The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis

The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis (2024) is a work of historical nonfiction by author George Stephanopoulos. The book provides an in-depth look at some of the most historically important crises managed in the White House’s Situation Room, which came into existence in 1961 during the presidency of John F. Kennedy. The Situation Room is structured with a chapter dedicated to each of the 12 most recent US presidents and the respective crises that they faced in office. Throughout the book, three primary themes emerge: The Nature of Presidential Decision-Making, The Role of Technology in Governance, and The Evolution of National Security Practices. Stephanopoulos is currently the host of ABC’s This Week and a co-host of Good Morning America. He was also the White House communications director and a senior advisor to President Bill Clinton.

This study guide uses the 2024 first edition of the book, published by Grand Central Publishing.

Summary

Located in the basement of the White House and consisting of four separate conference rooms, the Situation Room was constructed in 1961 after President John F. Kennedy received a study from military researchers recommending it. The recommendation came only days before the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba. The CIA-backed invasion turned into a debacle, largely because Kennedy did not have the information he needed to make better decisions. The Situation Room was constructed two weeks after the invasion’s failure. Just over a year later, the Situation Room played a major role in averting a nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. During the Vietnam War, President Lyndon B. Johnson used the Situation Room more than any president ever would. Desperate for any piece of information from Vietnam that might help save American lives, Johnson used the Situation Room to immerse himself in every aspect of the war.

President Richard Nixon, on the other hand, hated the Situation Room and rarely ever set foot in it. Dealing with multiple domestic scandals, including Watergate, Nixon spent the bulk of his days alone. By 1973, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was the central figure in the Nixon White House. It was Kissinger who raised the Defense Readiness Condition to DEFCON 3 during the Yom Kippur War. President Gerald Ford faced a major Situation Room crisis in 1975, when a US-flagged cargo ship, the S.S. Mayaguez, was captured by the Khmer Rouge regime of Cambodia. Ford responded by sending a marine detachment to attack an island where the ship and crew were being held. Ultimately, the Khmer Rouge released the ship and its crew, but 38 marines were killed in the fighting. They are considered the final casualties of the Vietnam War.

Stephanopoulos examines the tumultuous presidency of Jimmy Carter and the Iran Hostage Crisis. Just over five months after 53 Americans were taken from the US embassy in Tehran and held captive by radical supporters of the Ayatollah Khomeini, Carter decided on a risky rescue mission known as Desert One. The mission failed and eight servicemen were killed when their helicopter went down, effectively ending Carter’s presidency. In 1981, the Situation Room experienced one of its most confusing moments when President Ronald Reagan was shot in an assassination attempt. Reagan survived his wound, but confusion broke out in the White House when he was in surgery. Since Vice President Bush was in flight back to Washington, questions arose about who was actively heading the executive branch. Although the US Constitution clearly lays out the presidential order of succession as the Speaker of the House, Secretary of State Alexander Haig stated both privately and publicly that he was in charge until Bush arrived.

The presidency of George H.W. Bush was unique not only because of the technological advances but also because of the numerous democratic revolutions taking place across the communist bloc. Not long after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Bush administration faced its first real crisis when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. President Bush responded strongly by mobilizing half a million troops to the region and, in just over a month, the US-led coalition had liberated Kuwait. Despite the decisive victory, Bush was not rewarded politically, as he lost the 1992 Presidential Election to Bill Clinton. The Clinton administration’s primary Situation Room crisis involved the war in Bosnia and answering the question of how involved the US should be in a civil war in the Balkans. After two years of war, Clinton decided to take part in a fierce NATO bombing campaign that almost immediately brought the war to an end.

Stephanopoulos examines the limitations of the Situation Room and the dedication of those who staffed it during the presidency of George W. Bush. On the morning of September 11th, 2001, the United States suffered the deadliest terror attack in its history. As the White House itself was a target, it was evacuated. However, Situation Room officers refused to leave because, without them, there would be no lines of communication for the president, who was purposely kept in flight aboard Air Force One for hours.

The most famous use of the Situation Room came during the presidency of Barack Obama. When Obama took office, one of his top priorities was the search for Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader behind the 9/11 attacks. Intelligence tracked him to where they thought he was in Pakistan, but it was not a certainty, so Obama was faced with the decision of what action to take. Obama chose to send in a specially-trained team of Navy SEALs to capture or kill bin Laden. This led to one of the most famous photographs in the history of the White House, of Obama and his team gathered in the Situation Room intently watching a live feed of the raid.

The Situation Room experienced four chaotic years during the presidency of Donald Trump. Much of that chaos stemmed from the fact that Trump refused to follow long-held norms, but it was also his impulsiveness and blatant disregard for security procedures. The primary Situation Room crisis during the Trump administration was Trump himself, while the COVID-19 pandemic presented a different set of challenges. The Situation Room dealt with more traditional crises during the presidency of Joe Biden. Faced with an agreement made by the previous administration to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan, Biden sought to follow through, but it turned disastrous when a suicide bomber killed 200 people, including 13 American servicemembers. The Biden administration faced another crisis only a few months later when it became clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin planned to invade Ukraine.