Bush's War Part1 (11 of 71)

Bush's War

I'm going to think about all of this on Sunday, and I'll call you together Monday and tell you what I've concluded." As the president returned to the White House, it was clear to insiders that Afghanistan would have to be job one.
The lingering question was who would take the lead, the Pentagon or the CIA.
The stakes for Cheney and Rumsfeld were high.
If the CIA prevailed, they could lose control of how and where the war on terror would be fought, and Iraq would almost certainly not be a high priority.
And Monday, we all assembled in the cabinet room.

And the president lays down about 12 decisions, just like that, machine gun fashion.
What did he say? Well, of course, the thing that stands out in my memory, because it hit me vividly, was he said, "I want CIA in there first." It was a body blow to Cheney and Rumsfeld.
Rumsfeld's military machine would be taking a back seat to the CIA and George Tenet.
And I think that's a bitter pill for the Pentagon.
This great historical moment.
They are public servants, after all.
In some ways, they wait their whole life to be called to duty at a moment like this.
And the Pentagon is largely on the sidelines, watching-and watching, of all people, the CIA.
But the vice president was already focusing on a different dimension of the war on terror.
He wanted to push the intelligence agencies to fight from the shadows, from a place he called "the dark side." We also have to work, though, sort of the dark side, if you will.
We've got to spend time in the shadows in the intelligence worid.
A lot of what needs to be done here will have to be done quietly, without any discussion, using sources and methods that are available to our intelligence agencies, if we're going to be successful.
The United States is in hot pursuit of those who planned the suicide attacks on New York City and Washington.
The massive investigation into last week's attacks continues to widen.