In the continued aftermath of 9/11, we get farther and farther from the presidency–and context–of President George H.W. Bush. He deserves closer scrutiny and respect.
Under his watch the Persian Gulf war, which is increasingly seen as a model, was fought. He built an alliance; he went to Congress; and he stopped short of Baghdad, for which he was criticized. But he–and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Colin Powell–knew that taking Baghdad and taking out Saddam Hussein would inevitably lead to a period of occupation. And if there is anything you don’t want to do in the Middle East, it is to occupy a Muslim country and risk being perceived as contemporary Crusaders.
Bush was also a key player in ending the Cold War on America’s terms, helping to unify Germany and starting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Madrid. And maybe it’s no coincidence that he was the last American president to serve his country in combat. Heroically at that. He knew when and how to go to war. And he knew better than most what the alternative to diplomacy always is.
Yet he’s remembered more for “Read my lips,” Dana Carvey impersonations and George W.