Bob Woodward’s War: Eavesdropping on History

Bob Woodward has reported on American presidents from Richard Nixon to Joe Biden, always giving readers a view beyond the headlines. In War, his latest presidential book, Woodward exhibits higher regard for Biden than for most of his predecessors, believing Biden’s presidency will be remembered for steady leadership and for keeping U.S. ground troops out of war.

The American presidency is a lonesome office, but in Woodward’s account Biden’s presidency is anything but solitary. Surrounding him are a team of cabinet officers, aides, and advisers. War spends a fair amount of time covering members of Biden’s national security team, including Secretary of State Tony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, CIA Director Bill Burns, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley.

Woodward argues that “at the center of good governance is teamwork.” Some members of that team must be Woodward’s sources but (as usual) he never reveals which ones. He recounts conversations verbatim, and it’s as if the reader is present in the room. At the end of the book, a note explains the journalistic rule Woodward observes — “deep background” means that information from the hundreds of interviews he conducted could be used but not attributed.

Neither Biden nor Trump, agreed to be interviewed for War, but we read their words spoken to others to Zelensky, to Netanyahu, to Putin. However, many of the headlines that War generated have focused on claims that Trump, when president, had supplied scarce Covid tests to Putin and has since had phone conversations — maybe seven — with his Russian buddy.

Trump’s close relationship with Putin is an area that has even stumped Dan Coats, Trump’s director of national intelligence.  Woodward quotes Coats as saying, “Trump’s never saying anything bad about Putin and saying positive things; for me, it’s scary.” Coats wondered if it could be blackmail. Although the intelligence chief was never able to figure it out, he was convinced “there was something there.”

Conversely, the real story Woodward wanted to tell in War is how Biden dealt with Putin before and after the Ukraine invasion, and with Netanyahu following the Oct.7 Hamas attacks. The author focused on how Biden “has kept the homeland safe” through a chaotic three and a half years.

For many, this book will be best remembered by anecdotes like the one when Secretary Austin finally reached Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Oct. 21, 2022, to inform the close ally of Putin, what the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine would mean. At the time, U.S. intelligence sources rated Russia’s probable use of nukes at 50 percent.

In the book, Austin told Shoigu, “We know you are contemplating the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. It would be the first use of nuclear weapons anywhere in the world in three-quarters of a century and could set in motion events you cannot control and we cannot control. If you did this, all restraints would be reconsidered. This would isolate Russia on the world stage to a degree you Russians do not fully appreciate.”

 Shoigu finally responded saying, “I don’t take kindly to being threatened.”  “Mr. Minister,” Austin said bluntly, “I am the leader of the most powerful military in the history of the world and I don’t make threats.”

In War, Woodward doesn’t devote much space to partisan politics. His primary subject is high statecraft, mostly involving heads of government and their aides talking — frequently swearing – over the phone.

Woodward reports on Biden’s frustration and distrust of Israeli prime minister Netanyahu and how it had been building for years, finally erupting in the spring of 2024. Woodward quotes the president speaking frankly to an associate, “That son of a bitch, Bibi Netanyahu, he’s a bad guy. He’s a bad f–king guy! He doesn’t give a shit about Hamas. He gives a shit only about himself.” He told the friend that Netanyahu was working hard to save himself politically and stay out of jail. Biden asked, “Why hasn’t there been an internal revolt?”

Meanwhile, Woodward digresses to take an unvarnished look at Biden’s aging problem, tracing early signs of decline to Silicon Valley fundraisers in 2023 and extending into the president’s addled debate with Trump on June 28. War examines the runup to Biden’s decision to step aside, reporting on one discussion with Tony Blinken.

Woodward writes, “There was a Shakespearian quality to Biden’s wanting to stay,” although he seemed ready to listen to his team’s views. After Biden dropped out, Blinken told a friend he believed the president’s most significant move was to give his immediate endorsement to Harris, avoiding crazy infighting in the party.

If Biden won Woodward’s admiration, Trump did quite the opposite. The author says he once asked Trump, “What’s the job of the president?” Trump said, “To protect the people.” Woodward writes, “A good answer. But Trump failed to do it.” Woodward abandons his journalist’s neutrality to reach a verdict: “Donald Trump is not only the wrong man for the presidency, he is unfit to lead the country. Trump was far worse than Richard Nixon. Trump was the most reckless and impulsive president in American history.”