The Commanders is based on two years of reporting and intensive interviewing within the Bush administration and the Pentagon and provides a behind-the-scenes account of the administration's war and peace policies. Bob Woodward shows how the United States' most crucial decisions are debated, fought over and finally put into action by a handful of strong, ambitious and politically sophisticated men. These commanders include the Commander-in-Chief himself, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Colin Powell as well as National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, Secretary of State James Baker and Generals Maxwell Thurman, commander in Panama and H. Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of Desert Storm. The Commanders provides details of what happens when these men sit down to determine defense policy. It follows the inner-council debates and National Security Council meetings as the action moves from the Pentagon to the White House, to the fields of Panama and the Gulf. As Bob Woodward unveils the struggle for power and influence among these men, he shows Bush at the helm, fully - even emotionally - involved in every judgement and every detail. The Commanders shows who America's leaders really are.