WP: Woodward, Pt. 3 of 5: Cheney Unwavering in Desire for War

[DeepModem Mom]

PLAN OF ATTACK : Cabinet Divided
Cheney Was Unwavering in Desire to Go to War
Tension Between Vice President and Powell Grew Deeper as Both Tried to Guide Bush's Decision
By Bob Woodward
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 20, 2004; Page A01

This is the third of five articles adapted from "Plan of Attack," a book by Bob Woodward that is a behind-the-scenes account of how and why President Bush decided to go to war against Iraq. Simon & Schuster. © 2004.


....Powell detected a kind of fever in Cheney. He was not the steady, unemotional rock that he had witnessed a dozen years earlier during the run-up to the Gulf War. The vice president was beyond hell-bent for action against Hussein. It was as if nothing else existed. Powell attempted to summarize the consequences of unilateral action, an argument he felt he had down pretty well. He added a new dimension, saying that the international reaction would be so negative that he would have to close U.S. embassies around the world if we went to war alone.

That is not the issue, Cheney said. Hussein and the clear threat are the issue.

Maybe it would not turn out as the vice president thinks, Powell said. War could trigger all kinds of unanticipated and unintended consequences -- some that none of them, he included, had imagined.

Not the issue, Cheney said.

The conversation exploded into a tough debate between the two men, who danced on the edge of civility but did not depart from the formal deference they generally showed each other. It was sharp and biting, however, and they both knew how to score debating points as they pulled apart the last fraying threads of what had connected them for so many years. Powell appeared to harbor a deep-seated anger even though he was getting his way this time.

On Saturday morning, Sept. 7, Bush met with the NSC and the argument was joined again. Powell said that if for no other reason than U.S. credibility, they needed to offer a plan to begin inspections again as part of any reengagement with the United Nations on Iraq. Procedurally, the only way to do this was to seek new resolutions....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25550-2004Apr19.html

[LizW]

1. Well

that's just pretty terrifying reading, isn't it?

If true, it's pretty much what we thought all along. If Cheney had completely gotten his way, the U.S. would have been thumbing it's nose at the U.N. from the start. The neo-con dream made real.

I don't get Cheney. My previous impression was that he was a venal pursuer of money and power, but that it was mostly about money. I thought he was creating this whole war as a conduit to funnel huge amounts of money to himself and his cronies. But it's obviously much more complicated than that. He seems to adore the power of it all, too. His disdain for Powell seems petty in light of his immense power to influence U.S. policy.

Powell I understand. I'm disappointed in him, but I understand him.

Cheney is beyond me. He's a man capable of any lie to suit his goals, and I don't understand the underlying motivation. I'm beginning to believe he may be what I think of as the personification of real evil: a person who must win, not because he enjoys winning, but because he enjoys the other person's loss; a person whose lie is not a means to an end, but a pleasurable end in itself.

[LeftHander]

3. Keep in mind Halliburton in July of 2002

Was at it's lowest point under $10.

[0007]

18. What is it today?

[TahitiNut]

2. Cheney behaves like a jilted lover.

Absolutely no other 'virtue' is seen higher than loyalty - loyalty to the Fuhrer, loyalty to the Family, loyalty to the global cabal. Like any organized crime cabal or brain-dead cult, there is no leaving it. Saddam was given his position by the global cabal. He tried to leave and start his own local, autonomous cabal - pricing Iraq oil in Euros and taking over a neighboring family franchise (Kuwait). Cheney is an enforcer. Saddam had to be punished. They're working hard to keep Iraq 'all in the family' - keep the crime franchise. That's Cheney's megalomania.

[boobooday]

4. Cheney is the scariest of all of them

A man without conscience, and without remorse.



http://www.wgoeshome.com

[Rhiannon12866]

8. I agree. He is just unwavering in his warmongering and greed

Though I do believe that Wolfowitz runs a close and equally scary second. Bush* is just their puppet. Cheney is really calling the shots, and he wasn't the choice of the people, either.
:scared:

[Just Me]

19. Yup, the head of the neonazicon snake!!!

I wish to God Almighty,...that, instead of flooding the people with so much information, more people would do as Dean did with his book, "Worse Than Watergate": start with the conclusion then make the "prima facie" case.

For example, why isn't someone (more affluent or influential) pounding the "Machiavellian Empire Mongers: Bush and the Neocons" and putting out the "prima facie" case showing THAT charge?

Once pulled out of their brainwashed states,...the American people would TOTALLY reject these neonazicons' ambitions.

[Rhiannon12866]

24. I had a discussion about just this thing yesterday

The press isn't helping. They are getting better, actually reporting stories, but then let them drop. What ever happened to the Valerie Plame case? That began last July! And the 9/11 hearings should certainly be getting more play. This is the issue that Bush* is running on and casts his administration, at best, in a very poor light. The problem is that most people are just not paying attention. They need the media to wake them up with the truth about what is really going on in this country!:grr:

[leesa]

5. I wonder what Cheney's total take for this war was? How much did he

rake in. Halliburton paid him big bucks to get this war on and they still pay him big bucks for the favor, but what other income is he making on war-waging for fun and profit?

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. Sure he's in favor of war. He wants someone to protect his Haliburton

employees.

[maxwall]

7. Iraq Iraq Iraq... put aside the memo about OBL... Iraq Iraq Iraq...

I know it's been said before, but how many books do we have to have from insiders showing this misAdministration as the thugs they are before people start to take notice? My girlfriend's best friend is a staunch rethuglican, and says the 9/11 Commission was just set up to sell Clarke's book... So I guess there's no reaching her... :shrug: :silly:

[Norquist Nemesis]

27. Buy her a hat lined in tin foil

Your girlfriend's take makes no sense. Can she explain why the Bush administration would do this? Is the administration benefitting from the sale of Clarke's book in some way?

What a silly argument. Yes, she's hopeless.

[robbedvoter]

9. Remember his "permanent war" against 60 nations speech after 911?

he really came out - and it was the scariest thing I ever heard.
he was saying that it will outlast our lives. Which may explain the "we'll all be dead' W comment on historians.

[0007]

10. This article provides much inside information of why Cheney

and Powell were at odds.
Was this an uncontrolled fit of big egos that were looking out for America or little frightened men on a collision course for other reasons?

I believe Cheney's was motivated by greed and Colin by an appetite for power.

[Rhiannon12866]

13. I still believe that Powell is the best of the bunch

Which is not saying much, I agree. But he was the only moderate, who encouraged diplomacy, rather than a rush to war, and he is absolutely the only one who served, so would be the only one who could possibly understand the consequences, if we went to war. The others are all chickenhawks and draft dodgers, but persist in dragging us into an unpopular and illegal war, in which hundreds of Americans have died, and continue to die.;(

The big story on my local news last night was that a 21-year-old from here was killed in Iraq on Sunday. His funeral was yesterday. My friend knows his father. There are just so many, not to mention the thousands of Iraqi civilians who have died. And they wonder why they hate us. It is just beyond me that the Bush* administration can possibly get away with this and that the American people are not pressing them on this. I think Congress is beginning to wake up. We can only hope.:shrug:

[calimary]

15. Here's how we can help that wake-up call:

We need to press this, NOW MORE THAN EVER!

Please note, here, The World's Greatest Lists of Media Contacts – updated April 14, 2004 – in the following thread:

LINK:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1413842#

IF THEY THINK WE DON’T CARE, THEY WON’T, EITHER!

[0007]

21. Keep putting it up honey!

IF THEY THINK WE DON’T CARE, THEY WON’T, EITHER!

[Rhiannon12866]

22. WOW! What a rolodex!!!

Do you really think this will help? I have taken part in so many "actions" and friends have told me so many times that the latest illegal action by the Bush* administration is surely going to be the one that takes them down. But they are still intact and in place and Americans are still dying in Iraq. I know that this cannot hurt, but I am just so weary of supposing anything will help. But thanks so much for this amazing link.:-)

[0007]

16. Pick your poison - greed or power

After knowing that Colin had his hand in the Iran/Contra debacle and the Mylai cover up and his lies at the Security Council of the U.N. hearings, he rates right up there at the top in my book.

[zanana]

25. Powell didn't speak up for us.

He didn't speak up for what he knew was right. His silence was a political decision. He is a major disappointment and should not be given any credit he does not deserve.

[Thor_MN]

11. Powell says relationship with Cheney 'excellent'

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/04/20/woodward.book/index.html

Powell also disputed Woodward's contention that he and Cheney were so estranged by their differences over the war that they barely speak, insisting that his relationship with the vice president is "excellent."

"When the vice president and I are alone, it's Colin and Dick," he said.





Too much information!!! I thought the GOP were generally dead-set against this kind of thing????

[Rhiannon12866]

12. I heard this again, tonight, that Powell and Cheney didn't speak

These guys are like some sort of dysfunctional family, and I would wager that Colin Powell isn't the one at fault. He is the only one with any sense, the only moderate, who encouraged diplomacy when dealing with Iraq, and not a warmongering or greedy agenda, in the bunch. Did you see "The Daily Show" last night? It will be repeated early this evening. They had a very amusing take on this rift between Powell and the administration, but it is also very disheartening for the nation.:-(

[Barkley]

23. Great response Thor_MN!

You've got me rolling over and laughin' here in California
Thanks for the insight!

[calimary]

14. Heavens! I just read all five installments -

OH BROTHER! Powell's first mistake was in not resigning to put a STRONG punctuation mark on his opposition. To think you can stay in and fight the good fight when you have cheney, wolfie, libby and the rest up against you, stacking the deck, is tantamount to closing your eyes and ears, and just living your life in La-La-Land. As a result, he winds up looking completely impotent and useless - an utter joke. I suspect this impression will come to overshadow the "good soldier" crap, as people finally wake up - maybe by the next millennium - and realize that Colin didn't object strongly enough or make enough of a stink about it. Especially since he CALLED IT! Unintended consequences!

JEEZ! Colin should have realized that there's no room for moderation with this bunch of thugs, and that for cheney, it was a matter of personal ego and vendettas and scores to settle and HIS OWN moldy-oldie unfinished business - not necessarily that of the country. You stay, Colin, you get their crap stuck all over you. It's like leaving a shirt sitting around for days or weeks with spaghetti sauce on it - and just letting it sit. Whenever it is that you finally get to ALL the laundry, including that shirt, the stain's had too long to set, and at this point, you'll never get it out completely. Guess what, Colin, you ARE that shirt.

And even now, with his denials and spin-attempts, Colin just looks worse and worse. Embarrassing. Like a eunuch, almost. Downright pitiful, at this point. WHAT reputation, Colin? Whatever was good and solid and admirable about your standing is all gone now. Everything these people touch turns to shit. And unfortunately, Colin, that includes you.

Unbelievable. LOVE that cheney. (NOT!!!!!) If there's a real SUPER-villain behind all these villains, HE IS ABSOLUTELY IT. He is like a walking, talking AIDS virus. An opportunistic infection if ever there was one.

[Sophree]

17. I always wondered WHY

Didn't Powell resign??? You could tell he wanted to, it would have been the best thing to do. Maybe he was forced to stay "For Appearances?" :shrug:

[DeepModem Mom]

20. I think Powell stays because his son at the FCC has a future...

with these people, financially and professionally, and because he himself can expect a position, and enormous financial reward, once he is in the private sector.

[PaDUer]

29. You might be right..

Powell was going to quit due to the differences w/ *, next thing you know, 911 happens and * goes to war..

[JPZenger]

26. 30% Off at Borders

I was in Borders yesterday. They had the Woodward, Clarke and Dean books at 30% off list.

[Norquist Nemesis]

28. Cheney's fever gives credibility to CIA claims

of intimidation tactics....even as top level staffers claim this was not the case when asked about it. Add to that the Plame case and the administration's message was received loud and clear.

[DeepModem Mom]

30. I personally think Tenet's "slam-dunk" declaration..

meant that they could MAKE a slam-dunk case for WMDs -- regardless of whether WMDs existed in Iraq or not.