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 Woodward interviewed President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Condolezzas Rice, CIA Director George Tenet and many other decision makers and advisors, including Richard Armitage, Paul Wolfowitz, Andrew Card, and General Richard Myers.
Reviewed by Maurice A. Williams
Bush at War
Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster
New York, NY
ISBN: 0-7432-0473-5
$19.60, Hardcover, 2002, 353 pages
George W, Bush has been drawn into some type of war ever since the presidential election. His rivals caused him and our country considerable uncertainty trying to have the election decided in a courtroom war. Ten months later, Al Qaeda terrorists attacked the Twin Towers, plunging the American people into another uncertainty. This time an act of real war has been perpetrated against our nation, killing more people than were killed at Pearl Harbor. This attack was launched by an almost invisible enemy, determined to destroy us, and confident that they are safe from retaliation because they are spread all over the world. George Bush, finally confirmed as president, the political war now behind him, has this new war confronting him. How will America deal with terrorists? How will America keep its people safe from future terrorist attacks?
I remember President Bush's first public address after the tragedy. He identified Al Qaeda suicide bombers as the perpetrators and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan as providing safe have haven and training camps for Al Qaeda. I can still see this man telling the Taliban, before the whole world, that we have demands. We demand that you turn Osama bin Laden and his men training in your country over to us. We expect our demands to be met, and our demands are not negotiable. If our demands are not met, we will treat you the same as the terrorists you harbor. A few days later, the Taliban said, in effect, they want to negotiate. They want to see what evidence we have. From that moment, with our bluff called, there is no doubt that we are at war with Al Qaeda and the Taliban regime granting Al Qaeda sanctuary. We all watched the news on how the war progressed, but how was the war planned and implemented?
Bob Woodward, in "Bush at War" tells us. Woodward interviewed President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Condolezzas Rice, CIA Director George Tenet and many other decision makers and advisors, including Richard Armitage, Paul Wolfowitz, Andrew Card, and General Richard Myers. Early on, it was recognized that this war would have to be fought differently than any of our previous wars. The campaign to neutralize and destroy Al Qaeda involved diplomatic measures, freezing assets, and seizing monies that funded Al Qaeda operations.
America would have to act quickly to deny Osama bin Laden the chance for a second strike and to satisfy the American desire to see some tangible punishment for those who killed so many civilians. George Bush appears to be a very good organizer of people who have different opinions. One group, apparently headed by Colin Powell, wanted to pursue diplomatic means, persuading other nations, to encourage the Taliban to deny safe haven to Al Qaeda. Another group, apparently headed by Donald Rumsfeld, wanted quick military action to depose the Taliban and defeat Al Qaeda. Both groups were convinced their way was the best way, and both groups recognized that there were difficulties with both approaches. President Bush blended these opinions into a unified approach, using never-before-tried methods to depose the Taliban and pursue Al Qaeda. In ten weeks, 316 special forces men, 110 CIA agents, and Air Force precision bombing, helped the Afghan people liberate themselves. They inaugurated a new provisional government on December 22, 2001, 110 days after 911.
Although there was criticism from many countries, help came from unexpected sources. Putin of Russia told President Bush that he was prepared to tell the governments of the Central Asian States that Russia has good relations with the Americans and no objection to our campaign in Central Asia. He believed the American objective was fighting terrorism and, after terrorism is defeated, America would have no desire for a permanent role in Central Asia. Putin also offered search and rescue for downed pilots. As far as ground troops from Russia goes, Putin told bush: "That makes no sense to you or to us." Putin pointed out that Russia will be doing more for us than many of our friends and allies. As we all know, Russia lost a ten-year war trying to conquer Afghanistan. A Russian diplomat told our military: "I hate to say that you're really going to get the hell kicked out of you."
Bush told Woodward that, as soon as he heard of the Twin Tower attack, he thought: "They have declared war on us, and I made up my mind at that moment that we are going to war. When we find out who did this, they're not going to like me as president." A few days later, President Bush formed a National Security Council as mentioned above. The Security Council's biggest concerns were avoiding large numbers of troops on the ground, minimizing civilian casualties, providing food and medicine for displaced civilians, and encouraging the rival tribes and military groups in Afghanistan to stop fighting and cooperate. We would like them to form a stable government representing the interest of all Afghans.
The military recognized that new tactics had to be formulated before the military response could commence. Preparation was difficult. Warships with planes and troops had to move within striking range. Air rescue of downed pilots had to be in place. Arrangements with the various factions in Afghanistan had to be consolidated. It took a long time to put everything in place, but, once in place, the fighting finished quickly. On September 26, 2001, the first covert team entered Afghanistan. By December 22, 2001, a new provisional government ruled the entire country.
On February 5, 2002, twenty-five Americans, representing the special forces and the CIA, gathered outside Gardez, Afghanistan. They buried a piece of the World Trade Center, read a prayer, then said: "We consecrate this spot as an everlasting memorial to the brave Americans who died on September 11, so that all who seek to do her harm will know that America will not stand by and watch terror prevail. We will export death and violence to the four corners of the earth in defense of our great nation."
Bob Woodward's "Bush at War" is a fast moving, easy to read, documentary of this military action against the terrorists who attacked America on September 11, 2001.
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About the reviewer: Maurice A. Williams writes book reviews, articles, poems, and has written two books: "Revelation and The Fall of Judea" and "Prophet and Historian: John and Josephus." You can visit his WebPages: http://www.geocities.com/mauricewms2003 and http://www.lulu.com/maurice-williams .
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