Obama's WarsIn Obama’s Wars, Bob Woodward provides the most intimate and sweeping portrait yet of the young president as commander in chief. Drawing on internal memos, classified documents, meeting notes and hundreds of hours of interviews with most of the key players, including the president, Woodward tells the inside story of Obama making the critical decisions on the Afghanistan War, the secret campaign in Pakistan and the worldwide fight against terrorism. At the core of Obama’s Wars is the unsettled division between the civilian leadership in the White House and the United States military as the president is thwarted in his efforts to craft an exit plan for the Afghanistan War. “So what’s my option?” the president asked his war cabinet, seeking alternatives to the Afghanistan commander’s request for 40,000 more troops in late 2009. “You have essentially given me one option. ...It’s unacceptable.” “Well,” Secretary of Defense Robert Gates finally said, “Mr. President, I think we owe you that option.” It never came. An untamed Vice President Joe Biden pushes relentlessly to limit the military mission and avoid another Vietnam. The vice president frantically sent half a dozen handwritten memos by secure fax to Obama on the eve of the final troop decision. President Obama’s ordering a surge of 30,000 troops and pledging to start withdrawing U.S. forces by July 2011 did not end the skirmishing. General David Petraeus, the new Afghanistan commander, thinks time can be added to the clock if he shows progress. “I don’t think you win this war,” Petraeus said privately. “This is the kind of fight we’re in for the rest of our lives and probably our kids’ lives.” Hovering over this debate is the possibility of another terrorist attack in the United States. The White House led a secret exercise showing how unprepared the government is if terrorists set off a nuclear bomb in an American city—which Obama told Woodward is at the top of the list of what he worries about all the time. Verbatim quotes from secret debates and White House strategy sessions—and firsthand accounts of the thoughts and concerns of the president, his war council and his generals—reveal a government in conflict, often consumed with nasty infighting and fundamental disputes. Woodward has discovered how the Obama White House really works, showing that even more tough decisions lie ahead for the cerebral and engaged president. Obama’s Wars offers the reader a stunning, you-are-there account of the president, his White House aides, military leaders, diplomats and intelligence chiefs in this time of turmoil and danger. |
From inside the book
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Page 8
... stan, period. One important secret that had never been reported in the media or elsewhere was the existence of the CIA's 3,000-man covert army in Afghanistan. Called CTPT, for Counterterrorism Pursuit Teams, the army consisted mostly of ...
... stan, period. One important secret that had never been reported in the media or elsewhere was the existence of the CIA's 3,000-man covert army in Afghanistan. Called CTPT, for Counterterrorism Pursuit Teams, the army consisted mostly of ...
Page 24
... stan. And I'm willing to stay and work with you, but I'll have to talk to my wife.” Obama later said he was glad to hear that Gates had to check with his wife, because if he hadn't he would know “it's not a real yes.” Gates also said he ...
... stan. And I'm willing to stay and work with you, but I'll have to talk to my wife.” Obama later said he was glad to hear that Gates had to check with his wife, because if he hadn't he would know “it's not a real yes.” Gates also said he ...
Page 25
... stan with its president , Asif Ali Zardari . Hayden , 63 , was a four - star Air Force general who had also been the NSA director from 1999 to 2005. He wore rimless eyeglasses that accentuated his arched eyebrows and bald head . As CIA ...
... stan with its president , Asif Ali Zardari . Hayden , 63 , was a four - star Air Force general who had also been the NSA director from 1999 to 2005. He wore rimless eyeglasses that accentuated his arched eyebrows and bald head . As CIA ...
Page 43
... t prevail in Afghani- stan unless it resolved three large problems . First , governance had to be improved and corruption curtailed . Bribes and embezzlement were rampant. There were, for example, about 42 steps to get OBAMA'S WARS 43.
... t prevail in Afghani- stan unless it resolved three large problems . First , governance had to be improved and corruption curtailed . Bribes and embezzlement were rampant. There were, for example, about 42 steps to get OBAMA'S WARS 43.
Page 45
... stan to overthrow the Taliban, which had harbored and given sanctu- ary to al Qaeda. Bush was extremely proud of the hard-line doctrine and told me in an interview the doctrine meant, “We're going to root out terror.” A foundation of ...
... stan to overthrow the Taliban, which had harbored and given sanctu- ary to al Qaeda. Bush was extremely proud of the hard-line doctrine and told me in an interview the doctrine meant, “We're going to root out terror.” A foundation of ...
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Common terms and phrases
Afghan government al Qaeda American ANSF Army assessment attacks Axelrod background interviews Barack H Biden Blair Bob Woodward brigade called campaign Cartwright chairman chapter comes primarily chief of staff CIA director civilian Clinton commander counterinsurgency counterterrorism decision defeat deputy Donilon Eikenberry Emanuel firsthand sources Gates Geoff Morrell ghan ghanistan goal going Graham guys Haqqani Hayden Helmand province Holbrooke intelligence Iraq Jones July Kandahar Karzai Kayani Lavoy leaders Lute McChrystal McConnell McDonough McKiernan meeting mission months Mullah Omar Mullen national security adviser NATO Obama asked operations option Oval Office Paki Pakistan Panetta Pentagon Petraeus Podesta political President Barack President Bush President Obama presidential primarily from background Qaeda Quetta Riedel safe havens secretary of defense Senate September Situation Room speech stan Taliban insurgents talk terrorist thought tion U.S. troops United vice president wanted Washington Post White House Zardari