Prime Minister Misleads Again
Helen Clark's claim that the New Zealand Ambassador in Washington "was not called in by the US State Department" to
express displeasure over her diplomatic gaffe is misleading in the extreme, ACT New Zealand Deputy Leader Ken Shirley
said today.
"It is now confirmed that, in fact, Ambassador Wood was called in by the US administration - but he was called in by
the National Security Council, which is based in the White House and chaired by the President.
"Normally, one would expect the State Department to call in foreign ambassadors, and the fact that the National
Security Council acted in this instance underlines the gravity of the offence taken by the Bush Administration," Mr
Shirley said.