Reporters misled on meeting about Iraq

WASHINGTON -- Following an important meeting on Iraq war planning in late 2001, President Bush told the public that the discussions were about Afghanistan. He made no mention about Iraq even though that was the real focus of the session at his ranch.

"I'm right now focused on the military operations in Afghanistan," Bush told reporters after talks on Dec. 28, 2001, with top aides and generals.

A "war update" was the White House description of the news conference Bush held with Gen. Tommy Franks, who was in charge of the Afghan war as head of U.S. Central Command.

Details of the meeting's focus on Iraq emerged in a recent speech by Franks, who now is retired, and in a book by Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward.

The book says Franks summarized Afghan operations before turning to planning for war in Iraq -- the point of the gathering.

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