Fever Swamp buzz: Perino contradicts Lute

Left-leaning blogs like the Liberal Avenger are all over a story reported by Agence France-Presse, suggesting a contradiction between White House Press Secretary Dana Perino and Lieutenant General Douglas Lute.

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The White House denied Thursday that the United States seeks permanent military bases in Iraq, days after the US "war czar" said that would be part of talks next year on long-term security ties.

"We do not seek permanent bases in Iraq," spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters after Lieutenant General Douglas Lute said Monday that the flashpoint issue would be part of negotiations to decide the future of US troops in Iraq.

Asked about such installations, Lute told reporters: "That's another dimension of continuing US support to the government of Iraq, and will certainly be a key item for negotiation next year."

(AFP)

Trouble is, AFP is going it alone on this one. No other agency appears to have made a similar report, and the transcripts at whitehouse.gov do not appear to contain the comment attributed to Perrino in comments she supposedly made on Thursday.
Not a the press briefing on Tuesday. Not at the press briefing on Wednesday. Not at the press briefing on Thursday. Not at the press briefing on Friday. Note that AFP said the comments were made on Thursday. I just wanted to make sure that they weren't confused by the time zones or something.

So what's up, AFP? Are you just toying with American liberals or what? Or did the White House doctor the transcript and nobody's caught on yet?

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