In August 2002, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice “created an inter-agency group of people from State, the CIA, the Joint Chiefs, and the White House who were charged with coordinating the government’s preparations leading up to the invasion [of Iraq], including securing bases in the region and getting overflight permission from other countries. The body was called the Executive Steering Group and to run it Rice chose Franklin Miller, the NSC’s [National Security Council’s] senior director of defense…” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Elisabeth Bumiller, Condoleezza Rice: An American Life, Page 187