So the Iraqi elections will be "free and fair" - except that they won't.
Tell the TRUTH, Mr. Bush. Why do you say the Iraqi elections will be free and fair when you've already ordered the CIA to rig them?
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/story/236053p-202696c.html
Prez pledges to block Iran on nukes, Iraq
By JAMES GORDON MEEK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
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The U.S. is also chafing over Iran's efforts to secretly aid candidates in the planned January elections in Iraq - so much so that the White House recently approved a plan for the CIA to covertly support opponents favored by Washington, Time magazine reported.
Countering Iranian influence among Iraq's majority Shiites has long been a goal of U.S. officials who fear the rise of another Islamic state in the region.
But a National Security Council official claimed the CIA plan has been scrapped.
Security council spokesman Sean McCormack told Time that the U.S. has decided to "not try to influence the outcome of the upcoming Iraqi election" through covert action.
One senior official told the Daily News that McCormack's remarks may have been aimed at calming lawmakers upset that the U.S. might try to rig the Iraqi elections. But the groundwork may already have been laid because the White House directed the CIA months ago to conduct the clandestine operations.