Dad’s strategy was to rally a coalition of nations to pressure Saddam Hussein to leave Kuwait. Thanks to years of personal diplomacy, George Bush had earned the trust of many world leaders. Now he put that trust to use. King Fahd agreed to let the United States station troops in Saudi Arabia (a decision that Osama bin Laden later cited as a reason for attacking the Saudi government). Arab leaders across the Middle East agreed to denounce the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, a major step given that Saddam Hussein was a key figure in the Arab League. European allies like Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain and Helmut Kohl of West Germany offered their strong support. So did Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu, who remembered Dad’s early decision to attend Emperor Hirohito’s funeral. A more surprising backer was François Mitterrand of France. Dad had worked hard to develop a relationship with him early in the presidency by inviting him to Walker’s Point, and now the French President was offering his support.
In the most striking development, the Soviet Union joined with the United States to condemn Iraq’s aggression against Kuwait. Jim Baker and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze issued a joint statement the day after the attack—a moment that Baker later said convinced him that the Cold War was over. In early September, Dad and Gorbachev met in Finland, where they resolved to work together to pressure Iraq to leave Kuwait. Their agreement marked the most significant strategic cooperation between American and Soviet leaders since FDR and Stalin. In an address to a joint session of Congress in September 1990, Dad laid out his vision for a “new world order” in which all civilized nations, including the Soviet Union, worked together to deter aggression and promote peace.
The Bush administra
In 1990, our family spent Christmas at Camp David. It was the second year in a row that a military crisis overshadowed the holiday. Once again, Dad did his best to enjoy the family gathering. He refused to allow the burdens he carried to spoil our time together. But it was obvious that his mind was elsewhere. On New Year’s Eve, he wrote a letter to my siblings and me. “I have thought long and hard about what might have to be done,” he wrote. “I guess what I want you to know as a father is this: Every Human life is precious. When the question is asked ‘How many lives are you willing to sacrifice’—it tears at my heart. The answer of course, is none—none at all.” He continued, “Principle must be adhered to—Saddam cannot profit in any way at all from his aggression and from his brutalizing the people of Kuwait.”
With about ten days to go before the UN deadline of January 15, Dad resolved to give diplomacy one final chance to succeed. As he put it, he would go the “extra mile for peace.” He wrote a personal letter to Saddam Hussein urging him to comply with the UN resolutions. He announced that he was sending Secretary of State Jim Baker to deliver the letter to Saddam. Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz met Baker in Geneva, but he refused to take the letter. Saddam had passed up an opportunity for peace.
Before ordering the military operation, there was one more decision for Dad to make: whether to seek authorization from Congress for the use of force. Congress had not formally declared war since World War II, and several military operations—the Korean War, Grenada, and Panama—had been conducted under Article II of the Constitution, which makes the President the Commander-in-Chief of our military, without authorization from Congress. Dad and his advisers believed that Article II provided sufficient authority for him to proceed on his own, but he decided that it would be prudent to put Congress on record. The vote was close, especially in the Senate, where opponents of the war raised the specter of tens of thousands of body bags. On January 12, the Senate approved the resolution 52 to 47, and the House passed it 250 to 183.
—
ON JANUARY 15, 1991, the UN deadline passed without any response from Saddam Hussein. At 9:01 the next night, George Bush addressed the nation from the Oval Office. “Five months ago, Saddam Hussein started this cruel war against Kuwait,” he said. “Tonight, the battle has been joined.”
The first phase of the attack, Operation Desert Storm, was a massive aerial bombardment of Iraqi military targets. The objective was to degrade Saddam’s capacity and convince him to withdraw his troops from Kuwait. If not, forces from twenty-eight nations were prepared to conduct a ground attack.
The hours leading up to the moment had been wrenching. Mother told me that Dad had not slept well for days. His friend the Reverend Billy Graham came to the White House to conduct a special prayer service. Dad understood the ramifications of the order he was about to give. “It is my decision,” he dictated to his diary, “my decision to send these kids into battle, my decision that may affect the lives of innocen[ts]…. It is my decision that affects the husband, the girlfriend, or the wife that is waiting.” He continued, “And yet I know what I have to do.”
I admired the way Dad handled the situation. He had taken his time. He had explored all options. He had resolved to protect American interests, defend an ally, and promote long-term peace. He had rallied the world and Congress to the cause. It was as if his whole life—from his time in uniform, to his service on Capitol Hill, to his diplomatic experience—had prepared him for the moment.
As Dad spoke from the Oval Office, the sky over Baghdad lit up. For the first time in the history of warfare, the world could watch the battle unfold live on CNN. I was amazed by the precision bombs that destroyed military targets while minimizing civilian loss of life.
Though the air campaign made steady progress, Saddam would not leave Kuwait. It became clear that the only way to liberate the country was to deploy ground troops. Dad gave the order for our forces in Saudi Arabia to cross the border into Kuwait on February 23, 1991. At a church service the next morning, Dick Cheney passed him a note with the first update. The mission looked like a major success. The troops had cut through barbed wire and minefields at the border and begun the drive up the highway toward Kuwait City.
What followed over the ensuing days was astounding. Coalition forces routed Saddam Hussein’s military. Thousands of Iraqi soldiers laid down their arms and surrendered. Exactly a hundred hours after Dad sent ground troops into Kuwait, the Gulf War was over. “Kuwait is liberated. Iraq’s army is defeated. Our military objectives are met,” Dad said from the Oval Office. “We declared that the aggression against Kuwait would not stand. And tonight, America and the world have kept their word.”
Dad announced that the Coalition forces would immediately cease active combat operations. All told, 148 Americans were killed, and 467 were wounded. The predictions of a quagmire requiring tens of thousands of body bags proved untrue. The Vietnam syndrome—the reluctance of America to deploy troops abroad for fear of getting bogged down—had been vanquished.