Obama's Wars

Obama's Wars

In Obamaâ€™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 Obamaâ€™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.

â€œSo whatâ€™s my option?â€ the president asked his war cabinet, seeking alternatives to the Afghanistan commanderâ€™s request for 40,000 more troops in late 2009. â€œYou have essentially given me one option...Itâ€™s unacceptable.â€

â€œWell,â€ Secretary of Defense Robert Gates finally said, â€œMr. President, I think we owe you that option.â€

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 Obamaâ€™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. â€œI donâ€™t think you win this war,â€ Petraeus said privately. â€œThis is the kind of fight weâ€™re in for the rest of our lives and probably our kidsâ€™ lives.â€

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 cityâ€”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 sessionsâ€”and firsthand accounts of the thoughts and concerns of the president, his war council and his generalsâ€”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.

Obamaâ€™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.
Country USA
Brand Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer Simon & Schuster
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9781439172506
ReleaseDate 2011-05-03
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781439172506

Country	USA
Brand	Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer	Simon & Schuster
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9781439172506
ReleaseDate	2011-05-03
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781439172506

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