New Woodward book reveals serious internal disputes over Afghanistan policy and bitter personal conflicts
Given high level access to the top Obama national security insiders, veteran Washington Post correspondent Bob Woodward produced another blockbuster expose, this time focusing on the “dissension, distrust, and infighting that consumed Obama’s national security team”. If the Obama top dogs—particularly David Axelrod—thought that providing Woodward such entrée would be a means of guaranteeing favorable treatment, they were wrong. Dead wrong.
The President is shown to be at odds with his uniformed military commanders, especially Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the JCS, and then CENTCOM Commander, GEN David Petraeus. A major split occurred in the White House hierarchy itself, between the political side led by Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and “spinmeister” David Axelrod, and the national security pros, particularly GEN Jim Jones, the national security advisor. Jones referred to the political aides as “the Politburo” or the “waterbugs”; in turn, they denigrated Jones as being ineffective and weak.
VP Biden is quoted as calling Special Representative Holbrook “the most egotistical bastard I’ve ever met”; Petraeus refers to Axelrod as nothing more than a “spin doctor”; all military types felt that the Obama civilians had a fundamental naiveté about military operations; and the Generals vetted their spleen against each other. For example, Marine General Cartwright denigrated CJCS Mullen for not “being a war fighter”.
However, the President himself comes under severe criticism, from many corners. He felt trapped, apparently, by his earlier commitment to Afghanistan as “the good war” and the one where we needed to commit our resources. But then the President had a rude awakening when he found out not only how hard it was, but that achieving anything like success there would require an enormous commitment of personnel and money for a prolonged period of time. He became very enamored over alternatives presented by VP Biden and others for minimal personnel and more “kinetic” operations, but felt trapped by the Pentagon/professional military’s drift into “nation building” and counter-insurgency.
In frustration, the President demanded the top Pentagon/military officials say they agree with his own plan for beginning disengagement next summer, although he felt the military immediately began putting qualifications on that agreement—“if conditions on the ground permit”, etc.
The book also is loaded with highly sensitive information on President Karzai (“manic depressive”), on CIA/Special Operations in Afghanistan, a 3,000 man mostly Afghan “covert army”, and the “cancer that is Pakistan”. In the end, the primary loser, as in Woodward’s books on the Bush 43 administration, is the President himself, who appears too “professorial”, indecisive, frustrated and petulant.
Look for a major shake-up of the Obama White House staff soon, and within the national security team in particular.
- Ty
(Excellent reviews of the book can be found in today’s NYT (by Peter Baker) and in the Washington Post (by Steve Luxenberg))