George HW Bush

Like Martin Van Buren, George HW Bush's pre-presidential career, especially in the years immediately leading up to his entry into the White House, was marked by repeated support for his predecessor, Ronald Reagan. Both Reagan and Bush were conservative Republicans and Bush was actually vice president for the entirety of the Reagan Administration. But also like Van Buren, when Bush finally did become president, he proved to be a far more capable leader than his predecessor. More impressively, though, while Van Buren only outshined Jackson in regards to the fact that he was average and Jackson was one of the US' worst leaders, Bush was legitimately just a great president.

Bush had an extremely successful foreign policy. Although I disagree with his 1989 invasion of Panama, the remainder of his diplomatic and geopolitical decisions were wonderful. For example, during the period between his loss to Bill Clinton in the 1992 election and the actual expiration of his presidency, Bush launched a project to send food to people suffering in war-torn Somalia. However, his greatest achievement, even when considering both his foreign and domestic policies, was his amazing response to the Gulf War.

On September 22, 1980, back when Jimmy Carter was still president, the dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, invaded Iran. The reasons behind this move are numerous: The Iranian government had been controlled by Shia Muslims ever since the conclusion of the Iranian Revolution in 1979; as a result, Saddam thought that attacking the country would boost his popularity amongst the significant number of Sunni Muslims in Iraq. Ironically, Saddam had also secularized the Iraqi government because of how many criticisms of his regime were rooted in Islamic thought; because of his decision to abandon theocratic rule, Saddam feared an incoming Iranian attack. Lastly, back in 1975, the governments of Iran and Iraq signed the Algiers Agreement, in which Tehran ended its support of a Kurdish rebellion in Iraq in exchange for Baghdad giving in it control over the Shatt al-Arab Waterway; Saddam wanted to use the inevitable postwar negotiations to repeal this policy.

Whatever his reasons, the invasion took place and the Iran-Iraq War commenced as a consequence. To fund this war, Saddam borrowed large sums of money from the governments of France, the United States, the Soviet Union, and most importantly, Kuwait. On August 20, 1988, following the certification of a UN-brokered ceasefire, the Iran-Iraq War ended. But Saddam's debts remained. Over the next few years, he begged the Kuwaiti government to forgive said debt. When they refused, he invaded the country on August 2, 1990.

Infuriated by the attack, the United Nations issued an ultimatum to the Iraqi government and military: Withdraw all forces from Kuwait by January 15, 1991, or face war with a military coalition the organization had established. Saddam refused to heed these warnings, and on January 17, 1991, the UN attacked the first Iraqi troops. The Gulf War had begun.

Bush then had Washington DC assume control of this coalition. Because of this decision, Iraq almost instantly lost the war. American troops conducted a series of attacks against the Iraqi airforce, crippling it by mid-February 1991. Then, on February 24, 1991, the American military initiated Operation Desert Sabre, a campaign to encircle all divisions of the Iraqi military present in Kuwait. Like the assault on the Iraqi airforce, this effort was extremely successful. Having been cornered, the Iraqi military surrendered on February 28, 1991. The Gulf War had ended almost as soon as it started and Kuwait had been saved.

During the Gulf War, Bush saved a country from the chains of an imperialist tyrant who butchered his people and sponged off his neighbors, neighbors who, the moment they showed even the slightest hesitancy, would be mercilessly attacked. He also wasn't excessive, and never tried to attack Iraq itself. The war was solely a defensive project aimed at protecting a smaller country from the fangs of an unforgiving beast.

Returning to domestic policy, Bush also had a number of great accomplishments. For starters, he initiated a campaign to reduce acid rain. The project has proven to be a major success, with acid rain no longer being much of an issue in modern America. Additionally, on July 26, 1990, Bush signed the crown jewel of his domestic efforts: The Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibited institutions from discriminating against people on the basis of a disability. This major step in civil rights and equality has been described as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for disabled Americans.

Aside from his invasion of Panama, my other criticism of Bush is that he didn't manage the economy very well. However, the economic issues faced during his tenure were pretty minor and not really Bush's fault. He still deserves criticism for not handling it well, but this nuance is important to point out. This actually leads into my final argument in favor of Bush: He was willing to make unpopular choices when necessary.

In the 1988 election - in which Bush secured the presidency - he famously stated, "Read my lips: No new taxes". However, in response to the economic issues present during his administration, he instituted a higher taxation rate. Ever since he has been sharply criticized for this action. However, these criticism seem about as silly as the criticisms that lambaste Woodrow Wilson for making "He kept us out of war!" the slogan of his 1916 reelection campaign and then asking Congress to enter WW1 soon into his second term.

On January 12, 1917, Arthur Zimmerman, the German minister of foreign affairs, sent a telegram to the German ambassador to Mexico. In the telegram, he asked the ambassador to propose a deal to the Mexican government regarding the ongoing First World War: Pledge that if the US entered the war on the side of the Entente (the enemies of Germany), Mexico will join the war on the side of the Central Powers. Additionally, spend the remainder of the war trying to get the Japanese government to leave the Entente. In exchange, when the war ends, the German military will help Mexican forces invade the US and recapture land it had lost to America in James K. Polk's Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Four days later, on January 16, 1917, spies affiliated with Britain, a member of the Entente, discovered the telegram and sent it to Wilson, who had just been reelected. Then, on March 1, 1917, Wilson leaked the text to the press. Responding to the ensuing outrage, Wilson asked Congress to draft a declaration of war against the Central Powers on April 2, 1917. Congress obliged, and Wilson signed the resulting declaration on April 6, 1917.

So, how does this relate to Bush? Wilson had promised to keep America out of WW1 in a geopolitical context that existed before the Zimmerman Telegram. Ergo, when Wilson triumphantly proclaimed "He kept us out of war!", continuing that neutrality seemed sustainable. The Zimmerman Telegram, however, smashed that sustainability into a thousand pieces. Neutrality became a death knell. While nowhere near as dramatic, Bush was in a similar situation. The economic situation of 1988 made it seem like Bush could sustainably avoid implementing any new taxes. Yet, as time went on, that became less sustainable.

George HW Bush was a great president. He reduced acid rain, took important steps to assist the economy even when said steps were unpopular, helped feed the Somalian people during a time of national crisis, and protected Kuwait from Iraqi imperialism.