The Ignored Legacy of George H. W. Bush

[Ray1936]

Hey, war is a bitch, ain't it?

[Canadian Visitor]

Hey, war is a bitch, ain't it?

Yes.

I'd be the first to say, however unfortunate, that in the event of necessary war, awful and ugly things will happen and will be or seem justified in the circumstance.

However, if the administration in which Bush Sr was VP sold Iraq [[Saddam) the very weapons he used to invade Kuwait; knowing full well the kind of guy he was then too.

Was the war necessary? Or perhaps those weapons sales need not have been made?

Moreover, Saddam was many bad things, but so far I can discern, suicidal was not one of them.

He went into Kuwait in the belief the United States, his ally and patron was ok with it.

Why he believed that is an interesting question.......

Perhaps answered in this Wikipedia article.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Glaspie

Just sayin

[oladub]

Canadian Visitor, Going back a step further, United States oil policy played a huge role in U.S. middle east affairs. Had the U.S., for instance, paid for its middle east intrigues with fuel taxes, Americans would have been buying smaller cars and perhaps not fighting this resource war.

Given, however, that the war happened, Hubert Walker Bush did 3.5 things right. The Constitution only allows Congress to declare wars.

-Although Congress did not 'declare' war, H.W. Bush went to Congress and received its 'authorization' to use military force against Iraq. [[1/2)

-The U.S. received more financial and military cooperation from allies than normal - a triumph of H.W. Bush's diplomacy.

-H.W. Bush removed troops resisting the unauthorized temptation to roll into Baghdad. He got in. He got out.

-The Gulf War was an unusually successful U.S. ground war.

"The Allied coalition was made up of 39 countries: Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Kuwait, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The US Department of Defense has estimated the incremental costs of the Gulf War at $61 billion, with US allies providing about $54 billion of that -- Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states covered $36 billion. Germany and Japan covered $16 billion.
Estimates of Iraqi soldier deaths range from 1,500 to 100,000. The United States had 382 military casualties." -CNN

[Canadian Visitor]

Canadian Visitor, Going back a step further, United States oil policy played a huge role in U.S. middle east affairs. Had the U.S., for instance, paid for its middle east intrigues with fuel taxes, Americans would have been buying smaller cars and perhaps not fighting this resource war.

Given, however, that the war happened, Hubert Walker Bush did 3.5 things right. The Constitution only allows Congress to declare wars.

-Although Congress did not 'declare' war, H.W. Bush went to Congress and received its 'authorization' to use military force against Iraq. [[1/2)

-The U.S. received more financial and military cooperation from allies than normal - a triumph of H.W. Bush's diplomacy.

-H.W. Bush removed troops resisting the unauthorized temptation to roll into Baghdad. He got in. He got out.

-The Gulf War was an unusually successful U.S. ground war.

"The Allied coalition was made up of 39 countries: Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Kuwait, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The US Department of Defense has estimated the incremental costs of the Gulf War at $61 billion, with US allies providing about $54 billion of that -- Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states covered $36 billion. Germany and Japan covered $16 billion.
Estimates of Iraqi soldier deaths range from 1,500 to 100,000. The United States had 382 military casualties." -CNN

All fair points.

In that vein........

Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was among those giving eulogies today at the funeral.

Here's a link to the text of his speech, which I gather was well received. Video is also available at the link.

https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/...ll-transcript/

[oladub]

All fair points.

In that vein........

Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was among those giving eulogies today at the funeral.

Here's a link to the text of his speech, which I gather was well received. Video is also available at the link.

https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/...ll-transcript/

Lovely speech with a good offhand Bush joke and anecdotes included.

[Bong-Man]

One thing I'll always appreciate about him was his total understanding that in the 1992 election he was facing not only a political change, but the headwinds of a generational change. He was the last of the WW2 Presidents, and he lost to the first baby boomer to hold the office. Regardless of any opinions regarding President Trump and his policies, he's going to face the same generational headwinds in the 2020 election.