisation for covert action to influence
the election," citing "a dozen current and former government officials"
familiar with the discussions.
Spokesperson for the National Security Council, Frederick Jones, the
only non-anonymous source cited in the report refused to comment on
whether a formal authorisation ever existed.
According to the New York Times, the White House declined to elaborate
on whether covert action was provided to the political parties favoured
by Washington.
The latest expose of the U.S. government's role in Iraq, in
particular the elections, comes as a report by renowned journalist
Seyomur Hersh, is due to be published in The New Yorker. Jones'
statement was issued in response to questions that a Hersh's report
which states that the administration proceeded with the plan despite
Congressional objections.
Hersh - the journalist who blew the lid on the Abu Ghraib prison abuses
- said the covert activities were conducted by retired CIA officers and
non-governmental personnel but that the "the methods and the scope of
the covert effort have been hard to discern".
Sources told the Times that last year's White House discussions
centered on the adverse consequences of an election victory by parties
hostile to the United States, and said the debate was likely to
resurface ahead of the next round of Iraqi elections, scheduled for
January 2006.
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