Bob Woodward - Obamas Wars

ALSO BY BOB WOODWARD

The War Within: A Secret White House History, 20062008

State of Denial

The Secret Man
(with a Reporters Assessment by Carl Bernstein)

Plan of Attack

Bush at War

Maestro: Greenspans Fed and the American Boom

Shadow: Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate

The Choice

The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House

The Commanders

Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 19811987

Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi

The Brethren
(with Scott Armstrong)

The Final Days
(with Carl Bernstein)

All the Presidents Men
(with Carl Bernstein)

Copyright 2010 by Bob Woodward

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-4391-7249-0
ISBN 978-1-4391-7251-3 (ebook)

To those who serve

I had two of the most exceptional people assist me full-time on the reporting, writing, editing and thinking about this book:

Josh Boak, a 2001 cum laude graduate of Princeton and later of the Columbia University masters program in journalism, came to work after reporting at The Blade in Toledo, Ohio, and the Chicago Tribune. He may be the most energetic, resourceful, fair-minded and good-natured young man I have had the good fortune to work with. On his rsum he described himself as skilled in shoe-leather reporting and phone-jockeying. True, but he is much more. Josh immersed himself in all the details and nuances of the Afghanistan War, the Obama administration and Washington politics. He became a part of my brainthe better part. At times, I came to think he knows everything. What is not in his head, he can and does find almost instantly. He is a skilled writer and a superb investigator. I leaned on Josh, pushed him as he pushed me. We never had even a half-serious disagreement. The result has been permanent trust and permanent friendship. There would be no book without himnot even close.

Evelyn M. Duffy, who worked with me on The War Within: A Secret White House History, 20062008, continued on this project. Thank God. At age 25 now, she is a wizard at everythingthinking, prodding and again transcribing hundreds of hours of recorded interviews with people ranging from President Obama to generals and intelligence officials. A 2007 English and creative writing graduate of George Washington University, she is a truly gifted writer. She has written and produced a one-act play, Nighthawks, based on Edward Hoppers famous late-night diner painting. In her spare time, Evelyn has written a stunning young adult novel, which Im sure will be published soon once I give her time to meet with agents and editors. She is both intellectual and practicala rare combination. I stand in awe of her maturity, drive and independent spirit. A friend for life, Evelyn left her stamp of integrity on every idea, scene and page in this book.

A word of explanation about how the information in this book was obtained, evaluated and used. This book is designed to present, as best my reporting could determine, what really happened.

The core of this book comes from the written recordNational Security Council meeting notes, personal notes, memos, chronologies, letters, PowerPoint slides, e-mails, reports, government cables, calendars, transcripts, diaries and maps.

Information in the book was supplied by more than 100 people involved in the Afghanistan War and national security during the first 18 months of President Barack Obamas administration. Interviews were conducted on background, meaning the information could be used but the sources would not be identified by name. Many sources were interviewed five or more times. Most allowed me to record the interviews, which were then transcribed. For several sources, the combined interview transcripts run more than 300 pages. I have attempted to preserve the language of the main characters and sources as much as possible, using their words even when they are not directly quoted, reflecting the flavor of their speech and attitudes.

Many key White House aides were interviewed in-depth. They shared meeting notes, important documents, recollections of what happened before, during and after meetings, and assisted extensively with their interpretations.

Senior and well-placed military, intelligence and diplomatic officials also provided detailed recollections, read from notes or assisted with documents.

Since the reporting was done over 18 months, many interviews were conducted within days or even hours after critical discussions. This often provided a fresher and less-calculated account.

Dialogue comes mostly from the written record, but also from participants, usually more than one. Any attribution of thoughts, conclusions or feelings to a person was obtained directly from that person, from notes or from a colleague whom the person told.

Occasionally, a source said mid-conversation that something was off-the-record, meaning it could not be used unless the information was obtained elsewhere. In many cases, I was able to get the information elsewhere so that it could be included in this book. Some people think they can lock up and prevent publication of information by declaring it off-the-record or that they dont want to see it in the book. But inside any White House, nearly everyones business and attitudes become known to others. And in the course of multiple, extensive interviews with firsthand sources about key decision points in the war, the role of the players became clear.

Given the diversity of sources, stakes and the lives involved, there is no way I could write a sterilized or laundered version of this story.

I interviewed President Obama on-the-record in the Oval Office for one hour and 15 minutes on Saturday, July 10, 2010.

Bob Woodward

July 25, 2010

Washington, D.C.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Barack H. Obama

VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Joseph R. Biden

THE WHITE HOUSE

White House Chief of Staff

Rahm I. Emanuel

Senior Adviser to the President

David M. Axelrod

White House Press Secretary