Obama's Wars

Obama's Wars is a 2010 book written by Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist Bob Woodward. The book was published by Simon & Schuster and released on September 27, 2010. It focuses on the internal debates and divisions within the Obama administration regarding the handling of the United States' involvement in the ongoing Iraq and Afghanistan wars.^[1] Woodward was interviewed by ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer to promote the book^[2] as well as PBS journalist Charlie Rose.^[3]

Obama's Wars

Cover of Obama's Wars by Bob Woodward
Author	Bob Woodward
Language	English
Subject	Political science, United States, Afghanistan, Barack Obama
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Publication date	September 27, 2010
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print, ebook, audiobook
Pages	441
ISBN	978-1-4391-7249-0
Preceded by	The War Within: A Secret White House History (2006–2008)

White House response

In comments made to the press on September 22, 2010, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs responded to the book by stating, "I will say I think that the book portrays a thoughtful, vigorous policy process that led us to a strategy that gives us the best chance at achieving our objectives and goals in Afghanistan." He also commented, "I hope people will read the whole book and see that we had a policy that—and a situation in Afghanistan that had been neglected for seven years, that was badly under-resourced and desperately in need of new ideas and a new strategy. And the President shepherded through a process, again, that was thoughtful and deliberate and focused to come up with what was our best chance at success."^[4]

Recommendation by Osama bin Laden

In a video recorded shortly before his killing and titled "Message to the American People," Osama bin Laden recommended reading Obama's Wars to gain insight into the mishandling of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars by President Barack Obama.^[5]

Carlos Lozada, also of The Washington Post, called upon Woodward for his reaction to learning that Obama's Wars was one of the books Navy SEALs retrieved from Osama bin Laden's final Abbottabad hideout, after they killed him in 2011.^[6] Lozada quoted Woodward's comment that, if bin Laden had read his book more carefully, he would have returned to his mountain cave.^[6]

References

1. Bob Woodward book details Obama battles with advisers over exit plan for Afghan war
2. EXCLUSIVE: Bob Woodward Talks to Diane Sawyer About His New Book "Obama's Wars" - ABC News
3. Charlie Rose - Bob Woodward, Author Archived 2010-10-10 at the Wayback Machine
4. Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs aboard Air Force One en route New York, New York | The White House
5. "New al Qaeda leader releases message to mark 9/11". CNN. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
6. Carlos Lozada (2015-05-20). "Bob Woodward's reaction to Osama bin Laden reading his book". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2015-05-27. I reached out to Woodward for his reaction to the news that bin Laden had kept "Obama's Wars" with him in Abbottabad. When asked what the al-Qaeda leader should have taken away from the book, and what other Woodward books would have been relevant