Leaders in conflict : Bush and Rumsfeld in Iraq / Stephen Benedict Dyson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dyson, Stephen Benedict, author.

Series:

Manchester Security, Conflict & Peace

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946-.

Bush, George W.

Rumsfeld, Donald, 1932-2021.

Rumsfeld, Donald.

Iraq War, 2003-2011--Political aspects--United States.

Iraq War, 2003-2011.

United States--Politics and government--2001-2009.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (140 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Beneath the violence of the U.S. war in Iraq was a subterranean conflict between President Bush and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, rooted in their different beliefs and leadership styles. Bush was prepared to pay a high cost in American lives, treasure, and prestige to win. Rumsfeld favored turning the war over to the Iraqis, and was comfortable with the risk that Iraq would disintegrate into chaos. Only after Bush removed Rumsfeld in late 2006 did he bring U.S. strategy into line with his goals, sending additional troops to Iraq and committing to continued U.S. involvement. Bush abandoned Rumsfeld's withdrawal approach, predicated upon the beliefs that "it's the Iraqis' country," and "we have to take our hand off the bicycle seat."In Leaders in Conflict, Stephen Benedict Dyson shows that Bush and Rumsfeld thought about international politics, and about leadership, in divergent ways. The president embraced binary thinking, was visceral in his commitment to the war, and had a strong belief that the U.S. both could and should shape events in Iraq. The secretary saw the world as complex, and was skeptical of the extent of U.S. influence over events and of the moral imperative to stay involved.The book is based upon more than two dozen interviews with administration insiders, and appeals to those interested in the U.S. foreign policy, the U.S. presidency, leadership and wartime decision making.

Contents:

Leaders in conflict

Leaders and international politics

The emergence of the Bush doctrine

Rumsfeld and the invasion plan

The governance plan

Coalition Provisional Authority

Rumsfeld's exit strategy

Bush takes charge

Leadership and the Iraq war: lessons learned

Appendix: measuring the Bush and Rumsfeld worldviews using quantitative content analysis.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 10 Jul 2026).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781526102508

1526102501

9781526102492

1526102498

9781781706978

1781706972

OCLC:

980836460