War: Book Review

War, Bob Woodward, 2024. The book mainly covers the period since 2020 when Biden became president and all the issues and responses by the various parties. He generally paints a favorable impression of Biden and his staff, with the possible exception of the pull out from Afghanistan, which proved to be too hasty given the faulty intelligence of the Taliban and the poor state of readiness of the Afghan military. The roles of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and CIA Director Bill Burns seem particularly noteworthy. New information includes Trump sending Covid testing machines for Putin’s personal use, the complex roles of the various countries in the Middle East, and the effectiveness of US military intelligence.

Prologue. “I was immediately intrigued by Trump, a hustler entrepreneur and his unique, carefully nurtured and cultivated persona, designed even then to manipulate others with precision and a touch of ruthlessness” (p. 1).

One: 35 Years Later. “As rioters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, President Donald Trump watched on television from his private dining room next to the Oval Office. … 2,000 people entered the Capitol. Five people died, 172 police officers were injured, and more than 500 were arrested” (p. 11). Rigged and stolen according to Trump—who never admitted losing. He also sold lists of Trump voters to other Republican candidates. House Leader Kevin McCarthy came to Mar-a-Lago to keep Trump involved to take the majority in 2022, part of the deal-making keeping Trump in control.

Two. Jake Sullivan was Biden’s National Security Advisor. Russia’s Putin, with his insecurity and imperial ambitions, would continue to be a threat, and continued to fight in the Ukraine’s Donbas region. The Ukraine government in 2014 was corrupt and incompetent. “So far the relationship with Russia was neither good, stable, nor predictable” (p. 20). Russia likely paid the Taliban to kill Americans and behind the SolarWinds cyberattack on worldwide computer systems—all denied by Putin. By praising Trump, Trump became something of an ally. Intelligence analyst Fiona Hill felt Trump’s sting and later testified against him.

Three. As elected president, Joe Biden worried about the lack of consensus about anything, stoked by Putin’s disinformation campaign.

Four. Five. “President Trump had secretly sent Putin a bunch of Abbott Point of Care Covid test machines for his personal use as the virus spread rapidly through Russia” (p. 33).

Six. Putin quoted Tolstoy: “There is no happiness in life, only flashes of it—cherish them” (p. 36).

Seven. 53% of Republicans thought Trump won the 2020 election. Keys for him were doubt and fear.

Eight. Putin preached Ukraine was part of Russia, perhaps changing perspective because of the isolation from Covid.

Nine. Americans in Afghanistan was mission creep, even after Al Qaeda was driven out. Biden tried to talk Obana down from reinforcing the troops. As president “the options presented were to execute a full orderly withdrawal of all remaining troops; undertake a slow withdrawal in 3-4 stages for political negotiations; or approve an indefinite US troop presence” (p. 47). By that time, almost 2,500 US troops were killed, over 20,000 wounded. Biden wanted out.

There were multiple planning meetings, but the withdrawal “spiraled into chaos. They had failed to anticipate contingencies and plan for the worst-case scenarios. … This left the American embassy in Kabul still operating with more than 1,400 Americans protected by just 650 marines and soldiers” (49). The Taliban surged, then President Ghani fled, Kabul fell in 11 days, 13 Americans killed.

Ten. Eleven. In 2014 Obama’s team failed to spot Putin’s land grab in Ukraine. UK, US, and NATO troops were trying to train Ukrainian troops to be prepared for eventual NATO membership and contingencies with Russia.

Twelve. Thirteen. “Russia’s war plan was to take control of the entire country of Ukraine, eliminate Ukrainian president Zelensky, and control the capital, Kyiv. …  Biden’s principals struggled to see Putin’s logic” (p. 64). Part of it could have been the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan indicating Biden weakness.

Fourteen. Fifteen. Bill Burns was the first career diplomat to be appointed CIA Director.

Sixteen. Harris met with Macron after the French lost a submarine deal to the US and also to discuss Russia’s war plans in Ukraine. Macron planned to be Europe’s leader after Angela Merkel stepped down in Germany.

Seventeen. Blinken met with other members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe at the end of 2021 on regional security. Sergey Lavrov of Russia accused the West of replacing international law with rules-based order. “Lavrov responded with bluster, flagrant denials, and condescension. … He was a showman” (p. 91).

Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Given the history of Vietnam and Afghanistan, Biden would not send in troops to Ukraine, but would supply weapons and intelligence. Military experts said Biden should not take US troops off the table, using ambiguity as a deterrent. Military Fred Kagan wondered if this gave Putin a green light, seeing weakness in Biden. Since 2014, the US gave Ukraine $2.5 billion in security assistance.

Twenty-One. Biden did threaten economic sanctions on Russia.

Twenty-Two. The CIA was worried about a Putin false flag operation, staging dead Russians “killed by Ukrainians.”

Twenty-Three. Twenty-Four. Twenty Five. Harris represented the US at the Munich Security Conference in February 2022, saying “the foundation of European security is under direct threat in Ukraine” (p. 114), with Russia spreading disinformation and propaganda.

Twenty-Six. Putin declared certain regions of Ukraine as “independent” (essentially Russian). Trump called Putin move “Genius.” Biden issued sanctions against those regions and Germany stopped Nord Stream from moving forward.

Twenty-Seven. Putin: “I have decided to conduct a special military operation in Ukraine” (p. 120), invading on February 23 in a massive attack on all fronts. The idea was to quickly capture Kiev and take over the Hostomel airport near Kiev. Zelensky was staying, asking the Free World for support. [He probably never said “Send ammo not a taxi.”] After five days some 15,000 Russian tanks, troops, and more were stalled in a traffic jam—a massive error. The Ukrainians took out the first and last tank and attacked the rest.

“The sheer incompetence of the Russian military operation became clear. … Commanders of units didn’t really understand what their goals were. Russian troops waited for directions from headquarters, rather than adapt and improvise” (p. 125). The Russians withdrew after at least 10,000 were killed, plus leaving evidence of war crimes including mass graves of civilians.

Twenty-Eight. With the Ukraine invasion, Steve Bannon called for Biden’s impeachment. Tucker Carlson called it a “mere border dispute.”

Twenty-Nine. Finland and Sweden now supported joining NATO and NATO launched a military exercise in the Baltic region.

Thirty. Thirty-One. Thirty-Two. Thirty-Three. Congress passed another Ukraine package.

Thirty-Four. Germany under Chanceller Olaf Scholz played a strong role in supporting Ukraine. Biden pledged M1 Abram tanks early in 2023 and Germany sent Leopard 2 tanks.

Thirty-Five. Putin’s potential use of nukes was a concern, considered a 50% chance, destroying the world order. Contingency plans were considered with Germany, France, and UK. The nightmare scenario was Russia claiming a Ukrainian dirty bomb as an excuse for going nuclear. The US laid out the US’s non-nuclear retaliation if that happened.

Thirty-Six. In 2022 Republicans narrowly took back to House. Most Trump candidates lost, but he planned his comeback anyway—although he had the lowest approval ratings of any president when he left.

Thirty-Seven. The US sent air defense systems including the Patriot. The biggest need in Ukraine was 155 artillery shells. [I don’t know why there is no mention of the much more mobile 105 artillery, which I trained on.] The US was behind in production and stockpiling.

Thirty-Eight. Thirty-Nine. Attorney General Garland appointed Jack Smith to investigate the January 6 insurrection and Trump’s handling of classified documents. Trump ran on getting payback for those mistreated—mainly himself. General Milley stated: “No one has ever been as dangerous to this country as Donald Trump. … He’s a total fascist.” 

Forty. Ukraine’s ammunition stores were getting more depleted. The US was down to 155 cluster munitions. Ultimately, that’s what Ukraine got.

Forty-One. Prigozhin was Putin’s chef and militia leader of the Wagner Group, noting the incompetence of the Russia army. He marched on Moscow in June 2023, then struck a deal with Putin, and was killed in a plane crash.

Forty-Two. October 7, 2023, was the Hamas surprise attack on Israel, an incredible intelligence and military failure for Netanyahu. There was the problem of Hezbollah: “the largest fighting force of any non-state actor in the world with tens of thousands of militants and upward of 150,000 missiles and rockets. … Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israelis and dragged more than 240 hostages back across the border. … Netanyahu had also changed Israel’s policy to allow Gazans to work in Israel. The number of Gazans given work permits had gradually increased to around 20,000 by October 7 … Israel’s intelligence agencies later discovered that they had been in possession of Hamas’s attack plans almost a full year ahead of the October 7 attack.” (p. 191).

Forty-Three. Forty-Four. Qatar had a channel to Hamas, which Jake Sullivan used with Bill Burns to negotiate on the hostages.

Forty-Five. Forty-Six. The US provided Israel $3 billion in military assistance a year. Israeli stockpiles of 155 shells were sent to Ukraine. When Abdullah become king of Jordan in 1999, he exiled Hamas officials to Qatar. Still, Jordan had over 2 million Palestinian refugees. Abdullah wanted Hamas gone. Hamas caused trouble to most Muslim countries. They wanted Hamas defeated but called for humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Forty-Seven. Biden’s main mission was humanitarian help to Gaza, while Netanyahu and his cabinet only wanted to destroy Hamas no matter what the cost (even on Israelis).

Forty-Eight. Egypt did not want Palestinian refugees, believing they would never leave and become an agitating force, but would allow some humanitarian trucks and 20 trucks a day started.

Forty-Nine. Houthis in Yemen attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea.

Fifty. The Israeli war meant protests in Jordan and around the Middle East.

Fifty-One. A quick ceasefire in Gaza led to the release of two Americans. Biden said: “Keep this going.” The negotiations happened in Qatar. Hamas released 50 hostages starting November 24.

Fifty-Two. US forces were attacked 100+ times since October 7.

Fifty-Three. Fifty-Four. Polls after October 7 showed most Israelis opposed a two-state solution. They wanted an agreement with Saudi Arabia, but Saudi Arabia wanted a defense cooperation agreement with the US (similar to Japan, Australia, and South Korea) which required a treaty with Congressional approval. The US did abstain from a UN Security Council resolution on a cease-fire.

Where should the US draw the line with Israel: public separation, separation at the UN, or suspend military assistance? US support has cratered with the civilian deaths and lack of humanitarian aid. Some Muslim countries were willing to provide security forces to transition Gaza to Palestinian authority.

Navalny died in February 2024 in a Russian prison camp in the Arctic Circle.

Fifty-Five. Both Biden and Trump won their primaries. Trump advisor General Keith Kellogg claimed “Trump was a different kind of person out of the spotlight. He could listen and actually wanted to hear every voice in the room. …” (p. 264). Former Trump cabinet members claimed to embassies that Trump would be reasonable this time.

Fifty-Six. Fifty-Seven. Israel took out an Iranian general and other Iranian Revolutionary Guards on April 1: legitimate targets but Iran would respond, including against US targets. Then they hit a World Central Kitchen convoy killing seven aid workers.

Fifty-Eight.  Iran responded on April 13, with a massive missile attack, taken out by Israel and the US, with assistance from Saudi Arabia and other allies, intercepting almost 300 missiles and drones. Harris: “Tell Bibi to take the win” (p. 282).

Fifty-Nine. Ukraine’s problem was running out of supplies.

Sixty. Biden revoked Trump’s hardline immigration policies, resulting in massive immigration, called an “invasion” by Republicans—some 6 million illegal crossings. Democrats worked with Republicans to get a bipartisan border deal, which Trump killed. The economy was good and millions of jobs added.

Sixty-One. Poland President Duda in 2024 stated: “We joined NATO in 1999 and for 17 years there were no NATO forces in Poland” (p. 294). Poland spent 4% of GDP on defense. The US paid 3.5% or $860 billion; however, France, Spain, and Canada spent less than the 2% target.

Trump remained against the border bill.

With House Speaker Mike Johnson, Trump changed his position and Congress passed a $60 billion Ukraine package.

Sixty-Two. Sixty-Three. The shadow war with Russia on economic and technological grounds meant little direct confrontation with Russia but would weaken the country.

Sixty-Four. In 2024 “Trump was convicted of all 34 counts of falsification of business records” (p. 308), presumably because he hired the wrong lawyers.

Sixty-Five. Hunter Biden had his own trials

Sixty-Six. Biden said Netanyahu lied to him regularly. “Netanyahu’s political leadership was in tatters. He faced criminal charges of fraud and bribery that had been delayed multiple times, and he was widely criticized for pushing legal and judicial reforms that weakened the independence of Israel’s judiciary. … After the large-scale October 7 Hamas attack on his watch, Netanyahu pushed aside questions of Israel’s catastrophic intelligence and security failures. … Blinken … was exhausted, emotionally and physically drained by Netanyahu’s dealings and maneuvering. … The war in Gaza had done very little to rebuild the reputation of the Israeli Defense Forces” (p. 314). Would a Biden break risk Israel’s security?

Sixty-Seven. Trump’s fear campaign featured the southern border, although he was becoming more erratic.

Sixty-Eight. “Since retiring, Milley had received a nonstop barrage of death threats. … Trump never liked to leave criticism unanswered, He wanted payback” (p. 320). He stated that Milley was a loser. During Black Lives Matter protests Trump asked: “Can’t we just shoot them.”

Woodward noted that both he and Trump were white and privileged. He asked Trump if he had any sense of that privilege and Trump said No and: “I’ve done more for the Black community than any president in history” (p. 323).

“For Milley and Esper, Trump’s final year in office had demanded a full-time effort to keep the US military out of domestic law enforcement matters” (p. 324). Trump claimed there was an invasion of illegal immigrants that required a massive deportation effort and Stephen Miller wanted large camps to hold the migrants.

Sixty-Nine. Biden showing signs of age; behind the scenes his mental facilities were okay, with wide experience—but 80% of Americans thought he was too old.

“The axis of upheaval, Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are increasingly connected” (p. 333) [as documented in Anne Applebaum’s book, Autocracy, Inc.] Putin was making Russia more militaristic and nationalistic by invading Ukraine, resulting in losing 87% of his prewar army and 315,000 Russia casualties. Biden spent considerable time alliance building.

Seventy. On June 27 he had perhaps the worst presidential debates ever. Trump focused on his usual exaggerations and lies. Blinken asked Biden: “Do you really want to be doing this another four years” (p. 338).

Seventy-One. A 20-year-old gunman hit Trump in the ear at a rally on July 13. On July 21 Biden, with Covid, announced he was getting out and endorsing Harris.

Seventy-Two. The CIA intercepted ISIS-K and stopped attacks, including Russia. Then Prigozhin’s mutiny. FBI director testified that Iran was plotting against US government officials.

Seventy-Three. Trump called Harris “lying Kamala Harris,” calling her a “radical left lunatic.” At a National Association of Black Journalists, Trump made racist remarks about Harris suddenly being black and “So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” Harris responded: “the same old show—the divisiveness and the disrespect.”

Seventy-Four. Seventy-Five. “According to Trump’s aide, there have been multiple phone calls between Trump and Putin, maybe as many as seven in the period since Trump left the White House” (p. 356). CIA director Burns noted “Putin manipulates,” matched with Trump’s erratic style which neither Putin not Xi liked.

There was a prisoner swap on August 1 with 24 people freed, including Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan.

Staffer views on Trump (p. 360). Chief of Staff John Kelly on Trump: “He’s an idiot, It’s pointless to try to convince him of anything. He’s gone off the rails. We’re in Crazytown.” Gary Cohn, economic advisor: Trump as “a professional liar.” Lawyer John Dowd told Trump “he was so untruthful that if he testified in person he would wind up in an orange jumpsuit and was an f---liar.”

During Covid, the truth was avoided and Trump was not equipped to deal with a crisis. “He never developed a plan to respond. He did not know how to use his extraordinary executive power to prioritize saving American lives and deflected any responsibility. … By the summer of 2020, about 140,000 people had died … and the eventual death toll exceeded 1.1 million. … Trump governed by fear and rage. And indifference to the public and national interest” (p. 361).

Seventy-Six. Israel took out Hezbollah and Hamas leaders usually by bombing in July, ending all ceasefire negotiations.

Seventy-Seven. Biden tried unsuccessfully to talk Obama out of sending more troops to Afghanistan in 2009, trying to keep US troops out of wars. That included Ukraine in 2002. Intelligence and military assistance were fine. The US also provided Israel assistance after October 7, 2023.

Epilogue. Woodward claimed: “When I wake up in the morning my first thought is: ‘what are the bastards hiding?’ My experience is the hidden is often significant, even monumental” (p. 369). He pointed out the importance of teamwork for good governance.