Inside The War Room

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And Afghanistan was only the beginning. "We have a 60-country problem," the CIA's Tenet reminded Bush. Secretary of State Colin Powell argued that support from the Egyptians and the Saudis would crumble if this war were expanded beyond Afghanistan. Pakistan, the key ally in the region, was already wobbly and might fall to agitated Islamic militants. "Focus on the provocation," said Powell, "and the provocation is what the hell these guys did to us. And the provocateurs are in Afghanistan." But others said that the U.S. would never again be in such a strong position to act elsewhere in the world. As for Bush, aides said he just listened.

The talk ended inconclusively as Navy stewards, twice shooed away by the President, timidly delivered lunch. "Get some rest and exercise," Bush told his team. "Come back at 4." When everyone returned, Bush went around the table taking each person's vote. All were for taking military action, but there were differences over when, with what blend of forces and against what targets. The President showed no sign of preference. "Thank you, everybody," he said when it was over. "I want some time to think about this. I'll let you know what I decide."

When Bush decided is a mystery even to his top aides. But the next afternoon, in his private study upstairs at the White House, Bush dictated a string of decisions to Rice. First, sell the mission as a campaign against terrorism that threatens every nation, lest it seem a purely American reprisal, but limit it in scope so that the U.S. isn't committed to defeating every terrorist on the planet. There would be no public offering of any "proof" against bin Laden that might undermine the military mission or compromise intelligence.

The military war would be limited in its first phase to Afghanistan, as Powell had argued. There would be a massive aerial campaign, starting as soon as ships and planes could be put into place. As Tenet had proposed, CIA operatives and a handful of military commandos would go into Afghanistan first, followed closely by the military's special forces. The two armies, one covert and one overt, would work together. White House officials cast the Camp David decision as the most important of the war. "For the first time," said Stephen Hadley, Rice's deputy at the NSC, "America is getting serious [about terrorism], because it is going to put its people at risk."

GENERAL SOMEBODY

Nothing seemed to cement Bush's reputation as a foreign policy novice more than the quick interview he did with a Boston TV station in 1999. Betting he could catch the presidential hopeful off guard, a local reporter asked Bush to name the Pakistani leader who had just come to power by military coup. "General," Bush replied. "I can't name the general. General."