“Obama’s Wars”

I recently finished reading Bob Woodward’s latest book, Obama’s Wars.  The use of the plural in the title suggests to the reader that Woodward is about to discuss both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  But that’s not the case.  Woodward concentrates solely on Afghanistan. Iraq is nothing but a necessary reference, if not a distant memory.

Perhaps the most striking feature of Woodward’s 416-page work is the incredible access which this man has to the highest levels of elected, appointed and military policy makers within Washington’s Beltway, including the President.  As I paged through his work, that point comes through clearly, and I don’t think it’s a good thing: 

It puts Woodward in the position of being far too powerful as a sole-source filter and disseminator of insider information, much of which is classified.  The reason is simple:  No one can determine whether or not the distillation of the information which he presents to the reader is without bias, despite his impressive credentials.

There is also a potential conflict-of-interest related to his other position as an associate editor at The Washington Post.  For example, information from secret reports on wartime strategy was leaked to Woodward for his book and was also published in the Post.

Woodward’s writing in Obama’s Wars is highly documented, but the names of well-placed, unidentified sources from which he obtains much of his material is not available to readers.  

Other previously published sources are meticulously outlined in chapter notes.  Yet most of Woodward’s critical information and description of the relationships between major players seems to have been derived from what Woodward acknowledges as “primarily from background interviews and firsthand sources.”

According to journalistic protocol, those background sources cannot be identified by name, so that makes it possible for an author to construct a composite picture from interviews and to present it in such a way that pits one character in the drama against another.  There is much of this type of reporting in Obama’s Wars.  So which characters do you believe?

I recommend reading this book, but only with a highly critical eye (and not before bedtime!).