Bush Awaits History's Judgment (Last in a series)

Washington Post ^ | 02/03/2002 | Dan Balz and Bob Woodward

[Pokey78]

President Bush was in mid-sentence during an interview in the Oval Office in December when he motioned to one of his aides to get something out of the top drawer of his desk. The aide handed him three sheets of paper with small, color photos and thumbnail biographies of the top dozen or so leaders of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network.

[Pokey78]

Ping for the final article in the series.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

[JulieRNR21]

This has been an outstanding series of articles....I've saved every one.....BUMP

[Elkiejg]

Outstanding articles - have read every one - thanks for posting cause I refuse to read anything else in the WashPost.

[Miss Marple]

This last in the series is a bit of a downer...because we just HAVE to analyze and get anonymous quotes (probably from Bill Kristol) to plant just a teeny tiny bit of doubt in the reader's mind.

On the other hand, I like the fact that he has a CHART with the thugs' pictures on it and he puts X's through them when they are killed. Ha!

[hchutch]

One item of bad news, though: al Zawahiri is still alive.

[Pokey78]

Good point. Parts 1-7 were nothing but the facts....and they were so recent that the liberals couldn't twist them into their view. Part 8 was more mushy; and I think the only one that used quotes from 'anonymous' people....who weren't there when it happened.

Sounds just like Billy boy. hehe

[summer]

bttt

[Jewels1091]

Bush Awaits History's Judgment

History will judge this president to be one of the best since this nation was founded!! Pure and simple.

[BillCompton]

You have to admit that this is a Pulitzer (sp?) slam dunk.

[BillCompton]

I have to disagree here about Kristol and his supposed quotes. Kristol seems to be on-board if his piece after the State of the Union is any indicator.

Rememeber "if it doesn't kill me, it makes me stronger." If you have taken hits, and come roaring through, it is more impressive than if you roar through without opposition.

[bird humming]

I get a sense of foreboding... especially Rove's quote at the end of the article.

Can't you just visualize the 'Mother of all Matrixes' tho? And cracked up over Bush's reference to 'Mohammed Jones.'

[Miss Marple]

"The president finds out what he wants to know. But he does not necessarily find out what he might need to know."

This is so very like Kristol's usual comments that it was hard for me to think of anyone else saying it. Of course this could be one of those made-up anonymous quotes stuck in just so the reporter can express his opinion.

Or it could be that Woodward has a stack of old Kristol quotes and just shuffles through them when he needs one.

[solzhenitsyn]

Thanks, Pokey, great job.

What an outstanding president! I used to hear constantly from liberal colleagues about how stupid, ignorant, and pathetic George W. Bush was; that's what they were fed non-stop by the news and entertainment media. It's great to see "Pravda on the Potomac" implicitly admitting that our president is not the drooling idiot he was made out to be.

The guy may not be as intellectual as Woodrow Wilson. It just doesn't matter. He knows what's right, and he does it. He was exactly what America needed.

[rabidralph]

A great series. The first and second parts are more riveting than Tom Clancy. I'm just so grateful to God that the adults are in charge and that most of them have found a way to be straightforward with each other to work out the war strategy.

Just a couple of criticisms of the reporters for not knowing the difference in severity between DEFCON 1 and DEFCON4. In part 1 they get it right, in part 2 they get it wrong. Also in one part Bush says the war will end at an hour and time of our choosing or words to that effect. Later on, the reporter tries to justify what he has just written by saying that Bush actually said the war will start at an hour and time of our choosing. Once again, it's always these little details that trip up reporters and the public doesn't always realize the fabrication.

[CommiesOut]

Man, I was afraid to post it. It smelled like a 100% ban, LOL!

[Concentrate]

bump.