Obama’s Wars
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4 Although classified, the program: Candace Rondeaux, “U.S. Airstrikes Creating Tension, Pakistan Warns,” The Washington Post, November 4, 2008, p. A10.
5 Fifty-eight people were killed: Abdul Waheed Wafa and Alan Cowell, “Bomber Strikes Afghan Capital; At Least 41 Die,” The New York Times, July 8, 2008, p. A1.
8 But in that part of the world: Ron Moreau and Mark Hosenball, “Pakistan’s Dangerous Double Game,” Newsweek, September 22, 2008, p. 44.
8 McConnell said a second: Pamela Hess and Matthew Lee, “US officials: Yemen Poses Growing Terror Threat,” Associated Press Online, September 17, 2008.
9 The Chinese had hacked into: Evan Thomas, “Center Stage; Obama’s Aides Worried the Clintons Might Steal the Show,” Newsweek, November 17, 2008, p. 87.
11 In an Oval Office interview: Interview with President Barack H. Obama, July 10, 2010.
CHAPTER TWO
The information in this chapter comes primarily from background interviews with fifteen firsthand sources.
14 Despite his misgivings: Anne E. Kornblut and Karen DeYoung, “Emanuel to Be Chief of Staff,” The Washington Post, November 7, 2008, p. A1.
14 Only months earlier, candidate Obama: Interview with President Barack H. Obama, July 10, 2010.
15 Petraeus had almost redefined: The Counterinsurgency Field Manual put together by Petraeus noted the differences from conventional warfare in a section starting on page 47 called “Paradoxes of Counterinsurgency”:
Sometimes, the more you protect your force, the less secure you may be.
Sometimes, the more force is used, the less effective it is.
The more successful the counterinsurgency is, the less force can be used and the more risk must be accepted.
Sometimes doing nothing is the best reaction.
Some of the best weapons for counterinsurgents do not shoot.
The host nation doing something tolerably is normally better than us doing it well.
If a tactic works this week, it might not work next week; if it works in this province, it might not work in the next.
Tactical success guarantees nothing.
Many important decisions are not made by generals.
15 When his 92-year-old father died: Lisa DePaulo, “Leader of the Year: Right Man, Right Time,” GQ, December 2008.
16 The evening before: David Ignatius, “20 Months in Baghdad,” The Washington Post, September 17, 2008, p. A19.
16 “The darkness has receded”: Robert Gates, “Multi-National Force-Iraq Change of Command (Iraq),” September 16, 2008, http://www.defense.gov/speeches.
16 Gates again showed up: Robert Gates, “U.S. Central Command Change-of-Command Ceremony (Tampa, FL),” October 31, 2008, http://www.defense.gov/speeches.
16 Petraeus was the recipient: Les Carpenter, “NFL Orders Retreat from War Metaphors,” The Washington Post, February 1, 2009, p. D1.
17 A popular war hero: Steve Coll, “The General’s Dilemma,” The New Yorker, September 8, 2008, http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/
2008/09/08/080908fa_fact_coll.
17 On Monday, November 10, Obama: Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “As the Handoff Begins, a Visit Both Historic and Perhaps Awkward,” The New York Times, November 10, 2008, p. A16; Dan Eggen and Michael D. Shear, “Obamas Make Symbolic Visit to Future Home: White House,” The Washington Post, November 11, 2008, p. A4.
18 Later on November 10: Anderson Cooper 360°, CNN, November 10, 2008, http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS.
19 In his 1996 memoir: Robert M. Gates, From the Shadows (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), p. 419.
20 When he had talked about the problem: Defense Department transcript, Secretary Gates Interview with Tavis Smiley, March 11, 2009, http://www.defense.gov/transcripts; Robert Gates, Remarks at the Army War College, Carlisle, PA, April 16, 2009; Robert Gates, U.S. Military Academy Commencement, May 23, 2009, http://www.defense.gov/speeches.
21 Gates read one of several: Peter Eisler, Blake Morrison and Tom Vanden Brook, “Pentagon Balked at Pleas from Officers in Field for Safer Vehicles,” USA Today, July 16, 2007, p. 1A; Tom Vanden Brook and Peter Eisler, “Letter: Add-on Armor Too Heavy for New Vehicles,” USA Today, July 17, 2007, p. 5A; Tom Vanden Brook and Peter Eisler, “Military Says Troops in Iraq to Get 3,500 Safer MRAP Vehicles,” USA Today, July 19, 2007, p. 10A; Peter Eisler, “The Vehicle the Pentagon Wants and a Small S.C. Company’s Rush to Make It,” USA Today, August 2, 2007, p. 1A; Blake Morrison, Tom Vanden Brook and Peter Eisler, “When the Pentagon Failed to Buy Enough Body Armor, Electronic Jammers and Hardened Vehicles to Protect U.S. Troops from Roadside Bombs in Iraq, Congress Stepped In,” USA Today, September 4, 2007, p. 1A.
22 As one of his first actions: Emelie Rutherford, “Defense Secretary Approves ‘DX’ Rating for MRAP Vehicle Program,” Inside the Pentagon, June 7, 2007, Vol. 23, No. 23.
22 Gates ordered crash production: By July 2009, all 16,000 had been built. MRAPs do protect soldiers, but they do not completely overcome the problem of IEDs.
23 Obama told me that from his time: Interview with President Barack H. Obama, July 10, 2010.
23 Later, Obama recalled for me: Ibid.
24 At a later press conference: Robert Gates, media roundtable from the Pentagon briefing room, Arlington, VA, December 2, 2008, http://www.defense.gov/transcripts.
CHAPTER THREE
The information in this chapter comes primarily from background interviews with eight firsthand sources.
27 A 1987 Chicago Magazine profile: Grant Pick, “Hatchet Man: The Rise of David Axelrod,” Chicago, December 1987, http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/December-1987/Hatchet-Man-The-Rise-of-David-Axelrod/.
27 After a February rally: Perry Bacon, Jr., and Alec MacGillis, “Clinton Takes Strong Exception to Tactics of Obama Campaign,” The Washington Post, February 24, 2008, p. A11.
28 She flew to Chicago: Abdon M. Pallasch, “Hillary in Mystery Motorcade?” Chicago Sun Times, November 14, 2008, p. 3.
29 It had offended him: Darryl Fears, “Black America Feels the Sting of Ex-President’s Comments,” The Washington Post, January 25, 2008, p. A8.
29 The former president went public: Peter Baker and Helene Cooper, “Bill Clinton Said to Accept Terms of Obama Team,” The New York Times, November 20, 2008, p. A1.
30 During the course of this courtship: John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, Game Change (New York: HarperCollins, 2010).
33 In one of the presidential debates: CNN transcript of the first presidential debate, September 26, 2008, http://www.cnn.com/2008/.POLITICS/09
/26/debate.mississippi.transcript/.
33 Accompanied by a single aide: Barbara Starr, “Emerging Players in Obama’s National Security Team,” CNN.com, November 24, 2008, http://www.cnn.com.
34 Mullen had testified: Ann Scott Tyson, “Pentagon Critical of NATO Allies,” The Washington Post, December 12, 2007, p. A1.
35 Obama later said: Interview with President Barack H. Obama, July 10, 2010.
CHAPTER FOUR
The information in this chapter comes primarily from background interviews with nine firsthand sources.
36 Jones had expressed distaste: Bob Woodward, State of Denial (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006), p. 404.
39 In retirement, he was heading: Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, James L. Jones, January 17, 2009, http://s3.amazonaws.com/propublica/assets/
financial_disclosures/Jones_James_278.pdf.
41 His favorite military book: The Charlie Rose Show, “A Conversation with Major General Douglas Lute,” January 23, 2006, http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/573.
43 “We’re not losing, but we’re not winning”: Report described to the author by two knowledgeable sources.
45 The gunmen created a spectacle: Rama Lakshmi, “Dozens Die in Mumbai Attacks,” The Washington Post, November 27, 2008, p. A1; Somini Sengupta, “Terror Attacks Kill Scores in India,” The New York Times, November 27, 2008, p. A1.
; 45 In his nationally televised address: Presidential Documents, September 11, 2001, pp. 1301–1302 (Vol. 37, No. 37), http://www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/v37no37.html.
45 Bush was extremely proud: Interview with President George W. Bush, December 20, 2001.
47 The ease of the planning: Based on notes and background interviews with several knowledgeable sources. See also “Expert: Open Internet Best Terrorist Asset,” New Straits Times (Malaysia), November 12, 2009, p. 13; Jeremy Kahn, “Terrorists Used Technology in Planning and Execution,” The New York Times, December 9, 2008, p. A14.
CHAPTER FIVE
The information in this chapter comes primarily from background interviews with nine firsthand sources.
48 The memorial service: Jacques Steinberg, “At Funeral, Russert’s Son Sounds a Theme of Unity,” The New York Times, June 19, 2008, p. B7.
50 That meeting was finally arranged: Sara A. Carter, “Obama Huddles with CIA Director on Security,” The Washington Times, December 13, 2008, p. A5.
50 As Richard Helms, the CIA director: Bob Woodward, Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981–1987 (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987), p. 25.
51 “They just arrested the governor”: Carrie Johnson, “FBI Says Illinois Governor Tried to Sell Senate Seat,” The Washington Post, December 10, 2008, p. A1.
55 There had been 13, Hayden said:
The 13 former interrogation techniques, some of which are still current, are:
1. Dietary manipulation. Reduce food intake to as little as 1,000 kcal/day, limiting detainees to a bottle of the diet drink Ensure.
2. Nudity in rooms at least 68 degrees F. It was permissible to exploit a detainee’s fear of being seen naked, including when women interrogators are used.
3. Attention grasp. The grabbing of a shirt collar in a quick and controlled motion to pull the detainee forward.
4. Walling. Ramming a detainee into a flexible, false wall up to 20 or 30 times.
5. Facial hold. The interrogator using both palms to hold the detainee’s face.
6. Facial slap or insult slap. A slap to the lower part of face between the chin and earlobe.
7. Abdominal slap. A slap with the back of an open hand, not a fist, to the area between the navel and sternum.
8. Cramped confinement. Usually dark. For no more than eight hours at a time, or 18 hours a day. In very small spaces, no more than two hours. Harmless insects could be placed in the space to frighten the detainee, but this technique had not been used.
9. Wall standing. Have the detainee stand several feet away from the wall, arms out with fingers touching the wall. The detainee is not permitted to move, inducing temporary muscle fatigue.
10. Three stress positions: 1. Sitting on the floor with legs extended straight and arms raised; 2. Kneeling on the floor while at a 45-degree angle; and 3. With wrists handcuffed in the front or back, the detainee is placed three feet from the wall and only able to lean his head against the wall. As with wall standing, these postures induce temporary muscle fatigue.
11. Water dousing. Cold water is poured or sprayed on a detainee. The maximum time a detainee can be soaked in water is two thirds of the time at which hypothermia could set in.
12. Sleep deprivation for more than 48 hours. The detainee is standing, his hands are handcuffed and chained to the ceiling, his feet shackled to the floor. The hands are kept between heart and chin. He can only raise his hands above his head for two hours. The detainee cannot support his weight by hanging from the ceiling, though he can also be shackled to a small stool. The detainee may be naked and wearing a diaper. The diaper is for sanitary purposes and “not used for the purpose of humiliating the detainee.” Maximum permissible period is 180 hours, or more than one week. Then eight hours of uninterrupted sleep are required.
13. Waterboarding. The detainee is strapped to a board and his feet elevated. A cloth is placed over the detainee’s face, and water is poured over the cloth for no more than 40 seconds. This is not physically painful, but “it usually does cause fear and panic,” creating the sensation of drowning. Waterboarding can only be used if there is credible intelligence that a terrorist attack is imminent and the detainee might possess actionable intelligence that could stop the attack. A detainee could only be subjected to two distinct two-hour waterboarding sessions a day for no more than five days, with a maximum of 12 minutes of waterboarding in a 24-hour period. (Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, was waterboarded 183 times.)
56 Later as president: Executive Order 13491—Ensuring Lawful Interrogations, signed January 22, 2009, by President Barack H. Obama, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/presdocs/
2009/DCPD200900007.htm.
56 When I asked the president: Interview with President Barack H. Obama, July 10, 2010.
56 The 2004 reform law: “Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004,” December 17, 2004, http://www.nctc.gov/docs/pl108_458.pdf.
58 “Before the election”: Speech by Dennis Blair at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, July 22, 2009, BNET, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi
_8167/is_20090722/ai_n50901376/.
60 “Number three, I’ve read some”: Leon E. Panetta, “No Torture. No Exceptions,” The Washington Monthly, January/February/March 2008, p. 40, http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/
features/2008/0801.torture.pdf; Leon E. Panetta, “Americans Reject Fear Tactics,” Monterey County Herald, March 9, 2008.
60 The Justice Department had approved: The text of the Justice Department memos on interrogation techniques may be accessed at: http://documents.nytimes.com/justice-department-memos-on-interrogation-techniques.
CHAPTER SIX
The information in this chapter comes primarily from background interviews with six firsthand sources.
62 On Friday, January 9: Pamela Constable, “Bomb Kills 3 U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan,” The Washington Post, January 10, 2009, p. A10.
65 After 9/11, CIA and U.S. Special Forces: In his 2007 memoir, At the Center of the Storm, former CIA Director George Tenet told how Karzai’s life was rescued at the end of 2001 when he became the leader of Afghanistan (pp.219–220).
65 Ahmed Wali had been on: Dexter Filkins, Mark Mazzetti and James Risen, “Brother of Afghan Leader Said to Be Paid by C.I.A.,” The New York Times, October 28, 2009, p. A1.
70 Biden threw down his napkin: Dexter Filkins, “Afghan Leader Finds Himself Hero No More,” The New York Times, February 8, 2009, p. A1.
72 Floated in the media that day: “Obama to Dems: Give Me the Money,” The Situation Room, CNN transcript, January 13, 2009; Farah Stockman, “Bill Clinton’s Policies May Echo at Hearing,” The Boston Globe, January 13, 2009, p. A1; “No Stumbling Block Expected at Clinton Hearing,” Morning Edition, NPR, January 13, 2009.
73 As Obama, Biden and Graham: “Remarks by President-Elect Obama and Vice President–Elect Joe Biden,” Federal News Service, January 14, 2009.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The information in this chapter comes primarily from background interviews with seven firsthand sources.
74 “Mr. President, I was on television”: Axelrod appeared on Fox News, NBC’s Today and CBS’s Early Show.
74 Credible intelligence showed: Peter Baker, “Inside Obama’s War on Terrorism,” The New York Times on the Web, Magazine Preview, January 5, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com.
75 In his address, Obama devoted: Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents, January 20, 2009, Inaugural Address, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/presdocs/
2009/DCPD200900001.htm.
77 The 54-year-old retired Army colonel: See Bob Woodward, The War Within (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008).
CHAPTER EIGHT
The information in this chapter comes primarily from background interviews with six firsthand sources.
82 Known as the father: See Bob Woodward, The War Within (New York: Simon & Schuster), 2008.
84 Holbrooke’s first assignment: See George Packer, “The Last Mission,” The New Yorker, September 28, 200
9, p. 39.
85 The gaunt runner: David Martin, “McChrystal’s Frank Talk on Afghanistan,” 60 Minutes, CBS, September 27, 2009.
85 When JSOC had killed: John F. Burns, “After Long Hunt, U.S. Bombs Kill al Qaeda Leader in Iraq,” The New York Times, June 9, 2006, p. A1; Sean D. Naylor, “Inside the Zarqawi Takedown,” Defense News, June 12, 2006, p. 1; Joshua Partlow and Michael Abramowitz, “Officials Detail Zarqawi’s Last Hour,” The Washington Post, June 13, 2006, p. A1.
86 While teaching at Boston University: Husain Haqqani, Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military, (Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2005).
87 The Hay-Adams, as advertised: http://www.hayadams.com.
89 Four months earlier, he had published: Bruce Riedel, The Search for al Qaeda (Washington D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2008), p. 12.
89 He concluded that there was: Ibid, p. 140.
89 He matched the description: William Colby, Honorable Men: My Life in the CIA (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1978).
CHAPTER NINE
The information in this chapter comes primarily from background interviews with seven firsthand sources.
91 Outgoing Director Hayden was watching: Federal News Service, Hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Subject: The Nomination of Leon Panetta to Be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, February 5, 2009.
92 But it was another “slam dunk”: Before the Iraq invasion, then CIA Director George Tenet told President Bush the case for Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction was a “slam dunk.” No WMD were ever found in Iraq after the 2003 invasion.
92 The next day, Friday, February 6: Federal News Service, Hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Subject: The Nomination of Leon Panetta to Be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (Part Two), February 6, 2009.
94 Jones went along with the whole draft: General David Petraeus, Commander’s Remarks at 45th Munich Security Conference, February 8, 2009, http://www.centcom.mil/from-the-commander/commanders-remarks-at-45th-munich-security-conference.