Focuses on Administration, not the War

books:

	• State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III Bob Woodward Simon & Schuster, 2006 - 576 pages average customer review:based on 316 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

It would be better as pulp fiction

Clearly Woodward can't write fast enough to explain the US debacle in Iraq. Woodward has the sources. Sadly, the facts of misgovernment read like pulp fiction.

Rumsfeld tried to wrest control of the Defense Department from the military. In June, 2001, George Tenant and Cofer Black reported to Condi Rice bin Laden intercepts. They felt the brush-off.

Army Major General 'Spider' Marks was to be top intelligence officer of US forces in Iraq. He found there was almost no ground intelligence. Rotkoff became second on the intelligence staff. Marks and Rotkoff were conditioned to expect WMDs.

The off-year election, 2002, gave Bush the sense of being a popularly elected president. Jay Garner was the first person given postwar responsibility for Iraq. Marks felt he didn't have sufficient time to investigate and Garner felt he didn't have sufficient time to plan. A month before the war, Garner's group identified security as the greatest postwar problem. Someone from the State Department's Future of Iraq Study was drafted and later removed from the Garner group.

Problems in Iraq were widespread and deep. Looting was intense. On April 24th, 2003, Garner was told about the appointment of Bremer. With the coming of Bremer, the US had unemployed soldiers and Baathists as enemies.

After the military failed to find the WMDs, David Kay was drafted to go on the hunt. The president's principal advisors did not speak to each other. For Iraq, Rumsfeld hoped that someone like Karzai, (Afghanistan), would emerge. In January 2004 Kay announced that the WMD had not been found and may not have existed. Intelligence analysts had failed to understand just how deteriorated and corrupted Saddam's regime had become.

Bremer and Sanchez failed to communicate. General Sanchez had been placed in a difficult position. An advisor to the NSC believed the real problem in Iraq was that there weren't enough US troops. Detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib was reported in THE NEW YORKER and on the SIXTY MINUTES television program. The failure of the intelligence services on the WMD issue was studied by a commission headed by Silberman and Robb.

After CPA left, the State Department was to be in charge of the Iraq mission via John Negroponte. What the US soldiers in Iraq most needed were translators. After the re-election of President Bush, the assault on Fallujah took place. Execution and implementation in Iraq were mishandled. The training of the Iraqi army was a disaster. By 2005 there were no strategic thinkers in Iraq and the leaders were divorced from reality.

Notes on sources and the index form the conclusion to this excellent book.

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A Must Read: "State of Denial"

This appears to be very well researched. Obviously, Woodward had access to many
high level, knowledgeable people. In previous books, Woodward seemed almost
sycophantic about Bush, but in "State of Denial" his vision is clear and we see
Bush unvarnished.

There is great information about the major players in Bush's administration. In fact,
I turn to the excellent index constantly to refer to sections on key players, such as the generals
involved in Iraq, cabinet officers and others who have influence with the President.

I have given copies of the book to friends and believe "State of Denial" is a great
resource which will be invaluable to historians.

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Focuses on Administration, not the War

State of Denial is not a book about the Iraq war. It is a book about the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war. Woodward uses his legendary though diminished access to the presidency to paint a picture of the Whitehouse that was disorganized, divided, and ultimately dysfunctional. Rather than pursue a general thesis condemning the administration, Woodward takes a chronological narrative style focusing on characters and interactions which serves to provide an interesting angle.

This focus allows for true gems to come out, like the trepidations of W's family or Whitehouse humor such as this example this conversation between Bush and Jay Garner:

On the way out, Bush slapped Garner on the back.
"Hey wanna do Iran"
"Sir, the boys and I talked wand we want to hold out for Cuba. We think the rum and cigars are a little better, and the women are a little prettier"
Bush laughed "You got it, you got Cuba" Pg. 224

Woodward also tries to let the story tell itself as much as possible. The few examples of author commentary usually come refuting statements made by Rumsfield, and only in the form of different interviewees that disagreed. This refrain is a refreshing step back from authors with blatant agendas.

The style can be frustrating at times as this book does not attempt provide a complete picture of the Iraq war. Woodward only talks about key figures such as Nuri al Maliki only through the lenses of those like Condollezza Rice, and key events such as Abu-Gharib or Samarra receive no more than a paragraph of coverage. In the end, the quality of the work on the administration more than outweighs the books shortcomings, and should be on the must read list of anybody looking to further understand the administration or the war in Iraq.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

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