George Bush Vs. Saddam Hussein: Military Success! Political Failure?

by Roger Hilsman

Book Overview

According to the author, the recent Gulf War was brought on not by the clash of national interests, but by the intense personal rivalry between George Bush and Saddam Hussein. To support his thesis,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0891414703
• ISBN13: 9780891414704
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Presidio Press
• Length: 273 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An overview by hindsight

This book basically contends that although the leaders of the two countries acted like school yard bullies squaring off that it was George Bush who kept pushing towards war each time Saddam Hussein tried to slow down the current. Among some of the interesting items presented against President Bush was the fact that he initially seemed to be pushed around by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who told him at a meeting that he couldn't stand for Hussein's invasion. In the beginning he wobbled and changed stances on the invasion frequently. His public and private statements through diplomatic channels were contradicting. At first he conveyed to Saddam Hussein (before the invasion of Kuwait) that the U.S. didn't care what Hussein did and would not take action if he invaded because it was an Arab problem. But when the invasion occurred he took action against it. Second, President Bush pushed Sadia Arabia to house U.S. troops on their soil even though the Saudi's were against it. Then he announced to the world that the Saudi's had requested the U.S. troops to help protect their land. Third, President Bush announced that the troops in Saudi Arabia would be there for defense of that country only and denied any intention of an invasion force to push back Iraqi troops. This too, turned out to be untrue. On the opposite side of the spectrum it seems that, initially, Saddam Hussein's grievances were somewhat legitimate, although not for a full invasion of Kuwait. Saddam had come to the U.S. for help and was told to handle it any way he wanted, it was not our concern. You have to understand that in the years before the Gulf War the U.S. government was helping Saddam Hussein in his war with Iran. There was an issue of Kuwait stealing Iraqi oil by a "slant drill" in an oil field. The issue of Kuwait owning islands that blocked the ability of Iraq to transport their oil out of the Persian Gulf (these were given to Kuwait by the British). Atleast four times Hussein had offered a peace agreement and to remove his soldiers from Kuwait after the invasion through many nations, including Jordan and Russia, all to be turned down by the U.S. Overall I feel this book was interesting and shed some light on some of the causes behind the war. While I believe that these are valid reasons that have been well researched I'm sure there are even more. The path towards war is usually complex.