White House to Ghostwrite Surge Report

An irate blogger has blown up the fine print in today's news, exposing a plan by Washington to pen a long-awaited report on Iraq’s troop surge. Think Progress blogger Faiz posted a paragraph he discovered deep in a Los Angeles Times story, revealing that the White House will secretly write next month's review and give US General Patraeus the byline. 

Officials told the Times that Patraeus' report will advocate a whack-a-mole policy, moving US soldiers out of areas in Iraq where security has been improved. But they added that the report “would actually be written by the White House, with inputs from officials throughout the government.” Faiz paints Patraeus as little more than a “PR flack” used by Bush “to promote failing Iraq policies.” (More troop surge stories.)