On Thursday, the Senate began to re-evaluate one of the most
controversial episodes in American history: the Iraq war. 

After a generation of use and abuse, Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer is calling a vote to repeal the Iraq AUMF, or authorization for
the use of military force, which has been a key underpinning for
America’s so-called “forever wars” in the Middle East.

But Stephen Hadley, the man who was the architect of many of the
national security policies that the Iraq AUMF enabled, has something to
say before Congress votes. Hadley was President George W. Bush’s
national security advisor from 2005 to 2009 and was Dick Cheney’s guy at
the negotiating table with Russia during the George H.W. Bush
administration. Now, he has just published a book called Hand-Off: The
Foreign Policy George W. Bush Passed to Barack Obama that chronicles 20
years of war and politics in America. 

On this week’s episode of Playbook Deep Dive, Playbook co-author Ryan
Lizza speaks with the former Bush adviser about what we stand to lose if
Congress is sloppy about repealing the Iraq war AUMF, what Bush got
right and wrong on China, how Joe Biden’s foreign policy echoes Bush’s
Freedom Agenda, and how President Biden can learn from Bush’s successes
and failures dealing with Vladimir Putin.

Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Stephen Hadley is the former National Security Advisor for President
George W. Bush.
Afra Abdullah is an associate producer for POLITICO audio.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is the executive producer for POLITICO audio.