Chapter 24 Summary and Analysis

After Christmas with her aunt, Rice joins the Bushes in Crawford, where after New Year's he says Saddam is outsmarting Blix and the international consensus is fraying. Media reporting no WMD are being found infuriate Bush, when intelligence reports show the Iraqis are moving and concealing things. Antiwar protests in Europe and the U.S. will convince Saddam he is safe. Blix has told Rice U.S. military pressure is positive, but Bush cannot keep it up forever. Rice advises Bush to follow through on his threat and, in her mind, this marks the moment Bush reaches his point of no return. Rove also flies to Crawford, to talk about the 2004 election, wanting to avoid the senior Bush's fatal late start in 1992. Rove presents a PowerPoint deck on strategy, themes, timetable, and overview, stress Bush's persona (strong, bold, caring), values, and...