- President George Bush did go to Baghdad. That much seems
to be true, but some of the well-publicised details of last week's surprise
Thanksgiving Day trip have since been called into question as the White
House spin is deconstructed.
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- The problems start with the turkey. It is the focus of
the quintessentially American holiday, and photographs printed around the
US showed the president holding a prize roasted specimen on a platter.
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- However, the turkey was just for decoration, put there
to make the occasion look more heartwarming, the Washington Post reported
yesterday.
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- The soldiers were actually served pre-sliced turkey from
canteen-style hot plates. The president never took a knife to the bird
he held for the cameras. It may not even have been edible.
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- The revelation has thrown more light on the White House
publicity machine a day after accusations that it made up a chance mid-air
encounter between a British Airways pilot and the presidential plane.
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- Briefing journalists on board Air Force One, the White
House communications director, Dan Bartlett, told how the president's pilot,
Colonel Mark Tillman, bluffed his way out of an awkward situation to preserve
the secrecy of the mission, when the BA pilot thought he recognised the
distinctive livery. According to Mr Bartlett's account, Col Tillman radioed
back identifying his jumbo as a Gulfstream V executive jet.
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- BA denied any knowledge of the incident, but yesterday
National Air Traffic Services, confirmed the conversation took place between
a pilot from a non-British carrier and an air traffic controller at Swanwick,
Hampshire, who was simply reading from a flight plan that stated the flight
would be operated by a Gulfstream.
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