George W. Bush is one of the most polarizing presidents in American history. While his approval ratings have dropped to record lows for a second-term president, many Republicans and Democrats alike still hold Bush in high regard as an individual leader.
He is known for his leadership during World War II and after the 9/11 attacks, and he remains one of the few American presidents who won two terms in office. Because of these factors alone, it is easy to understand why so many people would be interested in learning more about Bush’s experience with the Iraq War.
President George Wendel Bush left, speaks with German Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER in Berlin on May 5, 1991. Bush spent five days in Germany taking part in negotiations with other nations over ending the Cold War.
George H. W. BUSH and the Iraq War
George W. Bush is one of the most polarizing presidents in American history. While his approval ratings have dropped to record lows for a second-term president, many Republicans and Democrats alike still hold Bush in high regard as an individual leader.
He is known for his leadership during World War II and after the 9/11 attacks, and he remains one of the few American presidents who won two terms in office. Because of these factors alone, it is easy to understand why so many people would be interested in learning more about Bush’s experience with the Iraq War. Bush campaigned for the presidency in 2000 on the theme of a “new unity” in America that would lead the nation out of its troubles.
He won the White House, and his administration quickly set to work on the task of rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure and reviving the economy. As Bush prepared to leave office in January 2009, the nation’s opinion of his administration remained extremely low, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Just 37% of Americans said they had a positive view of the way things were going in the country today, while 53% said they had a negative view.
Bush’s Call to Action Following the 9/11 Attacks
During his first year as president, Bush was faced with the challenge of rallying the nation to respond to the 9/11 attacks. This quickly became a high priority for Bush and the nation, and Bush’s administration launched a series of initiatives designed to protect the homeland and identify and capture the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks.
Bush’s “war on terror” was the focus of much of his attention, and his administration continued to wage a global military campaign against al Qaeda and affiliated groups. Bush’s administration quickly launched a campaign to capture or kill Osama bin Laden.
This campaign, however, was unsuccessful, and Bush’s attention soon turned to the invasion of Afghanistan. U.S. and international intelligence agencies eventually identified members of the al Qaeda network but were unable to track them down and apprehend them before they could stage another major attack.
The Origins of the Iraq War
By the time Bush left office, the Iraq War was well underway. The conflict between then-President Saddam Hussein’s government in Iraq and the United States had been growing since the late 1990s, and Bush’s administration took the next step toward war in Iraq by launching an invasion in March 2003.
The Bush administration initially justified the invasion as necessary to disarm or forcibly remove a dangerous dictator from power. Bush’s “mission accomplished” claim proved to be patently false, however, and the war in Iraq quickly became a major U.S. military effort aimed at stabilizing the country after years of conflict.
Bush’s “troops out of Iraq by summer” declaration was a central part of his 2004 presidential campaign, and he made good on his promise to bring all U.S. troops home by the end of his term. By 2008, however, the Iraq War had become a casualty of the broader U.S. effort to respond to the 9/11 attacks and reduce the threat of international terrorism. Bush’s calls for diplomacy had given way to military action, and the Iraq War was no longer an immediate priority for the U.S. government.
The U.S. Military Buildup in Iraq and Syria
During the Bush administration, the United States also began to contribute to the fight against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. The U.S. government has officially classified the goal of this effort as the defeat of the Islamic State, and it has emphasized the importance of protecting key strategic interests in the region.
Public debates over the direction of U.S. foreign policy, however, have frequently cast the military efforts in Syria and Iraq as part of a larger attempt to maintain U.S. global dominance. The United States has officially accused the Syrian government of several chemical attacks against civilians, and it has threatened to use military action to protect a U.S.-backed rebel group.
The Trump administration has also promised an aggressive approach to addressing Iran’s influence in the region, and it has threatened military action against Iran and its allies in Syria and Iraq.
Bush’s Vision for Post-Iraq Foreign Policy
One of Bush’s major foreign policy initiatives during his second term was a comprehensive effort to reshape U.S. foreign policy for the 21st century. Bush’s “vision for peace and freedom” laid out a comprehensive plan for the future of American foreign policy, and it became the framework for the Bush administration’s approach to international affairs.
Bush’s “vision” called for a fundamental shift in the way the United States viewed the world and the way it engaged with other nations. Bush’s “vision,” in particular, called for a major shift away from the idea of American dominance and the belief that the United States was the only force capable of addressing problems in the world.
Bush and his advisors called for the United States to reshape its foreign policy to reflect the growing importance and influence of other nations on the world stage. Bush’s “vision,” in other words, was a call for the United States to commit itself to cooperative international efforts.
The State of U.S. Foreign Policy After the Iraq War
Several factors have caused Bush’s approval ratings to drop to new lows, and many of them are directly related to the Iraq War. Bush’s decision to launch a military campaign against Iraq was extremely unpopular with the public, and polling data indicates that it was the most unpopular decision the Bush administration made.
The Iraq War is also one of the most obvious indications that the United States entered the post-9/11 world with a false understanding of the terrorist threat. The Bush administration, for example, failed to identify any ties between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein’s government until after the invasion of Iraq. Bush’s “vision,” in other words, was a wrongheaded and dangerous approach to U.S. foreign policy.
Bush’s approval ratings have continued to drop since he left office, and they are among the lowest of all presidents in the modern polls.