Bartlett disputes Woodward book on Iraq

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. President Bush's counselor Dan Bartlett accuses Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward of bias in his new book about White House handling of the Iraq war.

"I was really struck by the fact that the central thesis of this book ... that he was misleading the American people about what was happening in Iraq" was "not backed up with the own facts in his book," Bartlett said on ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."

Since the release of "State of Denial," the White House has disputed major elements of Woodward's account.

In particular, it questioned a meeting Woodward said took place in July 2001 at which then-CIA Director George Tenet is reported to have warned Condoleezza Rice, then national security adviser, about an imminent al-Qaida attack and failed to persuade her to take action.

Bartlett said Rice told him "that type of urgent request to go after (Osama) bin Laden, as the book alleges, in her mind, didn't happen."