USA Today August 20, 2002
White House Denies Softening Tone On Iraq
John Diamond
Bush administration officials rejected suggestions that the White House is softening its tone on the idea of invading Iraq. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said President Bush is weighing "the best way to deal with the threat posed by (Iraqi leader) Saddam Hussein." On Sunday, White House spokesman Dan Bartlett said Bush would consult Congress and allies "if he decides that we need to take action to minimize the threat" posed by Saddam. John Pike of the think tank GlobalSecurity.org said, "It sounds like they're setting the stage for backing off on (a) regime change," possibly in favor of airstrikes on Iraqi weapons facilities. White House officials rejected that interpretation.
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