 Book Reviews
with Robin Osborne
Plan of Attack
By Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster $49.55
 President George W. Bush must rue the day when he suggested Bob Woodward consider a follow-up to his earlier book about the assault on the Taliban regime after the '9/11' attacks.
'That evening, December 18 (2002), my wife, Elsa Walsh, and I attended a huge White House Christmas party for the media hosted by the president and his wife," the Washington Post journalist recalls. 'The president remarked that my book Bush at War was selling well. "Top of the charts," he said, and asked, "Are you going to do another book?" He then stretched out his arms and indicated with his body language that there might be a story there, that it should be done.'
The result has greatly damaged Bush's credibility over Iraq, being quoted around the world as evidence that Bush hankered to invade from the start of his term and used 9/11 as the reason to do so.
Just as damaging is the claim that the administration ignored the real threat of terrorism in favour of the minimal one posed by Saddam.
Woodward, part of the duo that exposed President Nixon's deceits, interviewed war cabinet members and officials in the State and Defense departments and the CIA. Bush himself gave more than three hours, as did Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, interviewed when the Iraq occupation was six months old.
The unflattering conclusion is that the ill-advised Iraq attack was driven by the president's circle, notably excluding Colin Powell who barely tolerated Rumsfeld's analyses of 'The house of broken toys', as Iraq was dubbed.
One focused on Iraq's buying dump trucks containing a hydraulic cylinder that could be used to launch rockets.
'For Christ's sake, Powell said, if somebody wants a cylinder to erect a rocket, they don't have to buy a $200,000 dump truck to get one!'
The 'coalition of the willing' had limited involvement in the planning - no other power rates a mention until page 120 when Blair visits the Bush ranch and the president tells a British TV reporter that, "The policy of my government is that he [Saddam] goes."
John Howard is a supporter at the end of a phone line, on one occasion hearing Bush object to being told by legal advisers not to call the Saddam regime 'terrorists' because one day they might have to be tried as war criminals.
"Lawyers, they're dreadful," Bush tells Howard. The response of the Sydney solicitor-turned politician is not recorded.
- Thanks to Book Warehouse, Keen Street, Lismore for supporting this column.
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