by Peter Baker
62 “Sit down,” he urged: Steve Schmidt, author interview.
63 Elliott Abrams, thought: Abrams, Tested by Zion, 161.
64 would claim 76 of 132 seats: Scott Wilson, “Hamas Sweeps Palestinian Elections, Complicating Peace Efforts in Mideast,” Washington Post, January 27, 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/26/AR2006012600372.html.
65 “What do you think”: Rice, No Higher Honor, 417.
66 net oil imports had risen: United States Energy Information Administration, http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_neti_a_ep00_imn_mbblpd_m.htm.
67 replace more than 75 percent: White House Fact Sheet, “Advanced Energy Initiative,” January 31, 2006, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/01/20060131-6.html.
68 “That was all him”: Jim Connaughton, author interview.
69 The Senate had confirmed: U.S. Senate roll call record, January 31, 2006, http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00002.
70 “Keeping America competitive”: George W. Bush, State of the Union address, January 31, 2006, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/01/20060131-10.html.
CHAPTER 25: “PLEASE DO NOT LET ANYTHING HAPPEN TODAY”
1 “The image of him falling”: Dick Cheney, interview with Brit Hume, Fox News, February 16, 2006, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,185013,00.html.
2 “Harry, I had no idea you”: Ibid.
3 “We have a problem”: Neil Patel, author interview.
4 “Has the vice president’s office”: Scott McClellan and Anita McBride, author interviews.
5 “She felt very strongly”: McBride interview.
6 “Mr. Cheney shook my hand”: Gilberto San Miguel Jr., Kenedy County Sheriff’s Department, police report, February 15, 2006, http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/texas-cops-release-cheney-shooting-report.
7 “What are we going to do?”: Patel interview.
8 “We’ve got to get back”: Patel and Lea Anne McBride, author interviews. McBride later married and now goes by Lea Anne Foster.
9 “Let’s get it to the local press”: Mary Matalin, author interview.
10 “We couldn’t get hold”: Dan Bartlett, speech to U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Sep-tember 13, 2007, http://www.leadingauthorities.com/speaker/dan-bartlett.aspx.
11 “tersely refused”: Rove, Courage and Consequence, 460–61.
12 “How are you doing?”: Patel interview.
13 “You did a good job”: McClellan interview.
14 “You are a fucking press”: Administration official, author interview. In an interview, Matalin said she did not remember saying that but did not deny it either.
15 “We’ve got to make him”: McClellan interview.
16 “Is this a big deal?”: Matalin interview.
17 “I fired and there’s Harry”: Cheney interview with Hume.
18 “You know why I picked”: McClellan interview.
19 “That had a big effect”: Peter Wehner, author interview.
20 “People started rolling”: White House official, author interview.
21 “I always value Dick”: Jim Langdon, author interview.
22 “We’ve got a problem”: Draper, Dead Certain, 362–63.
23 “I really don’t understand”: George W. Bush, remarks to reporters, Air Force One, February 21, 2006, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/02/20060221-1.html.
24 “I was trying to get him”: Draper, Dead Certain, 362–63.
25 “an immediate moratorium”: Jim VandeHei and Jonathan Weisman, “Bush Threatens Veto Against Bid to Stop Port Deal,” Washington Post, February 22, 2006.
26 “This is as 9/11”: Ellen Knickmeyer and K. I. Ibrahim, “Bombing Shatters Mosque in Iraq,” Washington Post, February 23, 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/22/AR2006022200454.html.
27 “For the first time”: Administration official, author interview. Meghan O’Sullivan, author interview.
28 “an odd man”: Condoleezza Rice, No Higher Honor, 369.
29 “I think this is the day”: Administration official and O’Sullivan interviews.
30 reported as many as 1,300: Others disputed that figure. Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said the toll was 379, while the Interior Ministry said it was 1,077 and the U.S. military said it had confirmed 220 deaths. A joint Iraqi-American operations center reported receiving accounts of 365 civilian deaths, and officials at the center said the toll could reach 550. Ellen Knickmeyer, “Pressure Seen on Probes at Baghdad Morgue,” Washington Post, March 1, 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/28/AR2006022801466.html.
31 “please help us”: Administration official interview.
32 “He actually succeeded”: Stephen Hadley, author interview.
33 “From the bombing”: J. D. Crouch, author interview.
34 “I don’t think anything”: John Negroponte, author interview.
35 “Hey, up on the Hill”: Graham, By His Own Rules, 603–4.
36 “We don’t have more”: Ronald Neumann, author interview.
37 asked for $600 million: Neumann, Other War, 40–41 and 46–47.
38 less than the cost of: The war in Iraq at that time was costing $255 million per day, including both military operations and civilian reconstruction. See John W. Schoen, “How Much Is the War in Iraq Costing Us?,” MSNBC, October 22, 2006, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15377059/ns/business-answer_desk/t/how-much-war-iraq-costing-us/#.T3eGo3gjj-B.
39 “Who picked that baby-shit”: Neumann, Other War, 53–57.
40 “I am certain that all presidents”: Laura Bush, Spoken from the Heart, 431.
41 “Mrs. Burr”: Gridiron Club dinner, March 11, 2006. Author was in attendance.
42 “We’re all burned out”: Peter Baker, “Senior White House Staff May Be Wearing Down,” Washington Post, March 13, 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/12/AR2006031200821_pf.html.
43 was a “clusterfuck”: George W. Bush, Decision Points, 94–96. In an e-mail exchange with the author, Clay Johnson remembered applying that description specifically to the handling of Hurricane Katrina. Bush in his book remembered it being a more overall assessment of the White House organization.
44 “You don’t know how”: Senior administration official, author interview.
45 “My face must have betrayed”: George W. Bush, Decision Points, 94–96.
46 “his calm in crisis”: George W. Bush, remarks, Oval Office, March 28, 2006, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/03/20060328.html.
47 Bush choked up: Hadley interview.
48 self-described “policy geek”: Peter Baker, “Bringing Evolution, Not Revolution,” Washington Post, March 29, 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/28/AR2006032801804.html.
49 “the smartest person”: Nicolle Wallace, author interview.
50 “Josh viewed his job”: Michael Gerson, author interview.
51 “thousands” of “tactical”: Condoleezza Rice made the comments in a question session after an address in Blackburn, England. See “Rice Admits Multiple Iraq Errors,” BBC News, March 31, 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4865344.stm.
52 “lack of understanding”: Josh White, “Rumsfeld Challenges Rice on ‘Tactical Errors’ in Iraq,” Washington Post, April 6, 2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/05/AR2006040502269.html.
53 “The American people are”: Notes of conversation on April 12, 2006, provided to author.
54 had begun speaking out: David S. Cloud and Eric Schmitt, “More Retired Generals Call for Rumsfeld’s Resignation,” New York Times, April 14, 2006, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/14/washington/14military.html?pagewanted=all.
55 “We need to step up”: Joshua Bolten, author interview.
56 “Secretary Rumsfeld’s energetic”:
George W. Bush, written statement, April 14, 2006, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/04/20060414.html.
57 “I hear the voices”: George W. Bush, remarks to reporters, April 18, 2006, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/04/20060418-1.html.
58 asked for a show: Several participants, author interviews. Participants remember the timing differently. Some think it took place before the generals’ revolt, but Joshua Bolten and Joel Kaplan recall it taking place afterward.
59 “You too?”: Joel Kaplan, author interview.
60 “The president had not liked Jaafari”: Administration official, author interview.
61 “It is time for you to go”: Second administration official, author interview. See also Bumiller, Condoleezza Rice, 286.
62 “President Hu! Your days”: Peter Baker and Glenn Kessler, “Bush, Hu Produce Summit of Symbols,” Washington Post, April 21, 2006.
63 “You’re okay”: George W. Bush, comment to Hu, audible on CNN video of the event.
64 refused to attend: Lea Berman, author interview. See also Harwood and Seib, Pennsylvania Avenue, 114–16.
65 “This was unfortunate”: Baker and Kessler, “Bush, Hu Produce Summit of Symbols.”
66 “Condi and I have something”: Rice, No Higher Honor, 526–27.
67 “I want you to know I’m serious”: Rice interview.
CHAPTER 26: “I’M NOT SURE HOW TO TAKE GOOD NEWS ANYMORE”
1 done a poor job explaining: DeFrank, Write It When I’m Gone, 221–22.
2 killed in Haditha: Tim McGirk, “Collateral Damage or Civilian Massacre in Haditha?,” Time, March 19, 2006, http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1174649,00.html.
3 “the worst period of my”: George W. Bush, Decision Points, 367–68.
4 “He keeps a lot of that very”: Friend of Bush, author interview.
5 “Can you imagine the signal”: Walt Harrington, “Dubya and Me,” American Scholar, Autumn 2011, http://theamericanscholar.org/dubya-and-me/.
6 “He never became a Lyndon”: Michael Gerson, author interview.
7 “if he has dark nights of the soul”: Stephen Hadley, author interview.
8 “He stunned me day after”: Dan Bartlett, author interview.
9 “He did get kind of down”: Joe O’Neill, author interview.
10 “He feels that pain”: Jim Langdon, author interview.
11 “Putting parents, children”: Kirbyjon Caldwell, author interview.
12 “It isn’t like he’s blowing up”: Bartlett interview.
13 “You fight the war, and I’ll provide”: John Abizaid, author interview.
14 “There’s always this kind”: Frederick Jones, author interview.
15 “our version of Lawrence of Arabia”: John Hannah, author interview.
16 “This is not working”: Hadley interview. See also George W. Bush, Decision Points, 363–64.
17 “impotent” president: Peter Baker, “Press Secretary Relished Job,” Washington Post, July 13, 2008.
18 “I asked him about those”: George W. Bush, remarks announcing Tony Snow’s appointment, April 26, 2006, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/04/20060426.html.
19 “He’s hard to ignore”: Michele Davis, author interview.
20 “You started with Nixon”: Paulson, On the Brink, 19–20.
21 “Utter bullshit that I’m”: George W. Bush, meeting with Igor Ivanov, the Russian national security adviser, May 4, 2006. Notes of the conversation provided to author.
22 “I just want to know we are”: Nicholas Burns, author interview.
23 speech-and-debate clause: Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution says members of Congress are “privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.” http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html. The point of the clause was to guard the independence of the legislative branch, but how much protection it affords lawmakers has been debated for years. The Congressional Research Service determined that the Jefferson search “appears to be unprecedented in U.S. history and raises serious and significant constitutional questions.” See Todd B. Tatelman, “The Speech or Debate Clause: Recent Developments,” Congressional Research Service, April 17, 2007, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33668.pdf.
24 Hastert was “livid”: Dennis Hastert, author interview.
25 “was just so exercised”: Paul McNulty, author interview.
26 “Well, basically here’s the deal”: Ibid.
27 used the wrong first name: American officials were calling him Jowad, which was a nom de guerre; Maliki asked them to use Nouri instead.
28 “Excuse me, Madame Secretary”: George Casey, author interview. See also Graham, By His Own Rules, 614.
29 Rumsfeld was aggravated: Rumsfeld, Known and Unknown, 690–91.
30 “Every one of us was worried”: Donald Rumsfeld, author interview.
31 “We really got to get rid”: Ray LaHood, interview with Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times, posted June 8, 2006, http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2006/06/rep_ray_lahood.html.
32 “Why didn’t I think of that?”: Joshua Bolten, author interview.
33 Hadley was summoned: Hadley interview.
34 “That would be a good thing”: Tony Snow, news briefing, June 8, 2006, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060608-7.html.
35 “God, I’m so glad”: Bolten interview.
36 “Hey, you might go”: Ray LaHood, interview with Fox News, cited on Web site, June 8, 2006, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,198657,00.html.
37 “I was just giddy”: Condoleezza Rice, author interview.
38 “You don’t seem happy”: Meghan O’Sullivan, author interview.
39 the situation had “fundamentally changed”: George Casey, author interview. See also Casey, Strategic Reflections, 105–6.
40 “My view was always”: Casey interview.
41 Kagan offered a robust: O’Sullivan interview.
42 “it is highly unlikely”: Michael Vickers, e-mail exchange with author. See also Vickers memo, June 12, 2006. Accessed at http://www.rumsfeld.com.
43 “to be persuasive”: Rumsfeld, Known and Unknown, 695–96.
44 “behind the mask, the whole thing”: Rove, Courage and Consequence, 351.
45 “cutting and running”: Karl Rove, speech on New Hampshire Avenue, played on Meet the Press, NBC, June 18, 2006, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13296235/ns/meet_the_press/t/transcript-june/#.T3eEt3gjj-A.
46 “They may be with you”: David A. Farenthold, “Rove’s Speech to N.H. Republicans Keeps to Partisan Line,” Washington Post, June 13, 2006.
47 “brilliant fake out”: Bolten interview.
48 left behind to filibuster: Sammon, Strategery, 109.
49 “Meghan, um, where’s the president?”: Administration official, author interview.
50 “The president’s not here”: O’Sullivan interview. Years later, O’Sullivan did not remember the Brett McGurk phone call but vividly recalled J. D. Crouch telling her the president was in Baghdad. Likewise, in an e-mail exchange with the author, Charles Dunne said he did not recall rushing to McGurk’s office.
51 “He was pumped up”: George Casey, author interview.
52 “I have to do a better job”: Casey and Hadley interviews.
53 “to make a big case”: White House official, author interview.
54 “Troop levels will be decided”: George W. Bush, news conference, June 14, 2006, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060614.html.
55 one study found that: Heidi Urben, “ ‘Decider’ vs. ‘Commander Guy’: Presidential Power, Persuasion, and the Surge in Iraq,” unpublished manuscript, May 12, 2008. Cited by Peter D. Feaver, “The Right to Be Right: Civil-Military Relations and the Ira
q Surge Decision,” International Security, spring 2011.
56 “We came away from that”: Sammon, Evangelical President, 113.
57 “What I thought would”: Peter Feaver, author interview.
58 had become a “PR session”: O’Sullivan interview.
CHAPTER 27: “MAKE DAMN SURE WE DO NOT FAIL”
1 “drive-by briefing”: Peter Baker and Michael Abramowitz, “A Governing Philosophy Rebuffed,” Washington Post, June 30, 2006. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/29/AR2006062902300_pf.html.
2 “I will protect the people”: George W. Bush and Junichiro Koizumi of Japan, news conference, June 29, 2006, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060629-3.html.
3 “I was just shocked”: John Bellinger, author interview.
4 “we’re not going to get”: Karen Hughes, author interview.
5 “you cannot overturn”: Condoleezza Rice, author interview.
6 “I’m not going to overrule”: Senior administration official, author interview.
7 “I’m not worried about”: Ibid.
8 “I think we are headed”: George W. Bush, call with Tony Blair, April 2, 2006. Notes of call provided to author.
9 “He thought the Bush administration”: Michael McFaul, author interview.
10 “unfairly and improperly”: Dick Cheney, address, Vilnius Conference, May 4, 2006, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/05/20060504-1.html.
11 “The vice president put a stake”: George W. Bush, call with Tony Blair, May 16, 2006. Notes of call provided to author.
12 “a few more moves”: Vladimir Putin, call with George W. Bush, June 5, 2006. Notes of call provided to author.
13 “We’ve had some tough”: George W. Bush, meeting with Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark at Camp David, June 9, 2006. Notes of conversation provided to author.
14 “I think Putin is not a democrat”: George W. Bush, meeting with Prime Minister Janez Janša of Slovenia, July 10, 2006. Notes of conversation provided to author.
15 “I talked about my desire”: George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin, remarks to reporters, Strelna, Russia, July 15, 2006, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/07/20060715-1.html.
