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 6
... telling the CIA where to look, hunt and kill. Without spies, the video feed from the Predator might as well be a blank television screen. McConnell provided extensive details about these human sources, who had been developed in an ...
... telling the CIA where to look, hunt and kill. Without spies, the video feed from the Predator might as well be a blank television screen. McConnell provided extensive details about these human sources, who had been developed in an ...
Page 14
... tell you that you have to do it.” Emanuel understood it was a historic moment, the country was in trouble, and as White House chief of staff he could be a kind of deputy president in the right circumstances. Though he and Obama were ...
... tell you that you have to do it.” Emanuel understood it was a historic moment, the country was in trouble, and as White House chief of staff he could be a kind of deputy president in the right circumstances. Though he and Obama were ...
Page 27
... telling the truth. After a February rally in Ohio that year, she had scolded him with a line that continued to sting: “Shame on you, Barack Obama.” “I have a really strong feeling,” Obama said. “I think I know her pretty well. If she's ...
... telling the truth. After a February rally in Ohio that year, she had scolded him with a line that continued to sting: “Shame on you, Barack Obama.” “I have a really strong feeling,” Obama said. “I think I know her pretty well. If she's ...
Page 29
... tell him to shut down operations in 26 countries that are saving people's lives,” Clinton said. Just because someone thinks it might look bad? People would die if his charities collapsed. “It's not worth it,” she said. Her husband had ...
... tell him to shut down operations in 26 countries that are saving people's lives,” Clinton said. Just because someone thinks it might look bad? People would die if his charities collapsed. “It's not worth it,” she said. Her husband had ...
Page 30
... tell Obama directly, but Podesta arranged it so the two didn't connect that night. “Let her sleep on it,” he said. Podesta knew the most intense conversations were taking place within the family— Hillary, Bill and Chelsea. Podesta ...
... tell Obama directly, but Podesta arranged it so the two didn't connect that night. “Let her sleep on it,” he said. Podesta knew the most intense conversations were taking place within the family— Hillary, Bill and Chelsea. Podesta ...
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