Saddam show riles White House

Saddam show riles White House

The interview was a CBS scoop over its US rivals

The Bush administration has accused the American television network CBS of refusing to allow a government response to their interview with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said CBS had insisted they only wanted President Bush himself to appear on the programme.

But CBS, which broadcast the full interview with Saddam Hussein on Wednesday night, denied this.

Correspondents say the dispute again raises questions over the role the US media plays, and ought to play, in covering the Iraq crisis.

Mr Fleischer told Reuters that they had offered a government representative to counter what he called "propaganda, lies and irresponsible statements".

He said CBS had expressed interest only if they could speak to President Bush - a request rejected because it could imply "moral equivalence" between the two leaders.

But CBS spokeswoman Sandy Genelius denied they had ever demanded the president or nobody.

Press freedom

She said the White House had initially proposed that Mr Fleischer make brief comments on the programme but CBS had not accepted this.

Mr Fleischer denied that he had been suggested for the show, Reuters reported.

REPORTER'S ROLE

I'm a reporter. What reporters do is try to talk to everybody on all sides of the story

CBS anchor Dan Rather

Saddam interview excerpts

The interview with the Iraqi president - the first by an American TV journalist for a decade - was conducted by veteran broadcaster Dan Rather.

It was shown in full in the United States at 0100 GMT Thursday, although CBS had made excerpts available prior to broadcast.

Rather's scoop was the biggest TV news interview of the year in the US.

He said he did not expect criticism for talking to a leader perceived to be a fierce enemy of the US.

"I'm a reporter," he said. "What reporters do is try to talk to everybody on all sides of the story. I don't know any journalist who wouldn't take this interview."

Last year, Rather said US press freedom was being undermined by a wave of patriotism which swept the US following the 11 September attacks.