Synopsis Investigative reporter Bob Woodward had unusual access to the Bush White House in researching and writing this insider account of the George W. Bush administration's march to war against Saddam Hussein. While almost all of his many sources spoke off the record (an exception being the President), Woodward's narrative of events uncovers the key roles played by Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, Rice, Gen. Tommy Franks, and the people around them, in helping to carry out the Bush plan. He reveals Bush's decision to recruit Secretary Rumsfeld to secretly update the battle plan against Iraq, the attempt to build a case against Saddam based on his possession of weapons of mass destruction, and the efforts of Secretary of State Colin Powell to get the international community on board. Woodward's revelations include the privileged access that the Saudi prince had to the White House, and a secret CIA operation, coded DBROCKSTARS, that used highly placed Iraqi informers to reveal Saddam's comings and goings and the intricacies of his defenses. While there are revelations of backbiting, power playing, and one-upmanship, PLAN OF ATTACK is never gossipy or sensationalistic. One does come away with the impression that there was a clear difference of views and camps, most notably Powell on one side advising caution and restraint, and Cheney, et. al, on the other, who were decidedly more hawkish and determined. Woodward's narrative portrays a decisive president with a confident, if secretive, staff. PLAN OF ATTACK follows closely after Woodward's BUSH AT WAR, which described the Bush administration's response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the war in Afghanistan. A New York Times Notable Book for 2004.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2004-04-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 288 pages | | Height: | 9.5 in | | Width: | 7.0 in | | Thickness: | 1.5 in | | Weight: | 26.4 oz |
Publisher's Note Details the sixteen months of planning and decision making between President Bush, his war council, and key foreign leaders leading up to the 2003 war in Iraq and the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime. 750,000 first printing. First serial, The Washington Post.
Industry Reviews "Engrossing....[Mr. Woodward's] most powerful and persuasive book in years." New York Times - Michiko Kakutani (04/19/2004)
"A graduate of the Joe Friday 'Just the facts, ma'am' school, Mr. Woodward is parsimonious as well--sometimes maddeningly so--with personal opinion. But that is part of the power of his work. He simply lays it out, unvarnished, and leaves it to you to decide what to make of it." New York Observer - Robert Sam Anson (04/26/2004)
"PLAN OF ATTACK offers by far the most intimate glimpse we have been granted of the Bush White House, and, better still, a glimpse of the administration's defining moment: its war of choice against Saddam Hussein." New York Times - Ted Widmer (04/28/2004)
"PLAN OF ATTACK is Bob Woodward's best book in years....Woodward is manifestly a great reporter--an unparalleled getter of facts....To put it another way, much of PLAN OF ATTACK is akin to raw intelligence." New Yorker - Hendrik Hertzberg (05/10/2004)
"Mr. Woodward does not set out to be a graceful writer and he avoids analysis or comment, but he certainly has a style all his own." New York Review of Books - Brian Urquhart (06/10/2004)
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