【图书简介】 Book Description"Insurgents and terrorists retain the resources and capabilities to sustain and even increase current level of violence through the next year." This was the secret Pentagon assessment sent to the White House in May 2006. The forecast of a more violent 2007 in Iraq contradicted the repeated optimistic statements of President Bush， including one， two days earlier， when he said we were at a "turning point" that history would mark as the time "the forces of terror began their long retreat." State of Denial examines how the Bush administration avoided telling the truth about Iraq to the public， to Congress， and often to themselves. Two days after the May report， the Pentagon told Congress， in a report required by law， that the "appeal and motivation for continued violent action will begin to wane in early 2007." In this detailed inside story of a war-torn White House， Bob Woodward reveals how White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card， with the indirect support of other high officials， tried for 18 months to get Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld replaced. The president and Vice President Cheney refused. At the beginning of Bush's second term， Stephen Hadley， who replaced Condoleezza Rice as national security adviser， gave the administration a "D minus" on implementing its policies. A SECRET report to the new Secretary of State Rice from her counselor stated that， nearly two years after the invasion， Iraq was a "failed state."State of Denial reveals that at the urging of Vice President Cheney and Rumsfeld， the most frequent outside visitor and Iraq adviser to President Bush is former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger， who， haunted still by the loss in Vietnam， emerges as a hidden and potent voice.Woodward reveals that the secretary of defense himself believes that the system of coordination among departments and agencies is broken， and in a SECRET May 1， 2006， memo， Rumsfeld stated， "the current system of government makes competence next to impossible."State of Denial answers the core questions： What happened after the invasion of Iraq？ Why？ How does Bush make decisions and manage a war that he chose to define his presidency？ And is there an achievable plan for victory？ Bob Woodward's third book on President Bush is a sweeping narrative ： from the first days George W. Bush thought seriously about running for president through the recruitment of his national security team， the war in Afghanistan， the invasion and occupation of Iraq， and the struggle for political survival in the second term. After more than three decades of reporting on national security decision making ： including his two #1 national bestsellers on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq， Bush at War （2002） and Plan of Attack （2004） ： Woodward provides the fullest account， and explanation， of the road Bush， Cheney， Rumsfeld， Rice and the White House staff have walked.From Publishers WeeklyIf there ever was a crystalline indictment of a president's wartime decisions， this is it. In the third volume exploring the political carnage and bureaucratic infighting prompted by the September 11 attacks， legendary investigative journalist Woodward （Bush at War， Plan of Attack） dissects the Bush administration's conduct of the war in Iraq. The picture isn't a pretty one， and Woodward's disarming， matter-of-fact prose makes his page-turning account more powerful still. The incompetence and arrogance on display in the highest levels of the executive branch is as stunning-and as unsettling-as the dismay voiced by civilians and soldiers who endeavor and fail to open the administration's eyes to the failures in Iraq， from the complex security challenges to simple logistical matters like securing sufficient translators. Unable to manage the war they unleashed， the principals-President George W. Bush， Vice President Dick Cheney， Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and national security advisor， later Secretary of State， Condoleezza Rice-fare poorly here. Many of the charges are familiar-the president lacks inquisitiveness， the vice president is obsessed with WMD， Rice is "the worst security advisor in modern times"-but gel anew in the light of Woodward's explication. The breakout star of this disturbing spectacle is Rumsfeld， who presides over the conflict with a supreme self confidence that literally leaves Woodward at a loss for words. If journalism is the first page of history， then Woodward's opus will be required reading for any would-be historians of the time. From AudioFileA weighty text is well executed in audiobook format with this production. Woodward's crisp writing is perfect for an audiobook， with its brisk sentences and newspaper-style "5-cent words." Boyd Gaines reads with assuredness at a perfect pace. Gaines further aids the production by seamlessly and consistently switching voices when quoting conversations between the main actors. He captures the speaking tone and style of President Bush， Vice President Cheney， former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld， and various other high officials. Woodward's searing tale of hubris and ineptitude is deftly and nimbly translated to audiobook， with very good sound quality as a bonus. Abridgment is careful， and context is well preserved. The result is an attention-grabbing production. T.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award Book Dimension ： length： （cm）24.1width：（cm）17-读书网|DuShu.com
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