| http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/world/digdocs/072477.htm
Officials: Bush OK'd airstrikes on Iraq without full briefing BY WARREN P. STROBEL Herald World Staff WASHINGTON -- President Bush authorized the largest American military action against Iraq in more than two years without understanding the provocative nature of the U.S.-led airstrikes and without a full briefing on the Feb. 16 targets, U.S. officials told The Herald's Washington bureau. Bush and his senior national security team were assured by the Pentagon that the strike, Bush's first use of American military power as commander-in-chief, would be relatively routine. The president and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice were surprised and angry when that turned out not to be the case, said officials who agreed to discuss the matter on condition of anonymity. The raid upstaged Bush's first foreign trip as president, a visit with Mexican President Vicente Fox. It started Secretary of State Colin Powell's first diplomatic mission on a sour note and was widely interpreted as a signal of a more confrontational U.S. policy toward Iraq. It also highlighted the president's lack of experience in national security affairs and the drawbacks of a management style that leaves details to subordinates. The officials described an incoherent and disjointed planning process for the raid, with planning and execution being handled almost solely by the Pentagon. Details were only shared with civilian officials, including the secretary of state, at a late date. The officials who discussed the matter were involved in planning the strike and were deeply familiar with what the president and his advisors were told. But a White House spokesman disputed their description and said Bush and Rice were satisfied with their guidance. ``The allegation that they were not acquainted with the objectives [of the strike] was not correct,'' said Mary Ellen Countryman, spokesman for the National Security Council. ``Neither the president not Dr. Rice were upset about how the strike was handled.'' However, Powell was not told of plans for the attack until two days before it took place, a senior administration official said. The subject came up on Wednesday, Feb. 14, at a weekly White House meeting of top national security advisors. ``The planning went on over at the Defense Department, at least without consultation with the State Department,'' the senior official said. Powell and the State Department ``learned late in the game what was going to occur,'' the official said, suggesting Powell was not happy about the last-minute notice. The weekly White House strategy session was not a place for detailed military briefings, meaning Powell aides had to quickly follow up with telephoned questions to determine precisely what was planned, the official said. At the time, Powell was preparing to depart on a sensitive mission to the Middle East, in an attempt to win agreement from Arab nations to new economic sanctions on Iraq. |
