The War Within (63 page)

* * *

On August 29, 2007, Petraeus's aide:
David Kilcullen, "Anatomy of a Tribal Revolt,"
Small Wars Journal,
August 29, 2007, www.smallwarsjournal.com.

On Monday morning, September 10:
"General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" MoveOn.org advertisement,
The
New York Times,
September 10, 2007, p. A25. See also: http://pol.moveon.org/petraeus.html.

David Gergen, a former adviser:
CNN Newsroom, September 10, 2007, http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS.

Throughout a long day that stretched:
"Joint Hearing of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees; Subject: The Status of the War and Political Developments in Iraq," Federal News Service, September 10, 2007, www.fnsg.com.

"Petraeus Backs Initial Pullout":
Peter Baker and Jonathan Weisman, "Petraeus Backs Initial Pullout; General Praises Progress, Warns Against 'Rushing to Failure,'"
The Washington Post,
September 11, 2007, p. A1.

Sitting next to the president:
Harry Reid,
The Good Fight,
2008, p. 10.

That evening, in a nationally televised address:
Presidential Documents, September 13, 2007, pp. 1204ñ1208 (Vol.

43, No. 37), www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/v43no37.html.

At a press conference the next day:
Defense Department news briefing, September 14, 2007, DOD transcripts, www.defenselink.mil.

His comments landed on the front page:
Julian E. Barnes, "Gates Seeks Bigger Troop Cut; The Defense Chief Looks to Reduce the Number in Iraq by Nearly Half Before 2009óa Deeper Trim than Bush Plans,"
Los Angeles Times,
September 15, 2007, p. A1.

When I asked the president about it in 2008:
Interview with President George W. Bush, May 21, 2008.

CHAPTER 39

The information in this chapter comes primarily from background interviews with four firsthand sources.

CHAPTER 40

The information in this chapter comes primarily from background interviews with eight firsthand sources.

* * *

Maliki overestimated the temporary restraint:
John Affleck, "Al-Maliki Calls on Iraqis to Boost Political Process in Speech Marking Religious Holiday," Associated Press, February 28, 2008.

"This is a defining moment":
Presidential Documents, March 28, 2008, pp. 437ñ443 (Vol. 44, No. 12), www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/v44no12.html.

In early March 2008,
Esquire
magazine published:
Thomas P. M. Barnett, "The Man Between War and Peace,"

Esquire,
March 2008.

"I have approved Admiral Fallon's request":
Defense Department news briefing, March 11, 2008, DOD transcripts, www.defenselink.mil.

CHAPTER 41

The information in this chapter comes primarily from background interviews with seven firsthand sources.

* * *

On April 8, Petraeus and Crocker:
Lolita C. Baldor, "Petraeus Charts Violence in Iraq," Associated Press, April 8, 2008.

Two weeks later, on April 23, Gates called:
Defense Department news briefing, April 23, 2008, DOD transcripts, www.defenselink.mil.

Later, in the Oval Office, I asked the president:
Interview with President George W. Bush, May 21, 2008.

EPILOGUE

The information in this chapter comes primarily from background interviews with three firsthand sources.

* * *

The headline splashed across the top:
Amit R. Paley and Karen DeYoung, "Key Iraqi Leaders Deliver Setbacks to U.S.,"
Washington Post,
June 14, 2008, p. A1.

"We will direct every resource":
Presidential Documents, September 20, 2001, pp. 1347ñ1351 (Vol. 37, No. 38), www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/v37no38.html.

"I'm ready to go," he later told me:
Interview with President George W. Bush, August 20, 2002.

"One time early on," I said:
Interview with President George W. Bush, December 20, 2001.

President Bush once said to me of the path:
Ibid.

"His instincts are almost his second religion":
See Bob Woodward,
Bush at War,
p. 342.

Finally, he said, "He is the wrong father":
Interview with President George W. Bush, December 11, 2003.

In a December 2003 interview:
Ibid.

In May 2008, I asked if he still believed that:
Interview with President George W. Bush, May 20, 2008.

He alternately insisted:
Interview with President George W. Bush, May 20, 2008.

Even the president acknowledged:
Interview with President George W. Bush, May 21, 2008.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

W
hile this book is based almost entirely on my own reporting and examination of documents, I offer my deep gratitude to those journalists who have covered the Iraq War. The knowledge and information they've provided have been an indispensable foundation for this book.

In 2007, the Project for Excellence in Journalism concluded that Iraq had become one of the most dangerous wars in American history for reporters to cover, and the Committee to Protect Journalists has documented the killings of more than 125 reporters on assignment in Iraq. We owe them a debt that will never be repaid.

I thank all the sources, named and unnamed, who have patiently sat through session after session of interviews and provided me with documents, both professional and personal. I appreciate their willingness to take the risks inherent in participating in a project like this, especially when the project concerns a controversial war in an election year. It takes guts to let an outsider in, and I hope future historians who study the Iraq War and the swirl of events surrounding it will be grateful for their contribution.

This is my thirty-sixth year and fourteenth book with Alice Mayhew, my editor at Simon & Schuster. She has thrown herself into this project with the same passion, focus, and attention to detail that she has possessed since Carl Bernstein and I first began working with her in 1972 on
All the President's Men.
Unwaveringly fair-minded, an endless source of energy and ideas, Alice seeks the clearest possible view of events as they occurred. She quickly realized that the soul of this book is its verbatim nature, with virtually all of it taken directly from the documents and people involved. Alice shares with me an awareness of the scale of the decision making documented in these pages, as well as a belief in the necessity of impartial reporting and ensuring that all involved receive a chance to have their say.

Carolyn K. Reidy and David Rosenthal at Simon & Schuster run the best publishing house in America. They are hands-on managers and care deeply about their business and their books. They consistently display a commitment to the First Amendment that would make Thomas Jefferson feel good about his early work. Roger Labrie is diligent and meticulous, qualities that have made him a master of thoughtful editing. A great deal of gratitude goes to Elisa Rivlin, senior vice president and general counsel; Victoria Meyer, executive vice president of publicity; Tracey Guest, director of publicity; Jackie Seow, art director and jacket designer; Irene Kheradi, executive managing editor; Michael Szczerban, assistant managing editor; Karen Thompson, associate editor; Paul Dippolito, designer; Lisa Healy, senior production editor; Nancy In-glis, director of copyediting; Lynn Anderson, proofreader; and John Wahler, associate director of production.

Brady Dennis, Evelyn Duffy and I share a deep appreciation for copy editor Fred Chase, who took six days away from his home and family in Texas to travel to Washington and work on his fifth book with me. He is a joy to have around and an integral part of this book. A consummate professional, Fred's observation, insight and sound judgment prove that the best editing is about far more than marks on a page.

Eight years ago, I wrote in
Maestro,
my book on Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve, that
The Washington Post
had allowed me to wander on perhaps the longest leash in American journalism. That leash has gotten longer with time, and I am ever grateful for the
Post
's support. The
Post
continues to play a vital and irreplaceable role in Washington life and politics. Don Graham, the
Post
's CEO, is a man with a kind soul and a businessman's savvy. He looks out for underdogs and gives voice to the voiceless. He is a generous and compassionate boss, and there is no one else quite like him. Leonard Downie Jr., the
Post
's executive editor and the best newspaperman in America, is retiring after a spectacular career. The newspaper's 25 Pulitzer Prizes during his tenure are a testament to his determination and skill. The
Post
's publisher, Katharine Weymouth, shows all the signs of a commitment to independent, aggressive journalism shared by her uncle, Don Graham, and her grandmother, Katharine Graham.

Special thanks to Steve Luxenberg for devoting his time, focus and formidable intellect while helping to excerpt this book for the
Post.

The work of a number of
Post
reporters who covered the war from both Iraq and Washington provided many key insights. They include but are certainly not limited to Rajiv Chandrasekaran, John Ward Anderson, Ann Scott Tyson, Karen DeYoung, Josh White, Joshua Partlow, Naseer Nouri, Thomas Ricks, Anne Hull, Amit Paley, Sudarsan Raghavan, Michael Abramowitz, Peter Baker, Ellen Knickmeyer, and Jonathan Weisman. Many of my colleagues again provided help and encouragement, both in the form of their daily coverage and through the informal sharing of advice and ideas. They include Al Kamen, Susan Glasser, David Ignatius, Dana Priest, Glenn Kessler, David Hoffman, Joby Warrick, and Rick Atkinson.

Many thanks also to Michel du Cille and Wendy Galietta at the
Post
for their expert assistance with the photos in this book, and to Laris Karklis for the map.

I thank Carl Bernstein, who has been a friend for 36 years. He is in touch with all that is happening in American politics and he provided many thoughts and insightful analysis on Bush and the war. He and I remain linked for life as friends and colleagues.

My eternal thanks to Ben Bradlee, who raised the bar for all of us and remains a founding father of
The Washington
Post.

No work of this size and scope can be pieced together in a vacuum. I acknowledge the many books and newspaper and magazine articles that added background or detail to my own work. I have drawn on the excellent reporting and analysis of dozens of news organizations, including
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal,
the
Los Angeles
Times, Newsweek
and the Associated Press. The following books were useful points of reference:
The Iraq Study
Group Report
by James Baker III, Lee Hamilton, et al.;
In the Company of Soldiers
by Rick Atkinson;
The U.S.

Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual; Fiasco
by Thomas Ricks;
Dead Certain: The Presidency of
George W. Bush
by Robert Draper;
Cheney: The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice
President
by Stephen F. Hayes;
Condoleezza Rice: An American Life
by Elisabeth Bumiller; and
From the Shadows
by Robert Gates. I also found the Web site of the Institute for the Study of War (www.understandingwar.org) and the
Small Wars Journal
weblog (www.smallwarsjournal.com) helpful throughout.

Robert B. Barnett, my agent, attorney and friend, is an institution in Washington. His reach and wisdom know no parallel. Because he represents prominent politicians on both sides of the aisle, including Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, he was not consulted on the contents of this book and did not see it until it was printed. Thanks also to Brendan Sullivan, a rock of the legal profession, for providing important advice.

Brady, Evelyn and I are deeply grateful for the presence of Rosa Criollo and Jackie Crowe in our lives. They provide guidance, coherence and sustenance in a thousand different ways.

My elder daughter, Tali, spent two weeks reading the manuscript and providing many important insights. She is a brilliant young woman. Her edits and suggestions once again revealed a dedication to making the complexities of national security discussed in this book accessible to as many readers as possible. My younger daughter, Diana, completed a great fifth-grade year and provided endless hours of joy.

My wife, Elsa Walsh, has been unbelievably tolerant of the hours involved in putting together a book like this. She is a calming anchor in my life, an answerer of questions, a settler of debates, and the epitome of a partner in love, life and work.

Finally, as my assistants and I researched and wrote this book in the third-floor offices of my home in Washington, our thoughts have returned often to the many thousands of fellow citizens who volunteer to serve. We have each formed a lasting connection to these men and women. Their example is humbling, and we stand in awe of them and their families.

In November 2006, my colleague and friend Rick Atkinson took me to Arlington National Cemetery. We visited Section 60, where the war dead from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. In what Atkinson has called "the saddest acre in America," new rows of graves were being added one after another. That day, we met Teresa Arciola, whose 20-year-old son, Michael, had been killed in Iraq. She had brought his favorite childhood book,
Corduroy,
and was reading it aloud at his grave side. Her request to me was the same simple appeal she had made to everyone she told about her son: "RememberÖrespectÖhonor."

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT

J. Scott Applewhite (Associated Press): 4

Erik de Castro (Associated Press): 23

Michel du Cille
(The Washington Post)
: 24

Dennis Cook (Associated Press): 22, 32

Linda Davidson
(The Washington Post)
: 18

Charles Dharapak (Associated Press): 1

Larry Downing (Reuters): 3