BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor:
to the
West Wing of the White House
, specifically the president who works there. He was elected on a slogan of "Yes,_We_Can," and he came into office on a wave of change sentiment.
Barack Obama
has said many times, '
We are the ones
we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.' But a new book by veteran journalist
Bob Woodward
is painting a picture of a
White House
full of egos and political calculations and arch enemies, just like the kind we've seen in years past. And it all surrounds the debate over the war in
Afghanistan
. Our own
Andrea Mitchell
here with us tonight in our studios with more on this.
Andrea
, good evening.
ANDREA MITCHELL reporting:
Good evening,
Brian
. Well, if the quotes in
Bob Woodward
's book are accurate, then the
Obama White House
pits political advisers against the generals, and
caught in the middle
the commander in chief, making life-and-death decisions on
war and peace
. There's more back stabbing in
Bob Woodward
's new book than a
Shakespeare
play. The vice president says of diplomat
Richard Holbrooke
, "He's the most egotistical bastard I've ever met," although the right guy for the job.
MITCHELL:
The national security adviser
Jim Jones
calls the president's inner circle "the water bugs," "the politburo," "the mafia" or "the campaign set."
General David Petraeus
tells aides
White House
official
David Axelrod
is a complete spin doctor, most of this in-fighting over the
war plan
for
Afghanistan
. Finally the president blows up. November 25th,
2009
, only days before announcing his decision, the military asks for 4500 more troops.
Woodward
writes that the president erupts, saying, "I'm done doing this. We've all agreed on a plan and we're all going to stick to that plan. I haven't agreed to anything beyond that." Six days later, his big speech at
West Point
.
President BARACK OBAMA:
The review has allowed me to ask the hard questions and to explore all the different options.
MITCHELL:
The next day, the president explains why he added a timetable to begin withdrawing, telling Republican Senator
Lindsey Graham
, 'I can't let this be a
war without end
, and I can't lose the whole
Democratic Party
."
Mr. MICHAEL BESCHLOSS (NBC News Presidential Historian):
You really want to see this kind of conflict and disagreement. Through history that usually makes the best strategy, especially in a war.
MITCHELL:
But the book reveals that the success of the war strategy rests largely on an unreliable ally,
Afghanistan
's
Hamid Karzai
, who
US intelligence
reports is increasingly delusional and paranoid, manic depressive.
The US
ambassador to
Afghanistan
reports to the vice president,
Karzai
is "off his meds. He's off his meds." Largely absent from the bloodletting,
Hillary Clinton
.
Woodward
says
Axelrod
argued, "How could you trust
Hillary
" for the
Cabinet
? The president replies, "I think I know her pretty well. If she's going to be on the team, she's going to be loyal."
Woodward
interviewed all of the key players for the book, including the president and vice president.
Woodward
quotes the president as telling him that he continues to believe that he can absorb a terrorist attack, even while doing everything that we can to prevent it. Well, that statement has now angered conservative critics like
Liz Cheney
, who calls it an alarming fatalism that the president needs to explain.
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