-Caveat Lector- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5987-2002Jan31.html
WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Combating Terrorism: 'It Starts Today' By Bob Woodward and Dan Balz Washington Post Staff Writers Friday, February 1, 2002; Page A01 Monday, September 17 At 9:35 a.m., President Bush and his war cabinet reconvened at the White House. Some of those gathered around the conference table in the Cabinet Room did not know what to expect – perhaps more review and discussion, even more questions or analysis. When their meeting broke up Saturday afternoon at Camp David, Bush had not made up his mind about the options presented to him that day. But after returning to the White House Sunday, he had told national security adviser Condoleezza Rice what he wanted to do. Now he shared his decision with the other advisers. "The purpose of this meeting is to assign tasks for the first wave of the war against terrorism," the president said, sitting at the traditional center seat on the window-side. "It starts today." At Camp David, Bush had expressed his enthusiasm for the expansive role that CIA Director George J. Tenet proposed for his agency. Bush said he was approving all of Tenet's requests. "I want to sign a finding today," the president said, referring to a top secret presidential intelligence order – called a Memorandum of Notification (MON) – that would authorize the CIA to undertake a far-reaching and unprecedented worldwide covert war against terrorism. He also approved Tenet's proposal for CIA paramilitary teams to go into Afghanistan. "I want the CIA to be first on the ground," Bush said. The agency's six- to eight-man teams would be assigned to linking up first with the anti-Taliban opposition forces of the Northern Alliance, and then with U.S. ground troops. On domestic security, he reiterated the change in priorities that had been outlined by Attorney General John D. Ashcroft. "The attorney general, the CIA and the FBI will assist in protecting America from further attacks," the president ordered. The new policy would stress protection of the United States – preemption of future attacks – instead of the traditional emphasis on investigations, gathering of evidence and prosecution. He directed that Ashcroft complete a legislative package to submit to Congress requesting new legal authority for the FBI to track, wiretap and stop terrorists – a project already well underway. The Pentagon also would have a role in security. To Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, he said, "We need plans for protection of U.S. forces and installations abroad." On the diplomatic front, Bush had resolved in his mind the debate over how to deal with the Taliban. "The secretary of state should issue an ultimatum against the Taliban today," the president said, virtually barking out orders. He added he wanted something "warning them to turn over [Osama] bin laden and his al Qaeda or they will suffer the consequences." "If they don't comply, we'll attack them," Bush said. "Our goal is not to destroy the Taliban, but that may be the effect." He turned to the military component. "We'll attack with missiles, bombers and boots on the ground," he said, choosing the most extensive of the three options presented to him by Gen. Henry H. Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "Let's hit them hard. We want to signal this is a change from the past. We want to cause other countries like Syria and Iran to change their views." Syria and Iran had been connected to previous terrorist attacks, going back decades. "We want to hit as soon as possible," the president said. The Pentagon should develop and present a detailed plan, he said, but it was clear some basic questions about the operation – raised six days before by Rumsfeld – had not been resolved. He repeated those questions once more: What targets can we do, and how soon? What allied forces do we want? When? How? What's in the first wave? What's later? Putting boots on the ground before bombing in Afghanistan would be a good idea, he said, adding, "We are going to rain holy hell on them." Bush had vowed that the U.S. military response would not be a tentative one. He made that point again. "You've got to put lives at risk. We've got to have people on the ground." At a war cabinet meeting on Sept. 17, President Bush asked that Secretary of State Powell "issue an ultimatim against the Taliban today!" (AP Photo) Protocol dictated that the secretary of state speak first after the president, so Powell took the floor. He had been slightly taken aback that Bush wanted to give the Taliban an immediate ultimatum. Powell said he would need time to work on it. It was night in South Asia, about 10 hours ahead. Since the United States did not have diplomatic relations with the Taliban, any private ultimatum would have to be issued through Pakistan's government. There were additional complications. First, Powell had to write it. Second, everyone had to understand the consequences. Powell was still deeply concerned about what might happen in Pakistan. Third, they would have to button up their embassies, talk to the allies. "I'd like an hour to think it through, whether we should delay until tomorrow morning," Powell said. The president said he agreed, but he wanted the language to be as tough as possible. "I want to have them quaking in their boots," he said. Discussion turned to whether bin Laden had weapons of mass destruction – chemical, biological or nuclear. Intelligence showed that over the years he had made a substantial effort to get them, but the CIA and other intelligence agencies really didn't know – and certainly had no proof – that he had succeeded. "It's a wild card that could change the dynamics in ways that could alter our calculus," Rumsfeld said, in a bit of management-speak that left some in the room shaking their heads. Bush said he wanted a plan to stabilize Pakistan and protect it against any adverse consequences of giving such strong support to the United States. As for Saddam Hussein, his father's nemesis, the president ended a debate that had gone on for six days. "I believe Iraq was involved, but I'm not going to strike them now," he said, adding, "I don't have the evidence at this point." Bush said he wanted them to keep working on developing plans for military action in Iraq but indicated there would be plenty of time to do that. Everything else, though, had to be done soon. "Start now," the president said in summary. "It's very important to move fast. This is a new way." Shelton said it should take four days to a week to set up the airlifting of troops and supplies so they could be moved near the Afghan border. It would take longer to get the Special Forces troops in place – so long that Rumsfeld grew frustrated at the timetable that was being outlined. "This is chess, not checkers," Rumsfeld said. "We must be thinking beyond the first move." Now that they knew the first steps, he asked, what would be the second, third, fourth and fifth steps? In fact, Rumsfeld thought it was more like three-dimensional chess. It reminded him of the old 25-cent game at the gas station, the one that involved a set of multiple joints and multiple handles that had to be manipulated just so to win the prize. The people who thought they could approach this war or behave in a normal, intuitive way were going to make a mistake, he believed. What's after the 10-day bombing campaign, he wondered. What can happen that could change their minds? What were the worst things that could happen? What were the best things? Sometimes an operation could move too fast, so they had to be ready to react if things went better than they thought. Sunday, September 16 Selling the War on Terrorism, At Home and Abroad The morning after his daylong session with the war cabinet on options, Bush met at Camp David with Vice President Cheney. "We had an extended discussion about what had transpired at the NSC meeting the day before, and where we were headed next," Cheney said in an interview. He declined to discuss the specifics of his conversation with the president. Asked in an interview in December whom he had spoken with on Sunday about his decisions, Bush did not mention the vice president. When told that others had said he met with Cheney, Bush said, "I might have. I'll bet I did. . . . I talk to him all the time." But he offered no recollection of what had been discussed. In an off-the-cuff remark on Sept. 16, President Bush called the war on terrorism a "crusade," which drew an immediate negative reaction. (AP Photo) At 3:20 p.m. Bush arrived back at the White House and met briefly with reporters. In an off-the-cuff remark, he called the war on terrorism a "crusade" – a characterization that was immediately criticized because of its negative connotations in the Islamic world. About 4:30 p.m., Bush asked Rice, counselor Karen P. Hughes, press secretary Ari Fleischer and communications director Dan Bartlett to join him in his office on the second floor of the residence, known as the Treaty Room. Bush believed that how the White House communicated its goals and thinking about the war effort would be critical to the overall success of the campaign. Communication was a key to retaining public confidence in his leadership and the campaign itself. Without that confidence, at home and abroad, he would have trouble holding together the coalition. He wanted to impress upon his communications team the enormous challenges it faced. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. 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