Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan has accused the Bush administration of deliberately manipulating the public to wage the war on Iraq. In a new memoir, McClellan writes, “Over that summer of 2002, top Bush aides had outlined a strategy for carefully orchestrating the coming campaign to aggressively sell the war… In the permanent campaign era, it was all about manipulating sources of public opinion to the president’s advantage.” He continues, “What I do know is that war should only be waged when necessary, and the Iraq war was not necessary.” McClellan also faults the White House press corps for its conduct before the Iraq invasion, saying it was too easy on the Bush administration. He also criticizes Bush for his handling of Hurricane Katrina. McClellan says the White House spent the first week following Katrina “in a state of denial.” He also says White House deputy Karl Rove staged an Air Force One flyover of New Orleans as a photo-op to counter public criticism of the White House response. McClellan resigned in April 2006 after nearly three years as Bush’s press secretary.