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 18
... Later on November 10, Ed Henry appeared on CNN reporting on the president-elect's day in Washington: “As soon as he left the White House this afternoon, he headed over to Reagan National Airport. And, while his jet was waiting, he went ...
... Later on November 10, Ed Henry appeared on CNN reporting on the president-elect's day in Washington: “As soon as he left the White House this afternoon, he headed over to Reagan National Airport. And, while his jet was waiting, he went ...
Page 19
... later Casey's chief deputy. In 1987, Reagan nominated Gates to be CIA director but Gates withdrew because of too many questions about the Iran-contra scandal and his relationship with Casey. In his 1996 memoir, From the Shadows, he made ...
... later Casey's chief deputy. In 1987, Reagan nominated Gates to be CIA director but Gates withdrew because of too many questions about the Iran-contra scandal and his relationship with Casey. In his 1996 memoir, From the Shadows, he made ...
Page 23
... Later, Obama recalled for me the conversation with Gates. “What I said to him was that we were in the middle of two wars. That I thought he had done an outstanding job as secretary of defense.” He said he found Gates's efforts “sound ...
... Later, Obama recalled for me the conversation with Gates. “What I said to him was that we were in the middle of two wars. That I thought he had done an outstanding job as secretary of defense.” He said he found Gates's efforts “sound ...
Page 24
... 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 agreed with Obama that at least another two combat brigades needed to be added to ...
... 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 agreed with Obama that at least another two combat brigades needed to be added to ...
Page 31
... later years. Plus, it fit with the Clinton style, since the family motto was “We're going to keep on going.” Sayyes, Penn urged. You're still in the game, he basically told her. It's a “no brainer, a five-minute decision.” Clinton later ...
... later years. Plus, it fit with the Clinton style, since the family motto was “We're going to keep on going.” Sayyes, Penn urged. You're still in the game, he basically told her. It's a “no brainer, a five-minute decision.” Clinton later ...
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