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In 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.
About the Author
Bob Woodward, a reporter and editor at The Washington Post since 1971, has authored or coauthored ten New York Times #1 bestsellers, including Plan of Attack, Bush at War, Shadow, The Agenda, The Commanders, Veil, Wired, The Brethren, The Final Days, and All the President's Men.
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Product Details
- Audiobook / 7 Hours / 6 CDs
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (September 27, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1442335262
ISBN-13: 978-1442335264
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