''Bush at War'' is a 2002 book by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' reporter

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for ''The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the honorific title of associate editor though the Post no longer employs ...

recounting President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

's responses to the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

and his administration's handling of the subsequent

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

. Much of the book recounts events in meetings of the

United States National Security Council The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the national security council used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and Foreign relations of the United States, foreign policy matter ...

(NSC), with the major players in the story, including the President,

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

George Tenet George John Tenet (born January 5, 1953) is an American intelligence official and academic who served as the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, as well as a Distinguished Professor in the Pr ...

and

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...

, developed from NSC meeting notes and Woodward's interviews with administration officials. Woodward especially focuses on the administration's decision to go to war in Afghanistan and its strategic and tactical decisions. As one of the first detailed accounts of these decisions, prior to inside accounts like

Richard A. Clarke Richard Alan Clarke (born October 27, 1950) is an American national security expert, novelist, and former government official. He served as the Counterterrorism Czar for the National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and C ...

's ''

Against All Enemies ''Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror'' () is a 2004 award-winning2005,(Index to lists of winners through 2006). Retrieved July 7, 2012. book by former U.S. chief counter-terrorism advisor Richard A. Clarke, criticizing past and ...

'', Woodward's book was widely acclaimed, getting praise from ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and other major papers. The book was criticized by

Michael Scheuer Michael F. Scheuer (pronounced "SHOY-er"), (born 1952) is an American former intelligence officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, blogger, author, commentator and former adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Center for Peace and S ...

, former

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

chief of the Bin Laden station, in his book ''

Imperial Hubris ''Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror'' (Brassey's, 2004; ) is a book by American author Michael Scheuer, a Central Intelligence Agency veteran. The book was originally published anonymously. Scheur worked 22 years with the ...

'' for offering a platform for government leaks, which he deemed harmful to national security: "After reading Mr. Woodward's ''Bush at War'', it seems to me that the U.S. officials who either approved or participated in passing the information—in documents and via interviews—that is the heart of Mr. Woodward's book, gave an untold measure of aid and comfort to the enemy."

External links

* ''The Times'
discussion
of the book. {{Bob Woodward 2002 non-fiction books Books by Bob Woodward Books about George W. Bush War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) books Books about the 2003 invasion of Iraq Books about the War on Terror American non-fiction books Cultural depictions of George W. Bush