A Capital Gumshoe Hits it Big
Bob Woodward's latest gives the Bush team fits
By Liz Halloran
U.S. News
On its face, it looked like a Washington version of a "did not, did so" schoolyard standoff. But the stakes were a whole lot higher. At issue are the assertions in Bob Woodward's new book about what Bush administration officials knew about the terrorists' plans in the months leading up to 9/11.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insisted she had no recollection of a July 10, 2001, meeting described in Woodward's State of Deial-a meeting at which she was allegedly dismissive of CIA warnings that an attack was imminent. Days later, however, Rice acknowledged through her chief spokesman that she had been briefed by the CIA "on or around" that date-and added that she had instructed her staff to pass on the CIA's information to then Attorney General John Ashcroft and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Rice's embarrassing flip-flop illustrates once again the unique clout that Woodward still wields 3 1/2 decades after he and Carl Bernstein uncovered the Watergate scandal. "When Bob Woodward speaks," says John Walcott, chief of the McClatchy newspaper chain's Washington bureau, "the secretary of state has to respond."
Though it was overshadowed last week by the evolving congressional page scandal, the new book was instantly a No. 1 bestseller, like 10 of the 14 books he has either written or coauthored. Unlike his past two books on the Bush administration, State of Denial takes an unsparing look at the administration's bungled post-invasion policy in Iraq. "This is a do-over," said commentator Arianna Huffington, who is among those who say Woodward's reputation was damaged by his previous favorable "Bush at war" books. "He wants to make it appear that he hasn't changed, the facts on the ground have changed. That's simply not true." Woodward has responded to such criticism by saying his latest round of reporting simply turned up new information.
(The rest is here.)
By Liz Halloran
U.S. News
On its face, it looked like a Washington version of a "did not, did so" schoolyard standoff. But the stakes were a whole lot higher. At issue are the assertions in Bob Woodward's new book about what Bush administration officials knew about the terrorists' plans in the months leading up to 9/11.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insisted she had no recollection of a July 10, 2001, meeting described in Woodward's State of Deial-a meeting at which she was allegedly dismissive of CIA warnings that an attack was imminent. Days later, however, Rice acknowledged through her chief spokesman that she had been briefed by the CIA "on or around" that date-and added that she had instructed her staff to pass on the CIA's information to then Attorney General John Ashcroft and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Rice's embarrassing flip-flop illustrates once again the unique clout that Woodward still wields 3 1/2 decades after he and Carl Bernstein uncovered the Watergate scandal. "When Bob Woodward speaks," says John Walcott, chief of the McClatchy newspaper chain's Washington bureau, "the secretary of state has to respond."
Though it was overshadowed last week by the evolving congressional page scandal, the new book was instantly a No. 1 bestseller, like 10 of the 14 books he has either written or coauthored. Unlike his past two books on the Bush administration, State of Denial takes an unsparing look at the administration's bungled post-invasion policy in Iraq. "This is a do-over," said commentator Arianna Huffington, who is among those who say Woodward's reputation was damaged by his previous favorable "Bush at war" books. "He wants to make it appear that he hasn't changed, the facts on the ground have changed. That's simply not true." Woodward has responded to such criticism by saying his latest round of reporting simply turned up new information.
(The rest is here.)
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