In a December 5 online article reporting the statement by Robert M. Gates, President Bush's nominee for defense secretary, that the United States is currently not winning in Iraq, The New York Times did not report that Gates' assertion, which he made in front of the Senate Armed Service Committee during his December 5 confirmation hearing, contradicts a statement Bush made as recently as October 25 that “absolutely, we're winning” in Iraq.

Rather, the Times later reported that Gates stated “that he believes President Bush knows that things are not going well there,” a belief that the Times asserted “counters the view of administration critics who say Mr. Bush has been in denial about the situation in Iraq.” In fact, it is not just “critics” who provide evidence that “Mr. Bush has been in denial”; it is the president himself, who took the opposite position from that subsequently voiced by his nominee to be defense secretary.

During the hearing, Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) asked Gates: "[D]o you believe that we are currently winning in Iraq?" Gates replied: “No, sir.”

By contrast, in its report on Gates' statement to the committee, The Washington Post noted Bush's October 25 comments:

Gates's view contradicted the appraisal publicly stated by Bush in an Oct. 25 news conference, when he said in response to a question, “Absolutely, we're winning” in Iraq. Bush added then, "As a matter of fact, my view is the only way we lose in Iraq is if we leave before the job is done.