Top White House aides to write Middle East blog

Senior White House aides are planning to record notes from President Bush’s trip to the Middle East in what White House spokeswoman Dana Perino called “just a little bit of a blog.”

{mosads}Perino announced the creation of “Trip Notes from the Middle East” in a briefing with reporters prior to the president’s departure.

“This is new to us,” Perino said. “We encourage you to log on and to check back often to read some of the updates that the staff will be posting throughout the trip.”

Bush will first visit Israel and the Palestinian Territories and then travel to five other Middle Eastern countries.

Perino said she would likely be among the “bloggers,” along with White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. Other officials might also contribute, the spokeswoman noted.

While the blog is currently planned only for the current trip, Perino left the door open to expand the project if it is successful.

“We’ll see how it goes, and then we may do it in the future as well,” Perino said.