The Cheney Supremacy

"You see exploding cars in marketplaces in Baghdad. You see pictures of gore, where the terrorists are able to define what is victory, simply by planting a bomb somewhere."

Finally, Blitzer confronted Snow with the latest piece of evidence suggesting how badly things are going -- this one from the government itself.

"BLITZER: The Washington Post published a fascinating cable today, a report written by the U.S. embassy in Baghdad to the State Department -- it was signed by Ambassador Khalilzad -- in which it painted a very, very grim -- you read this cable. . . .

"SNOW: Yes.

"BLITZER: . . . a picture of what's going on in Iraq right now. I know that many have complained that the news media is only focusing in on the negative, but here the U.S. embassy in Baghdad paints a pretty stark picture of what's going on right now.

"Let me just read a line for you. 'Beginning in March and picking up in mid-May, Iraqi staff in the public affairs section have complained that Islamists and/or militia groups have been negatively affecting their daily routine,' and it goes on to the harassment and the threats and the killings that have been going on. It's a pretty damning indictment of the current situation.

"SNOW: No, it's actually a reflection of the realities there. And. . . .

"BLITZER: And the reality is gloomy."

"SNOW: Well, that's taken in mid-May."

Actually, Snow was wrong, that cable was sent just hours before Bush arrived in Iraq last week; this cable was from mid-May.

Snow insisted: "The president didn't go there with rose-colored glasses, Wolf."

In all three interviews, Snow was asked right off about the plight of two missing servicemembers in Iraq. But then he complained about the media focus on the two men.