AP: Book Alleges Secret Iraq War Plan (Bob Woodward's feverish mind, barf)

Yahoo! News ^ | April 16, 2004 | CALVIN WOODWARD and SIOBHAN McDONOUGH

[El Conservador]

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) quietly ordered creation of a war plan against Iraq (news - web sites) in November 2001 while overseeing a divided national security team, including a vice president determined to link Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) to al-Qaida, says a new book.

Bob Woodward, in "Plan of Attack," says Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) believed Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) developed — as Woodward puts it — an "unhealthy fixation" on trying to find a connection between Iraq and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Bush dismissed such characterizations of Cheney.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the book, which will be available in bookstores next week and covers the 16 months leading to the March 2003 invasion.

Bush told Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Nov. 21, 2001 — less than two months after U.S. forces attacked Afghanistan (news - web sites) — to prepare for possible war with Iraq, and kept some members of his closest circle in the dark, Woodward said.

In an interview with the author, Bush said he feared that if news had gotten out about the Iraq plan as America was fighting another conflict, that would cause "enormous international angst and domestic speculation."

"I knew what would happen if people thought we were developing a potential war plan for Iraq," Bush is quoted as saying. "It was such a high-stakes moment and ... it would look like that I was anxious to go to war. And I'm not anxious to go to war."

Asked Friday about that Nov. 21, 2001, meeting with Rumsfeld, the president said, "I can't remember dates that far back" but emphasized "it was Afghanistan that was on my mind and I didn't really start focusing on Iraq 'til later on."

The White House later confirmed the discussion with Rumsfeld but said it did not mean Bush was set on a course of attacking Iraq at that point.

Bush and his aides have denied they were preoccupied with Iraq at the cost of paying attention to the al-Qaida terrorist threat before the Sept. 11 attacks. A commission investigating the attacks just concluded several weeks of extraordinary public testimony, during which former counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke contended the Bush administration's determination to invade Iraq undermined the war on terror.

Woodward's account indicates some members of the administration, particularly Cheney, were focused on Saddam from the outset of Bush's presidency and even after the terrorist attacks made the destruction of al-Qaida the top priority.

Without quoting them directly on the subject, Woodward portrays Cheney and Powell as barely on speaking terms — the vice president being the chief advocate for a war that the secretary of state was not sure needed to be fought.

He recounts the vice president and a defense official making remarks to others about Powell bragging about his popularity, and Powell saying Cheney was preoccupied with an Iraq-al-Qaida link.

"Powell thought Cheney had the fever," Woodward writes. "He saw in Cheney a sad transformation. ... Cheney now had an unhealthy fixation."

On the war's origins, the book describes Bush pulling Rumsfeld into a cubbyhole office adjacent to the Situation Room for that November 2001 meeting and asking him what shape the Iraq war plan was in. When Rumsfeld said it was outdated, Bush ordered a fresh one.

The book says Bush told Rumsfeld to keep quiet about their planning and when the defense secretary asked to bring CIA (news - web sites) Director George Tenet into it at some point, the president said not to do so yet.

Even Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites), was apparently not fully briefed. Woodward said Bush told her that morning he was having Rumsfeld work on Iraq but did not give details.

The book says Gen. Tommy Franks, who was in charge of the Afghan war as head of Central Command, uttered a string of obscenities when the Pentagon (news - web sites) told him to come up with an Iraq war plan in the midst of fighting another conflict.

Woodward, a Washington Post journalist who wrote an earlier book on Bush's anti-terrorism campaign and broke the Watergate scandal with Carl Bernstein, says the scope and intensity of the war plan grew even as administration officials were saying publicly that they were pursuing a diplomatic solution.

The book describes a CIA briefing for Bush in December 2002 presenting evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Bush was not sure the public would find the information compelling, Woodward said, but when he turned to Tenet, the CIA chief assured him: "It's a slam-dunk case."

That case fell apart after U.S. forces occupied Iraq and failed to find the stockpiles the administration said had been there.

[El Conservador]

Now, this is Oliver Stone material...

[hole_n_one]

Now, this is Oliver Stone material...

I believe the WH has confirmed some of the assertions made by Woodward as recently as today.

[MEG33]

I do believe there was an Iraq war plan.It would be foolish not to have one.There are those who fault him for not planning enough..It's always something.

[ApplegateRanch]

If I thought for a minute that ANY administration didn't have "war plans" for any likely contingency, I would want whoever it was investigated/impeached for failure to fulfill teir duties and gross incompetence.

[ladyinred]

If your read Bob's book, Bush at War, he says that after 911 the administration wondered at first if Iraq was involved. So what is the big deal about this? It seems to me that it is the tone this so called revelation is couched in that makes the difference. The media is making it out to be something sinister.

[MJY1288]

I would hope President Bush was quitly ordering plans to invade not only Iraq, but Syria, Lybia, Iran, Yemin, Saudi Arabia and anyone else who might need a taste of American Justice via our Military

[SandRat]

How true. The war plan for War with Japan was called "Plan Orange" and the officer in the War Department that worked on updating the Army portion was a new LTC just returned from being Gen MacArthur's Adjutant as a MAJ. His Name? Dwight Eisenhower.

[MJY1288]

Not to mention, I hope he ordered the Nukes to be dusted off and prepared for the possibily of being launched

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.

Praise GOD that...

President BUSH has promised...

During a BUSH Presidency...



FREEDOM's Return to:

Communist Vietnam
Communist North Korea
Communist Cuba ..as well as..



FREEDOM's Arrival to:

The Entire Middle East


...as our own best Self-Defense against future Terrorist Attacks here at Home.



Signed:

"ALOHA RONNIE" Guyer
Veteran-"WE WERE SOLDIERS" Battle of IA DRANG-1965
http://www.lzxray.com

Broadcaster-Radio Free Vietnam
http://www.rfvn.com

.

[Shermy]

It appears from this limited telling that Woodward is adopting the Iraq War Came Out of the Mind of Cheney theory. As if there wasn't a reason to "focus" (Dem talking point word) on Iraq - who'd we and the UK had been bombing for 12 years.

Here's an egregious sample:

"On the war's origins, the book describes Bush pulling Rumsfeld into a cubbyhole office adjacent to the Situation Room for that November 2001 meeting and asking him what shape the Iraq war plan was in. When Rumsfeld said it was outdated, Bush ordered a fresh one."

How is this an "origin" if there was a previous war plan...probably a Clinton plan promulgated by the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act?

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

Should Jamie Gorelick resign from the 9/11 commission?

1992 responses

Yes
47%

No
53%

Go here to vote ---> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/



Michael Savage Web Poll

How do you think Bush is handling Iraq?

Terribly(8479) 21%

Adequately(3609) 9%

As Best as Anyone Could(28330) 70%


40781 total votes since 04/13/04

Go here to vote ---> http://www.homestead.com/prosites-prs/index.html

[the_Watchman]

It was far too soon to rule out Iraq as a perp in 9-11. Why wouldn't he develop a plan?

BTW: When you visit Yahoo news pages, remember to scroll to the bottom of the news articles and vote. Lately, all the Reuters articles have been getting a "1" from me.

[alameda]

Freeped...
yes 48
no 52

[Lord Basil]

"President Bush (news - web sites) quietly ordered creation of a war plan against Iraq (news - web sites) in November 2001 while overseeing a divided national security team, including a vice president determined to link Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) to al-Qaida, says a new book."

He was just following the advice of Bob Kerrey.

[Mr. Buzzcut]

The book describes a CIA briefing for Bush in December 2002 presenting evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Bush was not sure the public would find the information compelling, Woodward said, but when he turned to Tenet, the CIA chief assured him: "It's a slam-dunk case."

So ... Woodward is putting the kibosh on the "Bush lied" kooks?

[MarkL]

Isn't Bob Woodward the one who reported that William Casey, on his death-bed, awoke from a coma, and privately revealed some information to him, just before he died?

Mark

[Redcoat LI]

It appears from this limited telling that Woodward is adopting the Iraq War Came Out of the Mind of Cheney theory.

Did he interview Cheney when he was under anesthesia during one of his heart attacks,like he interviewed Bill Casey when he was in a coma?

[CFC__VRWC]

I look at this and all I can say is BFD. I expect most Americans who are paying attention will say the same. Rush and others have been saying that Woodward's book was supposed to make Dickie Clarke's Kerry campaign effort look like Amateur Hour. If this is the most anti-Bush item that AP could tease the book with, then this installment of the Bush-Bash Book Club looks like a bust for the Rats.

[solo gringo]

I wonder if they will find lots of these books washed up on the shore line like hillary's book have been.I guess the container broke,bob better wishes his does not.

[CyberAnt]

I agree about the "sinister" thing.

I think Rumsfeld's statement had the clue everybody's missing .. I understand when Bush ask him if we had a plan of war for Iraq, he said, "yes, but it's very old". Which means, AS USUAL .. CLINTON HAD DONE NOTHING ABOUT SADDAM EXCEPT LOB A FEW MISSILES.

Even a 5-yr old plan would have been out of date. And .. I agree with the President's assessment that Saddam might try to take advantage of us while we were busy in Afghanistan - and we needed to be prepared. (something Hillary and her goons never do - they don't prepare for contingencies)