OPPapers.com

Bush At War

Bush at War, written by Bob Woodward, was an enjoyable 356 page novel to read. There was no argument presented, just facts about the war on terror. The novel displays the behind scenes of how President Bush, his staff, and the world reacted during and after 9-11-01 terrorist attacks on the United States. Mr. Woodward, a newspaper reporter and editor for more than 30 years, interviewed more than a hundred sources to include exclusive interviews with President Bush. He covers details of what happens inside Bush administration on how they react with the war in Afghanistan, their reactions from the planes going into the world towers, many discussions from all about going to war against Iraq, Congress providing President Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq, and closing with a group of soldiers and C.I.A. paramilitary teams saying a prayer by a World Trade Center tombstone in Gardez, Afghanistan.
From the start of the novel Mr. Woodward mentioned there were various members within Congress and the Bush administration that doubted going to war. Some felt the leadership was making events up as they went along. Former Vice President Al Gore and Senator Ted Kennedy were two, very outspoken, who offered strong public criticism against the war. He, also, depicts the C.I.A. handing out millions of dollars to Afghan warlords and commanders to help win American support.
Mr. Woodward talks about the difficulties the Bush administration had amongst each other. For instance, Secretary of State, Colin L. Powell, was noted to have distance between the President and himself and other staff members. Mr. Woodward stated, “Powell and Armitage would joke that Powell had been put in the “icebox” or the “refrigerator.” (page 13) He noted several times how Colin Powell was in disagreement with the rest of the staff on the War in Iraq, but indicated Mr. Powell was as a former soldier and knew he had to represent the Commander in Chief’s agenda. Colin Powell knew the...