Washington, Jan.11 (ANI): A new book on President Barack Obama and U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama reveals that his advisers clashed over the war in Afghanistan.
According to the book titled "The Obamas," by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor, Obama, in his first year as commander in chief, was troubled by the options he had and was pulled in multiple directions by his top advisers.
According to The Politico, Obama wanted a plan to end the war, but his advisers never gave him one, ultimately spurring him to assemble his own strategy that began with a 30,000-troop surge.
During one particular episode after a series of leaks emerged from the Pentagon in the fall of 2009, Obama told Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen that he was "exceedingly unhappy" with their actions.
The president saw the leaks as "disrespectful of the process" and demanded that the two military leaders tell him "here and now" whether the Pentagon would stand by his eventual decision on how to proceed in the Afghan war.
It was also revealed that Obama's economic team was also at odds over many decisions.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, National Economic Council Chairman Larry Summers, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and then-budget director Peter Orszag all jockeyed to influence the president.
Summers, in particular, generated what senior aide Pete Rouse described as "deep dissatisfaction" within the economic team as he "relitigated" Obama's decisions.
Summers also told Orszag that as far as economic policy, "there's no adult in charge. [Bill] Clinton would never have made these mistakes."
By late 2010, all but Geithner had left the administration. (ANI)
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