White House Attacks New York Times For Critical Afghanistan Report

A dramatic New York Times report detailing doubts among Afghan leadership that U.S. forces can beat back the Taliban had its credibility attacked on Sunday by two high-ranking officials in the Obama White House.

Hours after its publication, however, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, was calling the information inaccurate "if not fallacious."

"We don't have any basis for seeing it as the New York Times portrays it," Rice said on "Fox News Sunday." "We have every confidence that the U.S. and NATO, working with our Afghan partners, will defeat the Taliban. Hamid Karzai remains an important partner in the Afghan government."

Rice's rebuke of the Times was notably tough-worded and suggested that the White House is very sensitive to the delicate situation in Afghanistan and fraying relations between Afghan leadership and U.S. officials. Another top White House aide -- David Axelrod -- was even more direct than Rice in his critique of the piece, arguing that the reporters had relied on a biased source for their information. ........ White House Attacks New York Times For Critical Afghanistan Report‎

Karzai Is Said to Doubt West Can Defeat Taliban - nytimes