White House denies hand in Allawi speech

CRAWFORD, Texas, Sept 28 (AFP) - The White House on Tuesday denied that aides to President George W. Bush had a hand in crafting Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's speech to the US Congress last week.
"Those were, obviously, Prime Minister Allawi's words," said spokesman Scott McClellan. "He talked about the progress that is being made, but he also talked about the ongoing security challenges."
The question arose after the Washington Post published a line-by-line breakdown of Allawi's September 23 remarks and juxtaposed them with very similar previous remarks by Bush.
The daily suggested, tongue firmly planted in cheek, that the visiting Iraqi leader might have simply copied his host's rhetoric from the White House Internet site.
Asked whether any US officials had shaped the speech, McClellan replied, "None that I know of" and then elaborated "no one at the White House."
Bush's campaign has accused Democratic rival John Kerry of undermining efforts to stabilize Iraq by saying that Allawi's visit was timed to help the president win a second term in the November 2 election.