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Power Line Blog
April 02, 2007
Let's go to the tape

CNN Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware has denied the exclusive Drudge report regarding his behavior that we linked to last night. On CNN this morning, Ware spoke with Soledad O'Brien. Here is the rough transcript:

SOLEDAD O’BRIEN: there are two prominent members, nancy pelosi in beirut planning a stop in syria and senator john mccain is leading a republican delegation in iraq. in iraq senator mccain says americans aren't getting the full picture of what's going on there. he visited wearing a bulletproof vest still, he says, he sees improvement.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: things are better and there are encouraging signs. i have been here many years, many times over the year. never have i been able to drive from the airport. never have i been able to go out in the city as i was today.

O’BRIEN: cnn's michael ware is live for us. good morning to you, michael.

MICHAEL WARE: yes, good morning, soledad. that's right. there is the republican congressional delegation here in iraq. essentially they're here to view the impact of the surge or the baghdad security plan and essentially to sell its merits to say that, yes, it is having an imfact and to take that message home to an american people desperate to hear signs of progress. unfortunately, they chose very poor ways of displaying those signs of change and the signs of progress. the fact that senator mccain and a delegation can drive from the airport and walk around parts of baghdad wrapped in a heavy security envelope is not new. generals and american representatives have been doing such things throughout the war. indeed it's the old reinvented as new and in no way a sign of the real progress of the surge which the senators should be talking about.

O’BRIEN: let me ask you a question. there was a report that said you were heckling and you were laughing during the senator's press conference. is that true?

WARE: well, let's bear in mind that this is a report that was leaked by an unnamed official of some kind to a blog, to somewhere on the internet. no one has gone and put their name forward. we certainly haven't heard senator mccain say anything about it or any of his staff have come forward to say anything about it. i did not heckle the senator. indeed, i didn't say a word. i didn't even ask a question. in fact, when i raised my hand to ask a question, the press conference abruptly ended, so what i would suggest is that anyone who has any queries about whether i heckled, watch the videotape of the press conference. soledad?

O’BRIEN: michael ware is in baghdad for us. thank you, michael. four u.s. soldiers were killed southwest of baghdad when an improvised explosive device blew up, 81 were killed in march, 31 were killed last month. six the began, 3,253 troops have lost their lives.

I hope we'll get a chance to see for ourselves on the videotape whether the Drudge report was accurate or not. In the meantime, though, I wonder if Ware thinks that the Drudge Report is a blog. Ware should give CNN Internet reporters Jacki Schecner or Abbi Tatton a call and have one of them explain what a blog is.

UPDATE: It appears that the Drudge report was not accurate. Allahpundit comments here.

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