Plan of Attack

My favorite memory of this book has nothing to do with what s written When I was going through security at the Frankfurt airport a guard took my book off the X ray conveyor belt and said in English, with a thick German accent, Plan of Attack It s not a real plan, is it

The only reason this book didn t get one star was because the behind the scenes accounts were kind of interesting Of course, people present themselves in the best possible light when interviewed The endless dialogue could ve been summed up to one page Bush What s our war plan for Iraq Gen Franks Long build up, long war 18 24 months Rumsfeld Make it shorter Franks OK Bush What do we have on Iraq intel Tenet Nothing.Bush Saddam s crazy and may become a threat They must have WMDs Everybody Else OK. [...]

I have read 3 of the books this author wrote about Pres Bush and the Iraq War I was thirsty for any insight for what may have been going on in Bush s mind during this period As might be expected, there was some overlap between the 2 books I found Mr Woodward to be open minded and even respectful as he began these books but could sense his feelings of frustration and unbelief as and revelations came out I too felt frustration and disbelief Could this Bush person who I voted for twice possibly b [...]

I ve read at least seven of Bob Woodward s instant history books so far Like sugar candies, they go down easy Like sugar candies they aren t satisfying.Read Woodward with caution His background raises an eyebrow He comes out of Naval Intelligence, having been, among other things, General Alexander Haig s briefer His contacts there, and the very figures he relies on for his insider accounts of events qualify his objectivity and his candor Were he to be open, frank and honest, he would lose source [...]

I try to read all of Bob Woodward s Bush at War series, and this one was especially fascianating because it goes right from the aftermath of 9 11 America s government having gotten caught with its pants firmly around its ankles and the brutal retaliation.This book specifically outlines the specious and spurious plan theory that Saddam Hussein not only had something to do with the Sept 11 attacks, but that he was housing Weapons of Mass Destruction Let s face it, part of it was Hussein s own faul [...]

First off, let me warn readers of occasional bad language, particularly of the F word As I read the book, I was alternately angered and saddened that our leaders could be involved in the tragedy that has been the Iraq war Bob Woodward is usually attacked as a shill for the left, maybe rightly so, but after reading The Agenda about Clinton s first year in the White House, it is difficult for me to see him as other than a reporter of the facts you know, We report, you decide It is pointed out that [...]

Woodward again jumps into W Bush administration, however I feel he seems to be to respective of the upper levels of our government Unlike All the President s Men, this book gives us too much of W s gut feeling and his need too prove his father s war wasn t finished and his advisors wanted to finish it this time.I have a problem with that because it s apparent that pre 9 11 they were toying with ideas, and that became the catalyst for a war that he, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice really had no exit st [...]

How much of what the White House interviewees told Woodward was true How much was spin It remains clear from this telling that plans were afoot very early to invade Iraq, and the ploy of saying that there is no plan on my desk was pure spin Colin Powell seems to be a voice of caution.It has a mixed message on who is actually in charge On one hand people say that Bush always has the final word, and is referred to as the Man by White House folk, but decisions are only final after he clears them wi [...]

Read this book for a polictical science class I found the almost romantic like imagery hilarious Look for lines like, Donald Rumsfeld entered the room, his broad shoulders jetting out Though honestly it did give a very good understanding of what really went on in the Bush administration before the Iraq war It scared me too, since you think of the government as this all powerful being that clear objectives but really you see that America was lead by a frat boy who was easily mislead by his emotio [...]

This book was good when I first read it, but later when I read Suskind s One Percent Doctrine and saw subsequent interviews with the official involved, I felt betrayed by the sensationalism that Woodward made of the situation The characters and events are not so cut and dry as he makes them Unfortunately, Woodward traded accurate journalism for cheap entertainment That said, it still has some value, as long as one can tell the fact from the fluff.

To be read with a grain of salt, i was intrigued to read behind the scenes of the decisions that lead to a war that was very real in my lifetime It helps me understand it Whether I agree or not, I now have perspective As the world again looks a little shaky at this moment, I think it s a good thing to read a few books like this at this time

It is a good read As an outsider, I learned a thing or two about the Iraq Invasion Version 2.0 I m a little dissatisfied that I just have to take Woodword s words for it, as he hasn t supplied how he obtained much of the information included in the book.

Fantastic book It s disturbing enough to be led to the slaughter, but to be taken there by a self serving idiot is terrifying.

Mirrors and probably authenticates the numerous books regarding the War in Iraq and the missteps of this administration to take America there.

Good stuff that confirmed my suspicions and verified my disappointment anger towards the current administration.

Bob Woodward s extensive coverage of the Bush administration s decision to overthrow Saddam Hussein and invade Iraq could have been shortened to the length of the epilogue, in my opinion Having written it close on the heels of the war, it s understandable to be thorough however.

The book is a well written and useful Levels of Analysis study on the Bush administration s decision for the Iraq invasion Though frustrating at times it was difficult to put down.

First time I ve read a Bob Woodward book Surprising readable May try another sometime.

This book is about the history of the events, internal debates and conversations within the Bush administration that lead up to the decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003 In many ways, this is a follow on to Woodward s previous book, BushAtWar It is interesting that in the reader s note, he says that as of March 2004 he spent over a year researching and interviewing people, which implies that he started work on the book before the war began in March 2003 Granted, this did not indicate incredible [...]

Reading Plan of Attack after Bush at War I learned about how Woodward writes I realize that his books really are big newspaper articles, and I don t mean that pejoratively They are the first draft of history He sticks to his sources, offers little else, and publishes quickly Though this time he did offer some minimal commentary which Bush at War could have used He has churned out a book like this every two years since 2002 02 Bush at War, 04 Plan of Attack, 06 State of Denial, 08 The War Within [...]

Book 2 of 3 on the subject of the Bush administration s response to September 11, 2001, and the global war on terror.September 11, 2001, actually began two days earlier when Al Qaeda operatives assassinated a key American ally, Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Lion of Panjshir That was in Afghanistan Al Qaeda was in Afghanistan, by then Their allies, the Taliban, were in Afghanistan The initial U.S response to 9 11 was in Afghanistan, against Al Qaeda and the Taliban But then, Iraq Why Iraq What happened [...]

Plan of Attack, Woodward s account of the Bush administration s lead up to the Iraq war, is not a good book for people looking for signs of conspiracy or evil on the part of Bush cronies It is, however, a good documentation of this administrations lack of preparedness and general ineptitude in launching the Iraq invasion Voices of dissent are articulated in the book, most notably the objections of Colin Powell and General Tommy Franks The latter, the leader of our invasion of Afghanistan who not [...]

The writing was wonderful Bob Woodward is not a stranger to investigative reporting and research My observations were about the content of the book I had understood many of the players rolls prior to reading this book, Cheney and Rumsfeld being so gun ho on war from the beginning and Powell the reluctant general I was taken back that discussions began about Iraq prior to the inauguration of this administration so prior to 9 11 , that the president factored in things like a rud assassination att [...]

I picked this up at my local county public library book sale A steal at 1.00 per a foot of books So far it is quite good Woodward remains one of the best authors when it comes to telling this type of storyFinished this as events continue to heat up in the Middle East I think some interesting comparisons might be made between the run up to the war in Iraq and demands for greater intervention in Libya, Syriaor whatever country it is this week As far as Plan of Attack goes I understand the author s [...]

For me this was a depressing and only somewhat enlightening book I will agree that it s not fair to read a book written just after the first couple years of the Iraq war about ten years later We now know many things that Woodward could at the time only guess at While this critique is unfair it did leave me with an anticlimatic let down in some ways to this book But I think that my primary emotion was let down I really do like Woodward s writing though, and he successfully made me see this issue [...]

Woodward books are interesting both in the access he is given and the political in fighting they reveal This is the second of four books dealing with the wars on Bush s watch It does a good job draining a lot of the venom surrounding the decision to invade Iraq while also highlighting the pressures to keep moving forward with using troops and the seeds of the troubles to follow.What is most depressing about these is the willingness of folks like Powell and Rumsfeld to view these centrally import [...]

Bleh I finished 30% of this book before giving up What Woodward has given us is essentially a retelling and long winded reminder of exactly what we already knew The chapters read like a poorly constructed teenage diary There is so much fluff and filler that I genuinely believe this entire work could have been completed in 1,000 words or less There are no revelations, no great mysteries uncovered It feels like this entire book is just a copy and paste from articles and interviews with the occasio [...]

This book by Mr Woodward focuses on the planning and debates at the high level of the US Government, and the eventual decision by President Bush younger to go to war with Iraq in March 2003 It seemed to be an easy read, but the beginning was a little tough as the author introduced tons of names of US Govt characters people I was not familiar with and will probably never hear of again.Surprisingly though, Mr Woodward didn t slam President Bush as much as he did VP Cheney, SECDEF Rumsfeld, and Geo [...]

2003 .