Confront and Conceal: Obama's Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power

Just as The Inheritance took readers into the Situation Room during the Bush years, Confront and Conceal will examine the decision making and key challenges in Obama's first three and a half years in office, from our role in Afghanistan to the nuclear threats in Iran and North Korea, to the sweeping change resulting from the "Arab Spring," to the deteriorating role in our relationship with Pakistan following the death of Osama bin Laden, to the ever-present danger posed by a rising China, and the seemingly never-ending conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
But Confront and Conceal does more than simply describe the short-term crises and long-term challenges facing a young president. While it is far too early to render lasting judgments, Confront and Conceal attempts to answer the big questions of Obama's first term: Did a radically transformed approach to dealing with American national security and foreign policy result in radically different outcomes? Has he enhanced American power, or did the combination of extraordinary fiscal constraints and the president's natural caution squander it? This is a fascinating, unflinching account of these complex early years, in which the president and his administration have found themselves struggling to catch up to a world where power is diffuse and America's ability to control grows ever more elusive.