White House calls grim Iraq assessment by Powell ?thoughtful?

WHITE HOUSE (AP) — The White House is going out of its way not to dispute yesterday's grim assessment on Iraq from President Bush's first-term secretary of state.

A spokesman calls Colin Powell's comments “thoughtful” and “practical.”

Interviewed on CBS over the weekend, Powell said America is “losing” in Iraq. And he cast doubt on proposals to send more US troops to Baghdad, saying he's “not persuaded” that the plan “will work.”

Press Secretary Tony Snow says Powell's comments were "pretty consistent" with what the Bush administration's saying. And he says they're what you'd expect from a former top diplomat and chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

But Snow won't say if the White House agrees with Powell that America's losing the fight. He says, "I'm not playing the game any more."