WASHINGTON, April 20 Kyodo (EDS: ...

WASHINGTON, April 20 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH RUMSFELD'S REMARKS AT PENTAGON BRIEFING & ADDITIONAL DETAILS)

U Secretary of State Colin Powell in succession Tuesday categorically denied as ''flat wrong'' an account in a modern book that President George W Bush briefed Saudi Arabian Ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan onward his Iraq war plan before telling him in January 2003

''It's just flat wicked It was wrong,'' Powell said in answer to a question about Bush's alleged advance notification of his war plan to the Saudi ambassador, despite to the account to the contrary in Washington seat writer Bob Woodward's new work ''Plan of Attack.''

''If you read the part Prince Bandar was briefed upon plans, plans that had to do with our deployment'' he told reporters at the State Department. ''I worked onward them, I was consulted forward them.''

''No decision was communicated to Prince Bandar of the decision'' from Bush to go to war against Iraq, Powell added.

According to Woodward's main division Bush told Prince Bandar of his Iraq war plan before telling Powell forward Jan. 13, 2003, two days after the Saudi ambassador received an advance briefing from Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Gen Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon briefing Tuesday that he was quick in emergencies at the Jan. 11 meeting with the Saudi legate and ''Gen. Myers may have shown the (top secret) map'' to explain the battle plan.

''To my knowledge the decision had not been taken at the president to fare to war'' in January 2003 Rumsfeld said.

The White House is disputing Woodward's account that Bush made up his mind in early January last year to move to war and started telling his top advisers.

Prince Bandar separately told CNN's ''Paula Zahn Now'' upon Monday that he set up out about the decision to go on foot to war the night before the U invasion began March 19 Washington time (March 20 local time).

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