Guest Book

Having given the order, the president walked alone around the circle behind the White House. Months later, he told Woodward: “As I walked around the circle, I prayed that our troops be safe, be protected by the Almighty. Going into this period, I was praying for strength to do the Lord's will.<<<<<<>>"I pray that I be as good a ""messenger of his will"" as possible. And then, of course, I pray for forgiveness." Did Mr. Bush ask his father for any advice? “I asked the president about this. And President Bush said, ‘Well, no,’ and then he got defensive about it,” says Woodward. “Then he said something that really struck me. He said of his father, ‘He is the wrong father to appeal to for advice. The wrong father to go to, to appeal to in terms of strength.’ And then he said, ‘There's a higher Father that I appeal to.’" Beyond not asking his father about going to war, Woodward was startled to learn that the president did not ask key cabinet members either. ”The president, in making the decision to go to war, did not ask his secretary of defense for an overall recommendation, did not ask his secretary of state, Colin Powell, for his recommendation,” says Woodward. But the president did ask Rice, his national security adviser, and Karen Hughes, his political communications adviser.