Woodward: Military Brass Opposed Surge

(CBS)  A year and a half since the surge in Iraq, violence is the lowest it has been since the invasion. The idea of throwing another 30,000 troops into Iraq was a desperate gamble in a dark time. And only now are we finding out just how much opposition there was by the nation's top military leaders. That's among the revelations in a new book by Washington Post Associate Editor Bob Woodward.

"The War Within" is Woodward's fourth insider account from the Bush White House.

60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley sat down with Woodward for his first interview in advance of the book's release and asked him about the war within the administration after the surge was proposed by civilians in the White House.

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Asked what the generals at the Pentagon thought when presented with the idea of a surge, Woodward told Pelley, "They think that it won't work. And the president actually at one point goes and meets with them. And the Army chief of staff, General [Peter] Schoomaker, says 'You can't add five brigades, it will take many more,' 'What about another crisis?' 'We don't have troops for this,' 'What about the damage your doing to the force, the young kids who see nothing but endless rotations?'"

"What does General Casey, sitting in Baghdad, think of having additional troops?" Pelley asked.

"He thinks that Baghdad is a troop sump-a place you can put endless numbers of troops in. And he does not want to add force," Woodward said.

"The president, who has said in public, endless times, that he relies on his generals to tell him what they need, is actually going his own way here," Pelley remarked.

"That's right," Woodward agreed. "The records of the joint chiefs show that the idea of five brigades came from the White House, not from anybody except the White House."

"The War Within," published by CBS-owned Simon & Schuster, tracks the growing alarm inside the White House in 2006, as U.S. casualties mounted during Iraq's plunge toward civil war. The book is based on more than 150 interviews, including recorded conversations with the president. Mr. Bush told Woodward that he was frustrated with his commanders - and asked for enemy body counts so he could keep score.

"I ask that, on occasion, to find out whether or not we were fighting back. Because the perception is that our guys are dying and they're not, because we don't put out numbers. We don't have a tally. On the other hand, if I'm sitting here watching the casualties come in, I'd at least like to know whether or not our soldiers are fighting," the president explained in one of Woodward's recorded interviews.

"It gets so intense that in one of the secure video conferences between Washington and Baghdad the president says to Casey, 'George, we're not playing for a tie.' And Casey's knuckles, according to witnesses, literally go white as he's gripping the table. And he says, 'No Mr. President. We are not playing for a tie.' And this is Bush's concern that we're not going out and killing; in fact, Casey told one colleague privately that the president's view is almost reflective of 'Kill the bastards. Kill the bastards,' and that way we'll succeed," Woodward told Pelley.

"You've obtained a number of documents, classified secret that the president was receiving in this period of time. What was the president hearing about what was going on in Iraq?" Pelley asked.

"On July 20th, the top secret special compartmented information report that went directly to him quotes from an intelligence report saying, 'Violence is so out of hand, so extensive that it is self-sustaining,'" Woodward said.

Woodward reports that a secret study for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2006 concluded that the U.S. was losing the war, but the president didn't give a hint of that in public.

"Absolutely we're winning," the president said. "We're winning and we will win unless we leave before the job is done."

"Why do you think that the president didn't level with the American people in this dark period in this war?" Pelley asked.

"Because he wanted it to work," Woodward explained. "Did not wanna deflate the morale of the troops. And there was a political election coming up. The November 2006 Congressional elections. It was a raw, political calculation that if you tell the public - or let it get out - that they are reconsidering what they're doing, that they're acknowledging that it's not going well, all political hell would break loose."

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[hamiltongrad]

Concerning Woodward : Can you imagine if in 1942, he published a book that stated that he knew of a scret plan (overlord) that would change the war, and had something to do with troops massing for an invasion, but he was told not to talk about it.
Or that there was a new kind of bomb, and people like Fermi were on it,,but ..mums the word.

There is something very wrong with CBS and Woodward esp. needing this attention, why does the Pres. give him access ? Woodward is a glory guy looking to stay on TV and make more buck. He never did share any $$ with "deep throat". He''s always looking to refind his glory days... but this is going way too far. What an selfish idiot.

[hamiltongrad]

tO MICHAEL 302: tHANK YOU FOR THE support. The spin and disrard for the truth is amazing. What counts to the left is FEELINGS, and a basic hate of all things American and Western. Where do they get these values ? Grad school !
After such indoctrination in HS, College, newspapers, TV "news", Movies, grad school, it is an amazing testement to common sense that any REP. gets elected, and so many do.
Just review the attacks on Gov Palin . GET THIS : IF John McCain had not picked her, and was asked why he didn''t - and then gave all the objections of the news media ( whoe is going to take care of the children, for example ...and more) MC CAIN would have been branded a sexist idiot by the press.

Concer

[Sashland]

Does Woodward have a security clearance to receive secret classified material? He has now disclosed a secret military program for capturing/killing our enemies. The disclosure that the program even exists is a violation. So fine of him not to mention the details: did he have government approval to even talk about it?

Similarly, the mention of alleged spying appears to be a violation. Who gave him this information? Some are prosecuted for passing on much less sensitive information (in private) while Woodward discloses national security secrets in public.
"Country First" for some; "Bob First" for him.

Any Grand Juries read the paper? Does the Military / State Department care that its personnel are giving extremely sensitive secret materials to reckless reporters?

Bob Woodward should be ashamed and shamed in polite company. One can only hope for indictment.

[kgwspoon]

We walk the walk and talk the talk!

[kgwspoon]

a pcthor
My husband family and friends are all educated people and could have done anything they wanted but they "chose" to serve this great country. So don''t go there with me.

[kgwspoon]

a pcthor
To help protect & serve your sorry butt!
country 1st right?

[jtaylor8527]

The secret weapon(s) Woodward refers to are remotely controlled insect-like flying robots equipped with cameras, microphones and tiny amounts of high explosives - sufficient to blow the head off of a terrorist if close enough. These have been in use in Iraq for at least the last 6 months.

[pcthor-2009]

kgwspoon,,,why did your friends and family sign up to fight??????No one was sent there without knowing possible out comes....

[boanerjeez]

There''s a saying in Washington; "If a secret is known by more than one person in Washington, it''s no longer a secret". I believe Bob Woodward showed remarkable tact in keeping what should be secret to himself, and provoking the right amount of angst from our imaginations in respect to this administrations blatant disregard of public and military sentiment as how we as a nation should be viewed by the rest of the world. No wonder 80% of the world hates us.
I have been jaded by the report from the New York Post alleging a disinformation campaign against the American people since 9/11 using top military advisors in the press. How can we really know what is going on in our government when they make a concerted effort to throw off the scent? They feed us so much *** causing so much confusion that when someone really knows what%u2019s happening, their voice gets lost in the din. What is the result? No one person seems to know what is really happening, and conspiracy theories abound, maybe just as they like it. Bob could be telling us absolute truth or being used as part of the disinformation campaign. They know who he is and how he loves to write books. I can just hear G.W.B. saying "hey, lets let some info leak to Bob so he can use it in his book to spread fear in Al-Qaida", a secret weapon as revolutionary as tanks? It sounds like they''re in league with the devil.

[lizzale]

information about the secret "weapon" that bob woodward touched upon in his 60 minutes interview on sunday sept 7 should be shared equally with the presidential nominees. and that equality shoud be recorded in the congressional record.no partisanship with any established party should be allowed.(or do they know it already?)