Presidents in Crisis Quotes

“referring to his August 2012 red-line statement, “this is what I was talking about.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“On August 21, Syrian forces launched rockets carrying chemical weapons at the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, killing over 1,400 people, including hundreds of children.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“the Syrian government had “used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale against the opposition multiple times in the last year.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“The administration acknowledged that red line crossing on June 13.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“Better yet, he should give up red lines altogether; it’s one presidential tool that should be tossed out with the trash.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“President Obama evaded, ducked and erased whatever line he had drawn. He has said that he ‘doesn’t bluff.’ But that is precisely what he has done in Syria, and now with his bluff called, he has only double talk left.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“Syrian forces allegedly used chemical weapons on March 19, 2013, against rebels in the city of Aleppo.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“Clinton wanted multiple advisers swirling around him constantly, a decision-making process that fed his indecisiveness.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“August 2, 1990, invasion of Kuwait by neighboring Iraq.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“Rostow told me in 2001 that he was pleased the Hot Line only had a teletype connection. “I’m glad the circuit had not been a telephone line or we might have inadvertently said the wrong thing.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“president welcomed Eban in the Yellow Oval Room in the living quarters of the White House at 7:15 p.m. on May 26. Also present were Rusk, McNamara, Joint Chiefs chairman General Earle Wheeler, Rostow, and several others. The guest sat on a plush yellow sofa, with Johnson in an armchair under an ornate chandelier.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“The accompanying air strikes by painted-over US aircraft failed badly, and the Cuban counterattack killed one hundred of the 1,400-man landing team and captured 1,200.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“The CIA-backed invasion of Cuba in April 1961—the Bay of Pigs operation that failed badly—also warmed the Cold War.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“With that big stick at the ready, Kennedy successfully muddled through the crisis, or in other words, acted with incremental steps, with the naval quarantine being the most important.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“Chief White House butler Alonzo Fields and his tuxedo-clad assistants served the fourteen men a dinner of fried chicken, shoestring potatoes, asparagus, tomatoes, hearts of lettuce, dessert, and coffee. Once the butlers had cleared the table and retreated, Truman stated that he wanted to focus that evening on immediately needed decisions.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“The final agreement took shape during the final two days of Carter’s presidency. The president slept on the Oval Office couch as he desperately hoped for the hostages’ release on his watch. While the hostages had boarded an Algerian aircraft on Reagan’s inauguration day, January 20, 1981, communications between the plane’s cockpit and the tower indicated nothing would happen until Reagan finished his oath. Aides told Carter of the hostages’ departure from Tehran when he arrived at Andrews Air Force Base to board a flight home to Georgia. During a post-inauguration luncheon in the Capitol, Reagan hoisted a champagne toast and announced to the world that the hostages had left Iranian airspace. Sadly, Carter made the same statement in front of a few folks in Plains, Georgia.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“In the years since, rule number one in crisis management, whether in the White House or during run-of-the-mill Washington scandals, has been “Tell the truth and tell it early.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“History has proven that Truman deserves credit for containing Soviet expansion on several fronts, including Korea, despite his missteps during the crisis.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“President Truman’s crisis management errors have become textbook examples of “groupthink,” a term coined by Yale research psychologist Irving Janis. The expression has worked its way into the lexicon of crisis analysis because the dynamic has also challenged presidents who followed Truman. Janis defined the malady as “the psychological drive for consensus at any cost that suppresses disagreement and prevents the appraisal of alternatives in cohesive decision-making groups.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“through phase draws accusations of wavering and weakness. Critics who shout, “Do something!” usually haven’t a clue that every forceful action in the crisis du jour can have untoward consequences. Muddling reflects the reality of crisis decision making, but it doesn’t readily fit popular perceptions of leadership, especially when magnified”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“Today, it is better to characterize not-so-bold crisis reactions by the White House as “cautious,” “incremental,” “selectively engaged,” “pragmatically realistic,” or “interest-based.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“Muddling through in this context is not by any means confused decision making or foolish dithering. Charles Lindblom established the “Science of Muddling Through” in 1959. In layman’s terms, it is an incremental crisis management process, one in which decision makers take a small step, judge its efficacy, and then act again. Setbacks will occur, but the process helps to avoid the “Big Error,” or an avoidable escalation of the situation to a catastrophe.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“In real crises, the successful leaders are usually the ones who cope best with ignorance and error.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama

“The White House Situation Room is not just a room. It is a complex of multiple spaces manned 24/7 by rotating teams of duty officers and communications specialists. Team members are on loan from intelligence agencies, the State Department, and the military services.”
― Michael K. Bohn, Presidents in Crisis: Tough Decisions inside the White House from Truman to Obama