WP: Woodward, Pt 5 of 5: U.S.Aimed for Hussein as War Began

[DeepModem Mom]

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 last 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.


....Inside the Oval Office, the president went around the room again, asking if all the principals agreed (on the strike on Saddam, based on CIA intelligence), almost pushing each to the wall. They did....

***

The president kicked everyone out of the Oval Office but Cheney.

What do you think, Dick?

"This is the best intelligence we've had yet on where Saddam's located," Cheney replied. "If we get him, it may save a lot of lives and shorten the war. And even if we don't, we're going to rattle his cage pretty seriously, and maybe disrupt the chain of command. That's well worth the effort in and of itself." Now he was unequivocal. "I think we ought to go for it."

The others came back in. Finally, the president said, "Let's go." It was three minutes before Franks's deadline.

Powell noted silently that things didn't really get decided until the president had met with Cheney alone...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32572-2004Apr21.html

[LizW]

1. Giving this a kick

I read the article earlier and have been giving it time to digest.

Two comments: Lovely of Myers and Rumsfeld to argue that it doesn't matter if you kill women and children with bombs, because the Iraqis will claim you killed women and children anyway. See, it's all about perception, not about the actual deaths of innocent people.

As far as I can tell, the only person we actually managed to kill in our "decapitation" attack was our own mole. What a confidence-builder.

[DeepModem Mom]

4. Oh, my gosh, that's a good point -- perception is all --

[ElsewheresDaughter]

2. O'Neil and Clarke's books both satate thet only 10 days into his term bush

admin had Iraq war plans made...10 days! Jan. 2001

[UpInArms]

3. kicking again

:kick:

(edited to add excerpt)

On March 24, 2003, five days after the start of the war, Tim made his way down to Dora Farm. It looked like the remnants of a flea market, people were still carting stuff away. There were craters and clearly the place had been attacked. He searched everywhere. There was no bunker or any hint of one. He found a subterranean pantry for food storage attached to the main house. Perhaps that was what his ROCKSTAR agents had been referring to. It was baffling and mysterious. Was it possible that manzul was neither a place of refuge nor a bunker, but a pantry?

<snip>

Soon Tim was reassigned to CIA headquarters to work undercover on other issues. Saul and other superiors asked him and the team members to put down the sequence of events of the day and night of March 19 to 20, 2003. They wanted a very briefable, immaculate package. The more Tim searched his memory and the few documents, he realized that much was cloudy. Everyone had been stressed. The ROCKSTARS on the ground had not wanted to disappoint, and had obviously been worried about being captured or killed.

...more...

[goclark]

5. Who Was In Charge? Chaney or Pappy?

I just started reading Woodward's book. It seems to me that Chaney was the pusher fro this but there is a silent partner IMO. Does anyone have any opinion onwho is telling Georgie what to do?

What role did GWB have in this- I think he had far more control then we think.

Just wondering.