Plan of Attack

Plan of Attack is a 2004 book by the American author and investigative reporter Bob Woodward. It was promoted as "a behind-the-scenes account of how and why President [George W.] Bush decided to go to war against Iraq". The book's chief contention, which provides the rationale for its title, is that President Bush planned from early in his presidency to remove Saddam Hussein from power by force, rather than making any serious effort to use diplomacy or other means. The book describes White House deliberations implying that if Saddam were removed from power without a military invasion, Iraq would need a foreign-implemented regime change. It focuses mainly on President Bush, Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, General Tommy Franks, and CIA Director George Tenet, as well as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair. Other fixtures are White House advisers such as Karen Hughes and Karl Rove. Content Plan of Attack picks up where Woodward's previous work, Bush at War, left off, focusing on the decision-making that led up to the U.S.-led war in Iraq. As a result of the broad access Woodward was granted to the White House and to interview Bush administration officials, the book is able to paint a realistic picture of what happened behind the scenes. Woodward's own approach is to resist making judgements about the war itself, but rather try to describe the decision-making process. As a result of refraining to interpret the story that he presents, Woodward has been described as being both opposed to the Bush administration by some, as well as an apologist of the administration by others.