The latest extract from Bob Woodward’s book about the battle over Iraq policy among the military is well worth reading. It reveals quite how bad relations got between advocates of the surge and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Jack Keen—a retired general and a key advocate of the surge—was even banned from travelling to Iraq by the military at one point. While President Bush was forced to send back-channel messages to General Petraeus telling him that he “will have as much force as he needs for as long as he needs it” to counteract the pressure being put on by Petraeus for a precipitous draw-down by his military superiors.
Woodward also reveals a fascinating conversation between Keen and Bob Gates, the man who replaced Rumsfeld as defence secretary, about what would happen to Iraq policy when Bush left office:
“Let’s be frank about what’s happening here,” Keane told Gates. “We are going to have a new administration.
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