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... Behind the podium, Senor never conceded a mistake, and his efforts to spin failures into successes sometimes reached the point of absurdity. "The majority of Iraqis . . . do they want the coalition forces to leave? They say no," he once said. The CPA's own polls suggested just the opposite. Asked why Iraq had such interminable lines at gas stations, he insisted it was "good news" -- more Iraqis were driving because the CPA had allowed the import of a quarter-million new cars. He made no mention of the CPA's delays in getting Halliburton and other contractors to solve the problem by repairing refineries.
When Senor was frank, it was never for publication. In April 2004, a few reporters asked him about a paroxysm of violence that had Americans hunkering in the Green Zone. "Off the record: Paris is burning," he told them. "On the record: Security and stability are returning to Iraq ..."
