Bush meets with his defense team ... Dershowitz not invited

cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/ … index.html

'CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) – President Bush was mapping out defense strategy with his top advisers Monday as U.S. deaths in Iraq inched toward 1,000 and analysts predicted U.S. troop strength in Iraq would dominate the policy sessions.

'Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard Myers and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice are among those set to attend the meeting Monday at the president’s ranch. Gen. George Casey, the senior U.S. officer in Iraq, and Gen. John Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command, planned to participate via a video conference.

‘“This is a chance for the president and other military leaders to get outside of Washington, D.C., and have a good detailed discussion about key defense priorities,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.’

As a sidenote, Bush is currently setting new records for numbers of days on vacation by a sitting president. McClellan calls this “a chance” for Bush to get out of D.C. … making it almost sound like Bush rarely gets out of Washington.