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June 28, 2006
Bush Slams Times For Revealing Location of Washington, D.C.
SOMEWHERE ON THE EAST COAST - President Bush had harsh words for the media today, slamming the New York Times for its recent decision to publish the location of Washington, D.C., the nation's capital.
Bush on Monday sharply condemned the disclosure of the 68-square-mile parcel of land between Virginia and Maryland, which is home to the White House, Congress, and countless government agencies. "The disclosure of this city is disgraceful," he said.
"For a newspaper to publish this does great harm to the United States of America," Bush said, jabbing his finger for emphasis. He said the disclosure of the capital "makes it harder to win this war on terror."
Washington avoided an attack on 9/11, although a plane did crash into the Pentagon, in nearby Arlington, Virginia. Bush indicated that had the terrorists known of the existence of Washington, D.C. at the time, it would have made "a very tempting target".
The location of Washington was disclosed last week by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times. The New York Times was running a travel supplement on weekend trips on the East Coast, sources say, and Washington's museums and monuments were prominently mentioned. A black-and-white map was also provided.
"Congress is aware of where D.C. is located, and its existence was fully authorized under the law," Bush said. "We're at war with a bunch of people who want to hurt the United States of America. And now we have the media telling the terrorists exactly where major U.S. cities are located."
Later, White House spokesman Tony Snow said it was up to the Justice Department to determine whether there would be a formal investigation of the news leak. Snow also implicated Rand McNally for providing "a figurative road map to the seat of the nation's government."
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Comments
It seems we both noticed that the White House PR machine got all their ducks in a row around the word "disgraceful." Bush, Cheney, any Republican senators that happened to be at the urinal when the call went out. Sometimes I envy their organizational skillz.
Posted by: The Rev. | June 29, 2006 07:44 PM
The sad part is, most of the Bush quotes are taken verbatim from his actual press conferences.
Posted by: michael | June 29, 2006 09:49 PM
