Plan of Attack

President George W. Bush and his allies launched a preemptive attack to topple Saddam Hussein and occupy Iraq in a move that would prove highly controversial. Bob Woodward's latest account of Washington decision making provides an original, authoritative narrative of behind-the-scenes maneuvering over two years.

Based on interviews with 75 key participants and more than three and a half hours of exclusive interviews with President Bush, Plan of Attack reveals the precise details and evolution of the Top Secret war planning codeword Polo Step. The book also explores a harrowing spy story as the CIA dispatched a covert paramilitary team into northern Iraq six months before the start of the war.

This team recruited 87 Iraqi spies designated with the cryptonym DB/ROCKSTARS, one of whom turned over the personnel files of all 6,000 men in Saddam Hussein's personal security organization. A detailed and insightful look at a pivotal moment in modern history, Plan of Attack is part presidential history, military history, and spy story.