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The White House Iraq Group (aka, White House Information Group or WHIG) was the marketing arm of the Republican Party whose purpose was to sell the 2003 invasion of Iraq to the public. The task force was set up in August 2002 by White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and chaired by Karl Rove to coordinate all the executive branch elements in the run-up to the war in Iraq. One example of the WHIG's functions and influence is the "escalation of rhetoric about the danger that Iraq posed to the U.S., including the introduction of the term 'mushroom cloud'"[1]. Marketing is the process of planning and executing the pricing, promotion, and distribution of goods, ideas, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals. ...
The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party), is a political party and is one of the two major political parties in the United States (the other being the Democratic Party). ...
The 2003 Invasion of Iraq began on March 20 comprising United States and United Kingdom forces (98%), and several other nations. ...
2002 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for August, 2002. ...
The southern side of the White House The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. ...
The White House Chief of Staff is the highest-ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, and a senior aide to the President. ...
Andrew Hill Card Jr. ...
Karl Rove Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is an American political consultant, and (as of 2005) U.S. President George W. Bushs senior advisor, chief political strategist, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff in charge of policy. ...
Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the executive is the branch of a government charged with implementing, or executing, the law. ...
Similar in name and function, was the 1967 White House Information Group under President Lyndon B. Johnson. The President of the United States (unofficially abbreviated POTUS) is the head of state of the United States. ...
Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was the thirty-sixth President of the United States (1963–1969). ...
"Escalation of Rhetoric" Soon after WHIG was formed, the Bush Administration's claims about the danger Iraq posed escalated significantly: - July 23, 2002: The Downing Street Memo was written, in which British intelligence said "C reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD."
- August, 2002: White House Iraq Group formed..
- Sept. 6, 2002: In an interview with the New York Times, Andrew Card did not mention the WHIG specifically but hinted at its mission. Card said "From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August." On September 17, 2002, Matt Miller stated on NPR that the above quote from Andrew Card was in response to the question: "... why the administration waited until after Labor Day to try to sell the American people on military action against Iraq" [2]
- September 7-8, 2002: Bush and nearly all his top advisers blanketed the airways, talking about the dangers posed by Iraq: [3]
- On NBC's "Meet the Press," Vice President Dick Cheney accused Saddam of moving aggressively to develop nuclear weapons over the past 14 months to add to his stockpile of chemical and biological arms.
- On CNN, Rice acknowledged that "there will always be some uncertainty" in determining how close Iraq may be to obtaining a nuclear weapon but said, "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."
- On CBS, Bush said U.N. weapons inspectors, before they were denied access to Iraq in 1998, concluded that Saddam was "six months away from developing a weapon." He also cited satellite photos released by a U.N. agency Friday that show unexplained construction at Iraq sites that weapons inspectors once visited to search for evidence Saddam was trying to develop nuclear arms. "I don't know what more evidence we need," Bush said.
- September 7, 2002: Judith Miller of The New York Times reports Bush administration officials said "In the last 14 months, Iraq has sought to buy thousands of specially designed aluminum tubes, which American officials believe were intended as components of centrifuges to enrich uranium." [4]
- October 14, 2002: Bush says of Saddam "This is a man that we know has had connections with al Qaeda. This is a man who, in my judgment, would like to use al Qaeda as a forward army." [5]
- January 21, 2003: Bush says of Saddam "He has weapons of mass destruction -- the world's deadliest weapons -- which pose a direct threat to the United States, our citizens and our friends and allies." [6]
- February 5, 2003: Colin Powell addresses the United Nations, asserting that there was "no doubt in my mind" that Saddam was working to obtain key components to produce nuclear weapons.
- March 20, 2003: The U.S. invades Iraq.
Wikisource has original text related to this article: Downing Street memo The Downing Street memo (occasionally DSM), sometimes described by critics of the Iraq War as the smoking gun memo, contains an overview of a secret 23 July 2002 meeting among United Kingdom Labour government, defence and intelligence figures, discussing...
Judith Miller on October 27, 2004. ...
Colin Luther Powell, (pronounced koh-lihn, born April 5, 1937) was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving from January 20, 2001 to November 12, 2004 under President George W. Bush. ...
Members The members of the White House Iraq Group are: [7] Karl Rove Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is an American political consultant, and (as of 2005) U.S. President George W. Bushs senior advisor, chief political strategist, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff in charge of policy. ...
Karen Parfitt Hughes (born December 27, 1956 in Paris, France) is a Republican U.S. political professional from the state of Texas. ...
Mary Matalin Mary Joe Matalin (born September 19, 1953) is an American political strategist and consultant of Croatian origin. ...
Andrew Hill Card Jr. ...
James R. Jim Wilkinson is the Deputy National Security Advisor for Communications in the administration of U. S. President George W. Bush. ...
Nicholas E. Calio Nicholas E. Calio is Citigroup’s Senior Vice-President for Global Government Affairs. ...
Condoleezza Rice, Ph. ...
Stephen J. Hadley, Assistant to the President For National Security Affairs in George W. Bushs second term administration. ...
I. Lewis Libby I. Lewis Scooter Libby Jr. ...
Response to Yellowcake Forgery Issue In response to the Yellowcake forgery issue, the White House Iraq Group devised this strategy[8] to combat critics: The term Yellowcake Forgery refers to falsified documents which appeared to depict an attempt by Iraqs Saddam Hussein regime to purchase yellowcake uranium from the country of Niger, in defiance of United Nations sanctions. ...
"There is a strategy now, devised by White House communications director Dan Bartlett, Mary Matalin, a former aide to Vice President Cheney, and former Bush aide Karen Hughes. Both advise the White House as a consultants to the Republican National Committee. Dan Bartlett is the Counselor to the President in the U.S. presidential administration of George W. Bush, a role most recently filled by Karen Hughes, who vacated the post in 2002. ...
Mary Matalin Mary Joe Matalin (born September 19, 1953) is an American political strategist and consultant of Croatian origin. ...
Karen Parfitt Hughes (born December 27, 1956 in Paris, France) is a Republican U.S. political professional from the state of Texas. ...
The plan: Release all relevant information. Try to shift attention back to Bush's leadership in the war on terrorism. Diminish the significance of that single piece of iffy intelligence by making the case that Saddam was a threat for many other reasons. Put Republican lawmakers and other Bush allies on TV to defend him.
Most important: Question the motives of Democrats who supported the war but now are criticizing the president."
From British Report:
From our examination of the intelligence and other material on Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Africa, we have concluded that:
a. It is accepted by all parties that Iraqi officials visited Niger in 1999.
b. The British Government had intelligence from several different sources indicating that this visit was for the purpose of acquiring uranium. Since uranium constitutes almost three-quarters of Niger's exports, the intelligence was credible.
c. The evidence was not conclusive that Iraq actually purchased, as opposed to having sought, uranium and the British Government did not claim this.
d. The forged documents were not available to the British Government at the time its assessment was made,and so the fact of the forgery does not undermine it.
CIA leak scandal Records and notes of White House Iraq Group activities were subpoenaed by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald as part of the investigation into the leak of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. Patrick J. Fitzgerald Patrick J. Fitzgerald, JD (born December 22, 1960) is an American attorney and the current U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. ...
Nonofficial cover is a term used in espionage (particularly by the CIA) for an agent or operative who assumes a covert role in an organization without ties to the government he or she is working for. ...
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ...
For detail on the political scandal, see Plame affair Valerie Plame with her husband Joseph C. Wilson, photographed after her CIA identity became public knowledge. ...
1967 White House Information Group In 1967, the Johnson Administration created the White House Information Group to raise support for and "cultivate favorable news coverage of" the Vietnam War. [9]
References July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ...
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July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ...
2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ...
2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ...
2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
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2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ...
2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ...
2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ...
2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
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