It was deemed as a conversation with U.S. troops, but critics are now calling it a PR move, after it is revealed the questions President Bush asked on a teleconference call Thursday were choreographed to coincide with his goals for the war, and Saturday's vote on a new Iraqi constitution.

Allison Barber, deputy assistant defense secretary said, coaching the soldiers before Bush arrived, "This is an important time. The president is looking forward to having just a conversation with you."

Barber told the soldiers Bush was interested in three topics: the overall security situation in Iraq, security preparations for the weekend vote, and efforts to train Iraqi troops.

As she spoke, a live shot of 10 soldiers from the Army's 42nd Infantry Division and one Iraqi soldier was beamed into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building from Tikrit - the birthplace of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Barber said, "I'm going to ask somebody to grab those two water bottles against the wall and move them out of the camera shot for me." Soon after, a brief rehearsal took place.

She said, "OK, so let's just walk through this. Captain Kennedy, you answer the first question and you hand the mike to whom?"

Keenedy replied, "Captain Smith."

Barber then asked, "Captain. Smith? You take the mike and you hand it to whom?"

Smith responded, "Captain Kennedy."

Barber asked, "If the question comes up about partnering - how often do we train with the Iraqi military - who does he go to?" One solidered answered, "That's going to go to Captain Pratt."

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Thursday's event was coordinated with the Defense Department, but assured the troops were expressing their own thoughts.

McClellan said coordination is often necessary to overcome technological challenges that may arise when using satellite feeds.