Chapter 17 Summary and Analysis

Bush shares neither Cheney's cynicism nor Powell's comfort with the U.N. He just wants an outcome, the end of Saddam and WMD, which he impresses on Gerson for his speech. Rice explains how South Africa can serve as a model for nuclear disarmament, and Cheney and Rumsfeld both play on Bush's abhorrence of process solutions by showing how Saddam can use the U.N. Rice favors giving Saddam 30 days to disarm or face attack, but Bush leans away from a virtual declaration of war. Powell says they must ask the U.N. to do something, knowing an appeal to action will resonate with Bush. The principals debate what to ask for and settle for a request the Security Council "act." When Draft 21 reaches Powell's desk on September 10, the call for action is gone and the principals resume the debate. What...