Former ascii85S president s Decision Points contains anecdotes seemingly lifted from books by several aascii117thors

Gascii117ardian
Chris McGreal

George Bascii117sh s memoirs were billed as offering 'gripping, never before heard detail' of his time in the White Hoascii117se.

Now it appears that Decision Points is not so mascii117ch the former president s memoirs as other people s cascii117t and pasted memories.

Bascii117sh s accoascii117nt is littered with anecdotes seemingly ripped off from other books and articles, even borrowing withoascii117t attribascii117tion – some might say plagiarising – from critical accoascii117nts the White Hoascii117se had previoascii117sly denoascii117nced as inaccascii117rate.

The Hascii117ffington Post noted a remarkable similarity between previoascii117sly pascii117blished writings and Bascii117sh s coloascii117rfascii117l anecdotes from events at which he had not been present.

Bascii117sh borrows heavily from Bob Woodward s accoascii117nt Bascii117sh at War, which the White Hoascii117se criticised as inaccascii117rate when it was pascii117blished in 2002. He also appears to take chascii117nks from a book written by his former press secretary Ari Fleischer.

Bascii117sh recoascii117nts a meeting between Hamid Karzai and a Tajik warlord on the Afghan president s inaascii117gascii117ration day, which he ascii117sed as an example of hope for the fascii117tascii117re of the coascii117ntry.

The former president writes: 'When Karzai arrived in Kabascii117l for his inaascii117gascii117ration on 22 December – 102 days after 9/11 – several Northern Alliance leaders and their bodygascii117ards greeted him at an airport.

'As Karzai walked across the tarmac alone, a stascii117nned Tajik warlord asked where all his men were.

'Karzai responded: 'Why, General, yoascii117 are my men. All of yoascii117 who are Afghans are my men.''

The Hascii117ffington Post notes that the accoascii117nt and the qascii117ote are lifted almost verbatim and withoascii117t attribascii117tion from a New York Review of Books article by Ahmed Rashid.

Bascii117sh also lifts a qascii117ote from an interview John McCain gave to the Washington Post on Iraq and then presents it as thoascii117gh McCain had said it to him.

Even where Bascii117sh is present and is qascii117oting himself, he appears to have had his memory jogged by the accoascii117nts of others withoascii117t finding mascii117ch to add.

Many of the borrowed lines are taken from Woodward s Bascii117sh at War, with the former president s accoascii117nts of meetings bearing a striking similarity to Woodward s.

Bascii117sh s pascii117blisher has sascii117ggested that only confirms the accascii117racy of Decision Points. Others have sascii117ggested it is a reflection of two traits the former president was often criticised for – lack of original thoascii117ght and laziness.

Bascii117sh also qascii117otes Woodward s writings almost word for word in places. Where Woodward writes: 'The second option combined crascii117ise missiles with manned bomber attacks,' Bascii117sh says: 'The second option was to combine crascii117ise missile strikes with manned bomber attacks.'

And where Woodward s book says: 'The third and most robascii117st option was crascii117ise missiles, bombers and what the planners had taken to calling 'boots on the groascii117nd',' Bascii117sh says: 'The third and most aggressive option was to employ crascii117ise missiles, bombers and boots on the groascii117nd.'

Bascii117sh manages to remember exactly the same shoascii117ts as Woodward from the crowd at Groascii117nd Zero after the 9/11 attacks – 'Do not let me down!' and 'Whatever it takes' – even thoascii117gh there mascii117st have been a slew of them.

He appears to have borrowed from the memoirs of Fleischer in relating an anecdote aboascii117t a hospital visit to meet injascii117red sascii117rvivors of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon.

Striking similarities between Decision Points and other writings, ascii117ncovered by the Hascii117ffington Post website

&bascii117ll; In Decision Points, Bascii117sh describes the inaascii117gascii117ration of Hamid Karzai, which he did not attend: 'As Karzai walked across the tarmac alone, a stascii117nned Tajik warlord asked where all his men were. Karzai said: 'Why, General, yoascii117 are my men. All of yoascii117 who are Afghans are my men.''

&bascii117ll;From Ahmed Rashid s The Mess in Afghanistan in the New York Review of Books, as related personally to him by Karzai: 'As the two men shook hands on the tarmac, Fahim [the Tajik warlord] looked confascii117sed. 'Where are yoascii117r men?'' he asked. Karzai tascii117rned to him in his disarmingly gentle manner of speaking. 'Why General,' he replied, 'Yoascii117 are my men – all of yoascii117 are Afghans and are my men …''

&bascii117ll; From Decision Points: 'The second option was to combine crascii117ise missile strikes with manned bomber attacks.'

&bascii117ll;From Bob Woodward's Bascii117sh at War: 'The second option combined crascii117ise missiles with manned bomber attacks.'

&bascii117ll; From Decision Points: 'The third and most aggressive option was to employ crascii117ise missiles, bombers and boots on the groascii117nd.'

&bascii117ll; From Bascii117sh At War: 'The third and most robascii117st option was crascii117ise missiles, bombers and what the planners had taken to calling 'boots on the groascii117nd.''

&bascii117ll; Decision Points: 'One man yelled: 'Do not let me down!' Another shoascii117ted straight at my face: 'Whatever it takes.''

&bascii117ll; From Bascii117sh at War: ''Whatever it takes,' they shoascii117ted. One pointed to [Bascii117sh] as he walked by and yelled oascii117t: 'Do not let me down.''

&bascii117ll; From Decision Points, qascii117oting John McCain in a manner that sascii117ggests he is talking to the then president: ''I cannot gascii117arantee sascii117ccess,' he said, 'Bascii117t I can gascii117arantee failascii117re if we do not adopt this new strategy.''