:: NEWS COCKTAIL aka BlahBlahBlog ::

:: 4.22.2004 ::

:: Woodward excerpt V ::

PLAN OF ATTACK: Countdown to War
U.S. Aimed For Hussein As War Began
CIA Informants Told of His Suspected Whereabouts
By Bob Woodward
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 22, 2004; Page A01

This is the fifth of five articles adapted from "Plan of Attack," a book by Bob Woodward that is a behind-the-scenes account of how and why President Bush decided to go to war against Iraq. Simon & Schuster. © 2004.

On the day President Bush led the United States to war in Iraq, he met with the National Security Council in the White House Situation Room, linked by secure video with Gen. Tommy R. Franks and nine of his senior commanders. It was the morning of Wednesday, March 19, 2003.

Franks, who was at Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia, explained that each commander would brief the president.

"Do you have everything you need?" Bush asked Lt. Gen. T. Michael "Buzz" Moseley, the Air Force commander who was running the air operations out of Saudi Arabia. "Can you win?"

"My command and control is all up," Moseley said. "I've received and distributed the rules of engagement. I have no issues. I am in place and ready." He was careful not to promise outright victory. "I have everything we need to win."

"I'm ready," said Lt. Gen. David D. McKiernan, the Army ground commander. "We are moving into forward attack positions. Our logistics are in place. We have everything we need to win."

"Green across the board," said Vice Admiral Timothy J. Keating.

Bush repeated his questions to each of the other commanders. The answers were all affirmative, and got shorter each time.

"The rules of engagement and command and control are in place," Franks said. "The force is ready to go, Mr. President."

"For the peace of the world and the benefit and freedom of the Iraqi people," Bush said, "I hereby give the order to execute Operation Iraqi Freedom. May God bless the troops."

"May God bless America," Franks replied.

"We're ready to go," the president said. "Let's win it." He raised his hand in a salute to his commanders, and then abruptly stood and turned before the others could jump up. Tears welled up in his eyes, and in the eyes of some of the others as Bush left the room. When he reached the Oval Office, he went outside for a walk.

"It was emotional for me," Bush recalled in an interview last December. "I prayed as I walked around the circle. I prayed that our troops be safe, be protected by the Almighty, that there be minimal loss of life." He prayed for all who were to go into harm's way for the country.

"Going into this period, I was praying for strength to do the Lord's will. . . . I'm surely not going to justify war based upon God. Understand that. Nevertheless, in my case I pray that I be as good a messenger of His will as possible. And then, of course, I pray for personal strength and for forgiveness."

After his walk, the president made a series of secure phone calls to leaders of coalition countries saying, in essence, "We're launching!"

At this point, the war plan called for 48 hours of stealth operations, with the first Special Operations teams crossing the border from Jordan into western Iraq to stop any Scud missiles at 9 a.m. Eastern Time, 5 p.m. in Iraq. At the end of that period, at 1 p.m. Washington time on Friday, March 21, nine hours of "shock and awe" bombing and missile strikes would begin, with the major ground incursion scheduled for that night. The president would address the nation sometime Friday to announce that military action had begun.

But there had been a new development that threw some of those plans into doubt -- the opportunity, apparently, to kill Saddam Hussein before the war really even started.

Read more here.

ALSO:
An interview w/ the Prez.

Bob Woodward interviewed President Bush on Dec. 10 and Dec. 11, 2003, for a total of 31/2 hours. The following are excerpts from those interviews.

On how he decided to go to war:

I want to work you back, take you to the day I declared war, or committed the troops. When I went in the Command Center, and it was a -- I was fully prepared at this point in time, reluctant to use troops. Tried diplomacy, tried diplomacy, tried diplomacy, recognized we would have to use troops, had the troop build-up there. Got very frustrated with the diplomatic circle. Working with [British Prime Minister Tony] Blair, [Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria] Aznar, [Australian Prime Minister John] Howard, all of whom stayed the course. 'Mr. President, we need this diplomacy.' The big build-up there. Began to wonder, worry about America saying: Well, maybe Bush isn't serious about Saddam. Why the build-up? Why the hesitation? There was a lot of conflicting pressures, and so by the time it came time to commit, I was fully ready to go psychologically, and knowing it was the right thing to do. But it was a dramatic moment.

On the role of the United States:

Let me make sure you understand what I just said about the role of the United States. I believe the United States is the beacon for freedom in the world. And I believe we have a responsibility to promote freedom that is as solemn as the responsibility is to protecting the American people, because the two go hand in hand. No, it's very important for you to understand that about my presidency.

posted by me

:: 12:57:00 AM [+] ::
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