Timeline: Bush's decision to dispatch Powell

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush's decision to send Secretary of State Colin Powell to the Middle East was days in the making, part an effort to preserve the prospects for "long-term peace" in the region, senior administration officials said.

Bush made his decision Tuesday but waited until the "timing was right" to announce Powell's trip, an official said. On Thursday, the president declared that "enough is enough," and paved the way for the secretary's departure Sunday.

"We acknowledge that Israel had a right to respond" to last week's terrorist attacks, a senior administration official said. "But as we watched the situation ... we became very concerned ... and came to the conclusion that the president had to act to try to stop what we saw as a spiraling level of violence that might expand beyond the current area."

A senior White House official gave a detailed account of what led to Bush's decision:

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Wednesday, March 27: On a southern fundraising swing, Bush begins his day by getting an "optimistic" report that U.S. Middle East envoy Anthony Zinni had made progress in cease-fire negotiations. Later, the president learns about the suicide bombing at a Netanya hotel that killed 26 people.

Back in Washington, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice conducts a phone meeting with Powell, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, CIA Director George Tenet and others about the situation in the Middle East.

Friday, March 29: As Israel continues retaliation for the Netanya attack, senior officials hold another meeting focusing on "how to move beyond the violence to a broader initiative," according to an official. Powell addresses the situation but does not call on Israel to withdraw from Palestinian areas.

Saturday, March 30: Speaking publicly for the first time since Israeli raids began, Bush says Israel has a right to defend itself and does not mention a U.S.-backed U.N. resolution passed earlier in the day calling on Israel to pull back.

Meanwhile, an inter-agency working group develops a plan to put a "more comprehensive focus, a way to put greater impetus" on Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia's peace proposal, unanimously approved by the Arab League earlier in the week.

Monday, April 1: Bush leads a meeting that examines "how we can continue to fight against terrorism, recognize Israel's right to self-defense" while improving the current situation. He urges his staff to "seize the moment," leaving the room to allow the principles to put "more meat on the bones" of Thursday's announcement.

Later, Powell meets with Bush in the Oval Office and the possibility of the secretary's trip to the Middle East is discussed.

Tuesday, April 2: Bush decides to send Powell to the region, but holds off on making a formal announcement.

"[The president] was measuring how much more time was left before the long-term peace would be jeopardized," the senior official said.

Rice, Powell, Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, presidential adviser Karen Hughes and chief speechwriter Mike Gerson work on the president's speech over lunch.

Wednesday, April 3: Bush and his advisers go over the speech "line by line" at a morning meeting, and White House officials work on the speech again in an afternoon meeting. Rice begins a draft of the speech around 7 p.m., talking with Bush four times in the ensuing two hours.

Thursday, April 4: At 6:45 a.m., the president contacts Rice about the latest draft of the speech. Bush talks to British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar, current head of the European Union, before making the Powell announcement in the Rose Garden at 11 a.m.