Bush at War by Bob Woodward

An intersting look at the initial reaction of the United States to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. With unparalleled access, Woodward describes how President Bush and his top officials planned the invasion of Afghanistan, in order to defeat Al Qaeda and their Taliban hosts. With great clarity, the reader is given a look into the animated debates between Secretary of State Powel and Vice-President Cheney, the moral certainty of President Bush, and the hardheadedness of Defence Secretary Rumsfield, who was intent on forming a new military strategy.

Reading this book in 2009, however, seven years after it was published, one can't help but shake their head in amazement about everything that has occurred since then. It is also inevitable to ask such counter-factual questions as: What would have happened if Bush did not invade Iraq? Or, would things have turned differently if the White House had used all of their energy to reconstruct Afghanistan? Unfortunately, we will never know the answer, but at least we can imagine a parallel universe were the international goodwill that arose after September 11 was not squandered.

3 out of 5 stars