Nightline Will Look At Woodward's Book Tonight 4/19

[Oilwellian]

Nightline Daily E-Mail
April 19, 2004

TONIGHT'S FOCUS: Today President Bush announced that he has picked John Negroponte, the U.S. representative to the UN, to be the U.S.Ambassador to Iraq. But that's not what made news today. It was the buildup to war that caught everyone's attention. Another highly touted book on the Bush presidency. Another 60 Minutes appearance to break news and help launch the book. That's what's got Washington buzzing. Tonight we'll look at the latest book, "Plan of Attack" by Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward. He talked to 75 officials and sat down with President Bush for two long interviews.

So, what about this book has people talking? The headline is that President Bush asked Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to draw up plans for war with Iraq 2 months after the tragic events of September 11, 2001. He also told him to keep it secret. Woodward also describes a very tense conversation between the President and Secretary Powell when he did tell him about the plan for war. In that conversation, Secretary Powell cautioned the President strongly about the consequences of going to war. The accounts of various Oval Office meetings are so vivid with detail, that some believe Secretary Powell had to have been one of the unnamed interviews for the book.

Another part of the story is that President Bush allegedly made a deal with the Saudis that would essentially have the Saudis change output of oil production to help push the price of gas down in the United States just before the election in November. If it's true, it's a stunning revelation about the long standing relationship between the Bush dynasty and the Saudi royal family. The Saudi Embassy has denied both stories.

A $700 million dollar price tag for the war plan is one more revelation getting attention. The money was allegedly taken from a Congress appropriated military budget for Afghanistan. It's unclear whether Congress knew anything about the redirection of funds. According to the book, it was all done in secret so that General Tommy Franks could build the infrastructure he needed to launch the war from Kuwait.

Nightline correspondent John Donvan will look at the main headlines coming out of the book. Anchor Chris Bury will lead a discussion about reaction to the details of the book and how they might affect the Bush re-election campaign.

We hope you'll join us for tonight's broadcast.

Gerry Holmes and the Nightline Staff
Nightline Offices
ABCNEWS Washington D.C.

[StopTheMorans]

1. what time is nightline on?

thanks in advance...

[grasswire]

3. 11:35 PDT...

...but check your local listings. ABC.

[Bozita]

2. kick

[revcarol]

4. So far, Nightline has been mainly disappointing.

But they could do a special Nightline detailing Negroponte's complicity in and assistance of war crimes and I wouldn't object.

[TacticalPeek]

5. They do have some marks to their credit.

Like the agency folks roundtabling on the Plame outing.

:evilgrin:

[TacticalPeek]

6. Ron Suskind.

The president has created echo chambers of his own making.

[jab105]

7. NOBODY QUESTIONS THE PRESIDENTS DECISION TO GO TO WAR/

in Iraq...

:wtf:

I guess if you repeat it enough, people will think that its true...

[TacticalPeek]

8. "The way the president operates is ill-informed, dogmatic,

and not looking clearly at reality." Suskind

Pointing out to David Frum that Frum's book, Paul O'Neill's book, Clarke's, etc, all say this.