December 06, 2018

George H. W. Bush: an American saint or a flawed leader?

located:	USA
editor:	Yair Oded

A national day of mourning was declared today in honor of President George H. W. Bush, who had passed away last Friday at 94. Since his passing, citizens and politicians from across the isle have been pouring their praise over the late president, describing him as the last of the ‘decent’ and ‘civil’ conservatives; as a flawless, courageous patriot who should set an example to all future leaders. But while the World War II veteran does deserve his due respect, it is crucial to engage in a balanced and frank review of his legacy.

Upon closer inspection, one would notice that Bush’s impressive record (as a military man, congress member, and president) is tainted with racism, homophobia, obstruction of justice, and war crimes. As the nation mourns and honors its late leader, it is imperative to recognize his role in exacerbating the systemic and social ills which culminated in the orange catastrophe currently occupying the White House.

Bush, whose passing occurred on the eve of the World AIDS Day, will always be remembered by the LGBTQ community as a president who failed to lead the nation through the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic, which by the time he was sworn into office had killed nearly 60,000 Americans. While Bush had publicly described himself as ‘compassionate’ towards those suffering from AIDS, and although he had signed two pieces of legislation supporting persons living with the disease, he nonetheless failed to take sufficient action to halt the epidemic, a fact many attribute to his hostility towards homosexuals. In an interview for The New York Times, Hilary Rosen, former lobbyist for the Human Rights Campaign, said “I know this week it feels like we’re the skunk at the ‘Celebrate George Bush’ party, but this was our reality: We were kids and our friends were dying and the government was ignoring it because they were gay… He just didn’t lead at a time when we were desperate for leaders.” Rosen then cites various Bush policies that torpedoed the fight against AIDS, such as his provision to withhold federal funding from ‘safe-sex’ pamphlets that referenced gay sex.

Bush’s legacy is also blemished by undeniable racism. In his presidential campaign, Bush issued a televised ad featuring Willie Horton, a convicted murderer and rapist, which highlighted the perpetrator’s blackness while drawing attention to the fact that his victims were white. Later on, Bush’s acceleration of the racist and ineffective War on Drugs constituted another assault on the African American community. “We need more prisons, more jails, more courts, more prosecutors.” Bush declared in an address to the nation from the Oval Office, as he sought to add an additional $1.5 billion to a federal programme that disproportionately persecuted black men, resulting in their mass incarceration and soaring mortality rates.  

Bush’s war record is, evidently, just as sordid. In the First Gulf War, Bush declared war on Iraq following the latter’s invasion of Kuwait “without provocation or warning”. In order to further justify his declaration of war, Bush referred to Iraq’s mobilization of hundreds of thousands of soldiers to the Saudi Arabian border, threatening key American oil suppliers and Saudi sovereignty. What Bush had failed to mention, was that prior to Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, the American ambassador to Iraq had told the dictator, “[W]e have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait,” essentially giving him a green light to invade.

As for the Iraqi military presence hawking over the Saudis and precious oil suppliers – satellite images that were later discovered by journalist Jean Heller revealed that not even one soldier was present at the border; the desert stood still and desolate.

Then, throughout the Gulf War, American bombers had repeatedly targeted civilian shelters as well as electricity and sewage treatment plants; such repeated attacks resulted in both immediate deaths as well as widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of typhoid and cholera. It was later revealed that attacks on civilian centres and infrastructure were a deliberate attempt by the Bush administration to cripple the nation and guarantee dependency of Saddam on foreign aid following the war.

Alas, the information above constitutes but a fraction of President Bush’s dark past. This is not to detract from the good he did do for Americans, and the apparent love and inspiration he afforded his family members and colleagues.

Yet, by whitewashing his legacy we risk distorting the very history of this nation and ignoring the trajectory of leaders pushing unscrupulous agendas which, over time, resulted in the violation of civil and human rights of people across America and around the world.

Image: George H. Bush inauguration, Still from ABCNews Youtube video, January 20, 1989