The War Within (62 page)

CHAPTER 27

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

* * *

The NSC gathered at 7 A.M.:
Notes of a participant at the December 9, 2006, NSC meeting and interviews with other knowledgeable sources.

Early the next Monday:
Notes of a participant at the December 11, 2006, NSC meeting and interviews with other knowledgeable sources.

CHAPTER 28

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

* * *

On Monday, December 11:
Notes and several knowledgeable sources' accounts of the meeting held at the White House on December 11, 2006.

At 10:30 that morning:
Presidential Documents, December 11, 2006, pp. 2151ñ2152 (Vol. 42, No. 50), www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/v42no50.html.

The next day, Tuesday, December 12:
Notes of a participant at the December 12, 2006, NSC meeting and interviews with other knowledgeable sources.

He wrote in green pen:
Author's review and notes of a SECRET document.

Of course, Casey had also presented:
Author's review and notes of a SECRET document called "Iraq Security Way Ahead," dated December 12, 2006.

"The tank meeting was a very important meeting":
Interview with President George W. Bush, May 21, 2008.

CHAPTER 29

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

* * *

Bush was quoted as saying:
Peter Baker, "U.S. Not Winning War in Iraq, Bush Says for 1st Time,"
The Washington
Post,
December 20, 2006, p. A1.

Typically, 20 counterinsurgents:
United States Army and United States Marine Corps,
The U.S. Army/Marine Corps
Counterinsurgency Field Manual,
2007.

The president later told me:
Interview with President George W. Bush, May 20, 2008.

CHAPTER 30

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

* * *

"I'm not sure I bought the last card":
Interview with President George W. Bush, May 21, 2008.

At about five the next morning:
Notes and a knowledgeable source's account of the meeting held at President Bush's Crawford ranch on December 28, 2006.

That same Thursday, the new Congress:
Jonathan Weisman and Shailagh Murray, "Democrats Take Control on Hill,"
The Washington Post,
January 5, 2007, p. A1.

"The election of 2006":
Press release, "Pelosi Calls for a New America, Built on the Values That Made Our Country Great," January 4, 2007, www.house.gov/pelosi.

CHAPTER 31

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

* * *

On January 6, 2007, Maliki said:
"Iraqi PM Addresses Army on Saddam Execution, Baghdad Security Plan," BBC

Monitoring International Reports transcript, January 6, 2007.

On Wednesday, January 10, about 2 P.M.:
"MSNBC Interview with Senator John McCain (R-AZ); Subject: Iraq, Interviewed by Tim Russert," Federal News Service, January 10, 2007, www.fnsg.com.

"The situation in Iraq is unacceptable":
Presidential Documents, January 10, 2007, pp. 19ñ23 (Vol. 43, No. 2), www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/v43no2.html.

Minutes after the president finished speaking:
MSNBC Transcript,
Hardball,
January 10, 2007, www.msnbc.msn.com.

Republican Senator George Voinovich:
Dana Milbank, "The Secretary vs. the Senators,"
The Washington Post,
January 12, 2007, p. A1.

Republican senator and Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel:
Anne E. Kornblut, "Devastating Criticism by Both Parties,"

The New York Times,
January 12, 2007, A12.

"Prior to the Samarra bombing":
Interview with President George W. Bush, May 21, 2008.

"If what you're trying to do":
Interview with President George W. Bush, May 20, 2008.

CHAPTER 32

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

* * *

"The commanders on the ground in Iraq":
Presidential Documents, January 11, 2007, pp. 25ñ30 (Vol. 43, No. 2), www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/v43no2.html.

Susan Collins, the independent-minded:
"Hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee; Subject: Nomination of Lieutenant General David H. Petraeus, U.S. Army, to Be General and Commander, Multinational Forces Iraq,"

Federal News Service, January 23, 2007, www.fnsg.com.

Three days later, on January 26:
U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes, 110th Congress, 1st Session, January 26, 2007, www.senate.gov.

On January 30, 2007:
"Hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee; Subject: The Nomination of Admiral William Fallon for Appointment to the Grade of Admiral and to Be Commander, U.S. Central Command," Federal News Service, January 30, 2007, www.fnsg.com.

He declared the situation:
General David Petraeus's change of command remarks, MNF-I change of command, February 10, 2007, www.mnf-iraq.com.

He sent a short letter to everyone:
Commanding General's Letter to the Troops for February, February 9, 2007, www.mnf-iraq.com.

"With the advantage of hindsight":
Presidential Documents, February 19, 2007, pp. 182ñ183 (Vol. 43, No. 8), www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/v43no8.html.

"President Truman made clear":
Press release, "President Delivers Commencement Address at the United States Military Academy at West Point," May 27, 2006, www.whitehouse.gov.

Gates had said during:
"Hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee; Subject: Defense Department Fiscal Year 2008 Budget and Fiscal Year 2007 Supplemental," Federal News Service, February 6, 2007, www.fnsg.com.

CHAPTER 33

The information in this chapter comes primarily from background interviews with 10 firsthand sources.

* * *

By early March, Petraeus and McMaster had assembled:
Included in the group were David Kilcullen, an Australian counterinsurgency expert; Robert Ford, the U.S. ambassador to Algeria; Molly Phee, a seasoned diplomat who'd spent time in Iraq; Rick Waddell, a West Point alumnus and Rhodes Scholar who'd served a stint on the National Security Council; Ylber Bajraktari, a former journalist and Albanian refugee from Kosovo who'd earned a master's degree at Princeton; Colonel Marty Stanton, an author and veteran of the first Gulf War, Bosnia and the Iraq War; P.

J. Dermer, a former Army helicopter pilot who worked in Iraq during 2003 and 2004 for the Defense Intelligence Agency; Steve Biddle from the Council on Foreign Relations and the Brookings Institution; Toby Dodge, an Iraq expert from London; Colonel J. R. Martin, a professor at the Army War College and former classmate of Petraeus.

The president later told me:
Interview with President George W. Bush, May 21, 2008.

At 3 P.M. the next day:
Defense Department News Briefing, April 11, 2007, www.defenselink.mil.

CHAPTER 34

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

* * *

In early April 2007, Petraeus had led McCain:
Kirk Semple, "McCain Wrong on Iraq Security, Merchants Say,"
The
New York Times,
April 3, 2007, p. A1; "Briefing by Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Representative Mike Pence (R- IN), Representative Rick Renzi (R-AZ); Topic: Their Visit to Iraq," Federal News Service, April 2, 2007, www.fnsg.com; Sudarsan Raghavan, "Sum of Death Statistics: A Perilous Iraq; Merchants, U.S. Officials Take Issue with McCain's Remarks on Security Gains,"
The Washington Post,
April 4, 2007, p. A9.

Asked about a suicide bombing:
"Remarks with Senator John McCain After Their Meeting," State Department transcript, April 12, 2007, www.state.gov.

At a press conference:
"Senate Democrats Hold a News Conference on Iraq," Congressional Quarterly Transcriptions, April 19, 2007, accessed via Nexis.

"Could I have couched my words":
Harry Reid,
The Good Fight
(New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2008), p. 20.

I later asked him:
Interview with President George W. Bush, May 21, 2008.

In March, King Abdullah:
Glenn Kessler and Karen DeYoung, "Saudis Publicly Get Tough with U.S.; King's Remarks on Iraq Follow Signs Riyadh Is Distancing Itself from Bush,"
The Washington Post,
March 30, 2007, p.

A14.

On Wednesday, April 25:
Carl Hulse and Jeff Zeleny, "House Approves War Spending Measure That Requires U.S.

to Start Pullout from Iraq,"
The New York Times,
April 26, 2007, p. 12.

CHAPTER 35

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

* * *

On May 26, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell:
Michael Abramowitz and Peter Baker, "White House Considers Next Steps in Iraq; Troop Drawdowns and Shift in Mission Are Premised on Successful 'Surge,'"
The
Washington Post,
May 27, 2007, p. A5.

"I'm not going to dime that guy":
Interview with President George W. Bush, May 21, 2008.

The New York Times
had published:
David E. Sanger and David S. Cloud, "White House Said to Debate '08 Cut in Troops by 50%,"
The New York Times,
May 26, 2007, p. A1.

"Let me make a forecast":
Interview with Bill Perry, June 6, 2007.

Petraeus's forces were beginning:
In June 2008, Petraeus distributed a three-page instruction titled "Multi-National ForceóIraq Commander's Counterinsurgency Guidance" that showed he believed that protecting the Iraqi population involved specific actions by troops on the ground. He listed 22, including: ï
"Live among the people.
You can't commute to this fight. Position Joint Security Stations, Combat Outposts, and Patrol Bases in the neighborhoods we intend to secureÖ.

ï
"Promote reconciliation.
We cannot kill our way out of this endeavorÖ.

ï
"Foster Iraqi legitimacy.
ÖLegitimacy in the eyes of the Iraqi people is essential to overall success.

ï
"Fight for intelligence.
ÖOperate on a 'need to share' rather than a 'need to know' basisÖ.

ï
"Walk.
Move mounted, work dismounted. Stop by, don't drive by. Patrol on foot and engage the populationÖ.

ï
"Build relationships.
Relationships are a critical component of counterinsurgency operationsÖ.

ï "
Manage expectations.
ÖAvoid premature declarations of successÖ.

ï
"Be first with the truth.
ÖDon't put lipstick on pigsÖ. Avoid spin and let facts speak for themselvesÖ.

ï
"Live our values.
ÖThere is no tougher endeavor than the one in which we are engaged. It is often brutal, physically demanding, and frustrating. All of us experience moments of anger, but we can neither give in to dark impulses nor tolerate unacceptable actions by others."

Abu Abed, also known as Saif:
Joshua Partlow, "For U.S. Unit in Baghdad, an Alliance of Last Resort,"
The
Washington Post,
June 9, 2007, p. A1.

Gates approached a handful of senators:
Interview with Carl Levin, December 6, 2007.

On Friday, June 8, Gates announced:
"News Conference with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates Announcing Recommendation of Admiral Michael Mullen to Be Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General James Cartwright to Be Vice Chairman," Federal News Service, June 8, 2007, www.fnsg.com.

CHAPTER 36

The information in this chapter comes primarily from background interviews with nine firsthand sources and the notes of two participants.

* * *

On June 13, about 9 A.M
.: John F. Burns, "Revered Mosque in Iraq Is Bombed for Second Time,"
The New York
Times,
June 14, 2007, p. A1.

On
Fox News Sunday
with Chris Wallace:
General Petraeus on
Fox News Sunday,
Fox News Transcript, June 17, 2007, www.foxnews.com.

"It is the policy of the United States":
Presidential Documents, January 20, 2005, pp. 74ñ76 (Vol. 41, No. 3), www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/v41no03.html.

Hayden had said that:
Hayden's quotes are taken from dictated notes of the Iraq Study Group's record of his testimony on November 13, 2006.

According to Hamilton:
Phone conversation with Lee Hamilton, June 12, 2007.

The
Post
story ran Thursday:
Bob Woodward, "CIA Said Instability Seemed 'Irreversible,'"
The Washington Post,
July 12, 2007, p. A1.

That same day, the president was asked:
Presidential Documents, July 12, 2007, pp. 944ñ956, (Vol. 43, No. 28) www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/v43no28.html.

CHAPTER 37

The information in this chapter comes primarily from background interviews with 11 firsthand sources.

* * *

On August 22, Bush spoke:
Presidential Documents, August 22, 2007, pp. 1107ñ1114 (Vol. 43, No. 34), www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/v43no34.html.

Six days later, the president:
Presidential Documents, August 28, 2007, pp. 1124ñ1131 (Vol. 43, No. 35), www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/v43no35.html.

On Thursday, August 24:
NIE, "Prospects for Iraq's Stability: Some Security Progress but Political Reconciliation Elusive," August 2007, www.dni.gov/press_releases/20070823_release.pdf.

"We are the ones who saved our country,":
Interview with Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, June 3, 2008. See also Sterling Jensen, "Lessons from an Anbar Sheik,"
The Washington Post,
September 29, 2007, p. A19.

CHAPTER 38

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