It is strange enough that President Bush would recommend any book. After all, he admits he never even reads a newspaper, let alone tackles an entire book.
It is even more strange he would recommend reading Bob Woodward's latest book, "Plan of Attack," which hit bookstores this week. But there it is: No. 1 on the "Suggested Reading List" of the official Bush-Cheney 2004 website – ahead of books by such adoring acolytes as Karen Hughes, Mary Matalin, Lynne Cheney and Sean Hannity.
For once, I agree with President Bush. In fact, I second the motion. Read Bob Woodward's book. I already have. And if every American voter did, John Kerry would win by a landslide.
This is no book by a disgruntled former employee. Bob Woodward is the most respected, and best connected, investigative reporter in the country. President Bush likes Woodward so much he gave him two, unprecedented, interviews, totaling three and half hours – and instructed the rest of his team to do likewise.
In "Plan of Attack," you do not read how Woodward thinks the decision was made to invade Iraq. You read how George Bush, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Andy Card, George Tenet, Gen. Tommy Franks and others told him decisions were made. And his tale is frightening.
From Bob Woodward we learn, first of all, that Richard Clarke was right. Clarke was denounced by the White House for suggesting the Bush administration was asleep at the switch during the months leading up to Sept. 11. Yet Woodward confirms that, despite a warning to the president from CIA Director George Tenet naming al-Qaida as the most serious threat facing the United States, four meetings of agency deputies were held in the summer of 2001 with zero discussion of Osama bin Laden. Their entire focus, that early, was on Iraq.
From Bob Woodward we learn that President Bush ordered planning for war in Iraq to begin as early as November 2001 – even though he publicly denied it. On Dec. 28, 2001, for example, he received a briefing on Iraq war plans from Gen. Franks in Crawford, Texas. He walked out of the meeting and told reporters they discussed Afghanistan.
From Bob Woodward we learn that both Bush and Cheney knowingly exaggerated the dangers posed by Iraq. Despite strong suspicions of illegal activity, the CIA admitted to the White House it had no concrete evidence that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction or nuclear weapons, or had any connection to al-Qaida. Nevertheless, the president and vice-president went around the country, telling Americans just the opposite.
From Bob Woodward we learn that President Bush decided to go to war while inspectors were still searching for WMD and while he was still pretending to work with the United Nations. He informed Saudi Arabia's Prince Bandar of his decision before telling Secretary of State Colin Powell. And, when he finally did meet with Powell, it was to tell him he was going to war, not to ask his advice.
From Bob Woodward we learn that Bush paid for his secret war planning by diverting to Iraq $700 million from funds previously appropriated by Congress, following Sept. 11, for counterterrorism. And he did so without notifying members of Congress. Under the Constitution, Congress alone has the power of the purse. Bush's covert transfer of funds was dishonest, if not outright illegal.
Finally, we learn from Bob Woodward that, as a reward for getting rid of Saddam Hussein, Bush received what amounts to an in-kind campaign contribution from the Saudi royal family. Don't worry about rising gas prices, Prince Bandar assured the president. After screwing Americans all summer with high prices at the pump, Bandar promised Bush the Saudis would pump more oil in the fall, thereby lowering gas prices – just before the election.
So there you have the official portrait of George W. Bush his campaign wants you to read. As portrayed to Bob Woodward by leaders of the administration, from the top down, President Bush lied to Congress and the American people about every aspect of the war in Iraq. He stole funds from one ongoing war to start another. And he sold American consumers down the river to the king of Saudi Arabia.
Yes, please, do what the president says. Read Bob Woodward's book. Read it and weep.