He left a legacy of public service and character that will stand down the ages.
—Vice President Dick Cheney
President Bush never was much for sitting around and waiting for things to happen. Our first hint of that trait might have been when he joined the Navy in 1942 on his eighteenth birthday.
A clear example was his quick and decisive response to Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, which surprised even some of his own team members—and most likely, Saddam Hussein.
Years after the war, President Bush told his friend British journalist David Frost:
Saddam never believed I would use force… maybe he read the Wimp cover in Newsweek; maybe he was listening to the post-Vietnam syndrome in the US as it surfaced through the lips of some senators. Whatever the reason, he miscalculated.
Secretary Baker, Sir John Major, and former prime minister Brian Mulroney have already shared their thoughts about President Bush’s leadership through what became known as Desert Storm. Now it’s time to hear from one of the men who helped execute that war, President Bush’s secretary of defense, Dick Cheney.
President George H. W. Bush held many titles in a lifetime of service, and he reflected honor on every one of them. His sense of duty was uncompromising, yet he carried himself with gentle ease and without pretense or self-regard. I count it as a great privilege of my life to have known President Bush and to have served in his cabinet as secretary of defense.
During his time in the White House, he was tested repeatedly. No one could have predicted the magnitude of historic events that would occur on his watch—the liberation of Panama, the disintegration of the Soviet Empire, the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the defense of Saudi Arabia, and the liberation of Kuwait in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. President Bush was more than equal to the challenges, managing these unprecedented global events with calmness and clear thinking, and emerging as one of the most respected statesmen of his era.
The nation was fortunate that George H. W. Bush was our President when we faced our first major crisis of the post–Cold War era—the invasion of Kuwait. From the earliest days of the crisis, he refused to ignore or pander to aggression. His clarity of purpose focused the world on the need for action. He was a tremendous leader. His wisdom had seen us through changes more significant than any of us could have imagined.
If you were to go out and design a president to be commander in chief in a crisis like Desert Storm, you would have designed someone like George H. W. Bush. His ability to match that historic moment was developed from his years of experience as a bomber pilot in World War II, a member of Congress, ambassador to the United Nations, US liaison to China, director of the CIA, and as vice president. His knowledge and judgment gave him the foresight to know early on that facing this challenge was going to be a combined political, diplomatic, and military operation.
The team he put together upon assuming the presidency enabled him to undertake this effort with individuals around him who brought their own expertise to the table, while standing firmly behind his unequivocal leadership. I had the honor of serving him at the Pentagon, while Secretary of State James Baker, National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, Deputy National Security Adviser Robert Gates, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell were all trusted voices. But there was never any question about who was in charge or where the buck stopped. President Bush’s leadership style during this time had a rare combination of military and diplomatic experience and it proved to be an unmatched resource for the country at a pivotal moment.
During the first weekend of the Gulf crisis, he sent me out to get permission from Saudi Arabia and Egypt for the deployment of US forces on their territory. When I asked King Fahd for approval to deploy US forces to Saudi Arabia after a two-hour briefing, his response was, “Okay, we’ll do it. We’ll do it because I trust George Bush.”
After my stops in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, I was on a flight back to the US when President Bush called me and said: You’ve got to stop in Morocco. He had just gotten hold of the king of Morocco and wanted me to stop in and brief him and get the Moroccans on board as well. Over the next several months, I visited many countries at the direction of the President to enlist other nations to join our effort. By the time US troops ultimately deployed to Iraq and Kuwait, the President had built a coalition of forty countries united in our mission to free Kuwait and defend Saudi Arabia.
Saddam Hussein had multiple opportunities over many months to comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions requiring him to withdraw from Kuwait. President Bush was determined to exhaust all possible diplomatic options, but he knew the invasion could not stand.
On January 16, 1991, President Bush announced that allied air forces had begun an attack on military targets in Iraq and Kuwait. Because of the tremendous work of our US servicemen and servicewomen, Desert Storm only lasted forty-three days. Kuwait was liberated after a six-week campaign of airstrikes and a hundred-hour ground operation that centered around the deployment of half a million US troops as part of the operation.
Another hallmark of President Bush’s leadership was his love of the men and women in our armed services, and he never forgot the young soldiers under his command. At the conclusion of Desert Storm, our servicemen and servicewomen returned home with the celebration they deserved. There were many moments of high emotion and celebrations across the country. On June 8, 1991, we honored our troops in Washington. The day began with a prayer service at Arlington National Cemetery to honor the 219 souls who had not returned and to express our gratitude to the families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. President Bush spoke about the dream of a commonwealth of freedom that is at the foundation of who we are as a people:
America endures because it dares to defend that dream. That dream links the fields of Flanders and the cliffs of Normandy, Korea’s snow-covered uplands, and the rice paddies of the Mekong. It’s lived in the last year on barren desert flats, on sea-tossed ships, in jets streaking miles above hostile terrain. It lives because we dared to risk our most precious asset—our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters, our husbands and wives—the finest troops any country has ever had.
When I first met President Bush in 1969, little did I know he would later play such a large role in my life and in the life of our country. He was a president who welcomed responsibility, kept his nerve, stood behind his team, and brought out the best in all of us. He left a legacy of public service and character that will stand down the ages. It was easy to feel loyalty and affection for him because he was such a thoroughly admirable and decent man. He had no illusions about politics or life, but there wasn’t a trace of cynicism in him and he embodied the traits and characteristics that all Americans should aspire to.
Colin Powell was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Desert Storm. He talked about his commander in chief to Mary Kate Cary while she was filming 41ON41:
He was uniquely capable and qualified for the position of the presidency… during his time as Vice President and at the CIA, he had been exposed to military operations and knew the challenges he would face and the decisions he would have to make. He also knew it from the perspective of having… fought in World War II, having been shot down. That gives anybody in the position of commander in chief a unique perspective of the sacrifices made by our young men and women as they fight the nation’s battle.
… I was home watching on television that Sunday evening when he landed on the South Lawn of the White House and the reporters started shouting at him. And his simple answer: This will not stand, this aggression against Kuwait.
And that was my order, whether I knew it or not.
… He is very decisive. But he was only decisive after he had thought about it, and after he had been briefed by his staff. And after we had pointed out the upsides and downsides of it all. And the rest is known to history.
… He understood the military chain of command. He knew the importance of giving authority to people and empowering people. He knew he was the boss, but he wanted to empower the rest of us so that we had a structured way of dealing with this conflict. That meant a lot to me.
Before we leave Desert Storm, I think it would be appropriate to share the letter President Bush wrote to his five children on New Year’s Eve, 1990. He knew war was coming.
Dear George, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro,
I am writing this letter on the last day of 1990.
First, I can’t begin to tell you how great it was to have you here at Camp David. I loved the games (the Marines are still smarting over their 1 and 2 record), I loved Christmas Day, marred only by the absence of Sam and Ellie.1 I loved the movies—some of ’em—I loved the laughs. Most of all, I loved seeing you together. We are a family blessed; and this Christmas simply reinforced all that.
I hope I didn’t seem moody. I tried not to.
When I came into this job, I vowed that I would never ring2 my hands and talk about “the loneliest job in the world” or ring my hands about the “pressures or the trials.”
Having said that I have been concerned about what lies ahead. There is no ‘loneliness’ though because I am backed by a first-rate team of knowledgeable and committed people. No President has been more blessed in this regard.
I have thought long and hard about what might have to be done. As I write this letter at Year’s end, there is still some hope that Iraq’s dictator will pull out of Kuwait. I vary on this. Sometimes I think he might, at others I think he simply is too unrealistic—too ignorant of what he might face. I have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that we have tried hard for peace. We have gone to the UN; we have formed an historic coalition; there have been diplomatic initiatives from country after country.
And so here we are a scant 16 days from a very important date—the date set by the UN for his total compliance with all UN resolutions including getting out of Kuwait—totally.
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.
We have waited to give sanctions a chance, we have moved a tremendous force so as to reduce the risk to every American soldier if force has to be used; but the question of loss of life still lingers and plagues the heart.
My mind goes back to history:
How many lives might have been saved if appeasement had given way to force earlier on in the late ’30’s or earliest ’40’s? How many Jews might have been spared the gas chambers, or how many Polish patriots might be alive today? I look at today’s crisis as “good” vs. “evil”—Yes, it is that clear.
I know my stance must cause you a little grief from time to time and this hurts me; but here at ‘years-end’ I just wanted you to know that I feel:
—every human life is precious—the little Iraqi kids’ too.
—Principle must be adhered to—Saddam cannot profit in any way at all from his aggression and from his brutalizing the people of Kuwait.
—and sometimes in life you have to act as you think best—you can’t compromise, you can’t give in—even if your critics are loud and numerous.
So, dear kids—batten down the hatches.
Senator Inouye of Hawaii told me “Mr. President, do what you have to do. If it is quick and successful everyone can take the credit. If it is drawn out, then be prepared for some in Congress to file impeachment papers against you”—that’s what he said, and he’s 100% correct.
And so I shall say a few more prayers, mainly for our kids in the Gulf. And I shall do what must be done, and I shall be strengthened every day by our family love which lifts me up every single day of my life.
I am the luckiest Dad in the whole wide world.
I love you, Happy New Year and May God Bless every one of you and all those in your family.
Devotedly,
Dad
As his post-presidency chief of staff, I witnessed nothing quite as dramatic as going to war. But throughout our twenty-five years together, I never ceased to be in awe of how decisive he was. If he saw something that he felt needed fixing, he immediately tried to help: visiting a synagogue to show his dismay with the rise of anti-Semitism; hosting a meeting between Houston police officers and Black pastors; inviting himself to a Muslim dinner shortly after 9/11, to assure them we did not think they were the enemy.
Speaking of 9/11…
After the horrific events of September 11, 2001, President Bush was frustrated as he watched his fellow former presidents give interviews about the terrorist attacks. Wanting to stay out of the way of his son the President of the United States, he declined to do so. But what he really wanted was to DO something; not just SAY something.
Then he had an idea.
About a week after 9/11, he was supposed to fly by private plane from Kennebunkport to Houston. Commercial flights were back up and running, but no one was flying. People were terrified. So President Bush decided to set an example. He canceled his private ride to Houston; the staff booked a Continental Airlines3 flight from Boston to Houston; and he told me to ask NBC anchor Tom Brokaw if he would meet President Bush at Logan Airport in Boston.
Brokaw told Mary Kate Cary for her 41ON41 documentary: “He wanted to make the point it was safe to fly again… that was so typical of him. But this is a guy who at age eighteen was flying fighter planes off carrier decks. So he knew something about risk and bravery.”
I asked Ned Walker, then Continental Airlines’ senior vice president of Corporate Communications, to tell the rest of the story:
The fear about what might happen next in the days following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, was palpable. It was also personal for the tens of thousands of employees of the airline industry who had seen their workplaces used as weapons of mass destruction. Their fear wasn’t just for their personal safety, but also for their industry’s future.
The Federal Aviation Administration had immediately halted air travel nationwide as a result of the attacks. The industry struggled to return to service after the ground stop was lifted, facing a staggering drop in customer bookings. Gordon Bethune, the CEO of Continental Airlines, was the first to act. Four days after the attack, he announced the layoff of twelve thousand employees, more than 20 percent of the company’s workforce, saying the company was losing $30 million a day, as its massive fixed costs continued. He predicted that layoffs industry wide would total one hundred thousand in the coming days. Meanwhile, the government was implementing drastic security measures for commercial flights.
Flying would never be the same.
President George H. W. Bush knew all this, and also knew that the airline industry would have to revive if the nation’s economy was going to do so. He wanted to demonstrate that he was not afraid to fly and show others that they could fly with confidence.
So, on September 27, 2001, he boarded a Continental flight in Boston, first giving an interview to NBC’s Tom Brokaw, demonstrating confidence in flying. He spoke from Continental’s lounge, aptly named the Presidents Club. Oh, and he made sure the viewers could see one of our planes outside the lounge window.
After an uneventful flight, Mr. Bethune and a crowd of grateful Continental employees and news reporters greeted him on arrival. President Bush spoke to as many as he could, accepting no help with his bag, which he threw over his shoulder.
I think people are ready to start living again. People are going to have some inconvenience, but this is America. We are strong…
Maybe it was easy for the man who was shot down over the Pacific in World War II and who served as commander in chief to show such resilience and calm in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But President Bush didn’t have to do what he did that day—he had a ride on a private plane! But he knew that it was the right thing to do, and he made it happen.
Typically, when President Bush flew commercially, the Secret Service picked him up planeside. Not on this day. He accompanied Mr. Bethune for a long, strong walk down the airport concourse, which was beyond a welcome sight to employees, customers, and the American public. “President Bush’s magnificent gesture was a significant, early step in rebuilding public confidence in commercial air travel,” Mr. Bethune remembers.
It seemed at that moment that things were going to be okay.
One of my favorite illustrations of President Bush’s quick thinking and decisiveness is his “dead or alive” phone call to Prince Bandar. I told the story in The Man I Knew, but I get asked a lot to “tell it again.” So I think it’s worth repeating, and it’s a fun way to end this chapter about “just do it.”
From The Man I Knew:
One night in 2012, Margaret Tutwiler—a former ambassador and top aide to former secretary of state James Baker—called me at home to ask if I knew anything about President Bush’s longtime friend, Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia, being assassinated by the Syrians. There were rumors everywhere, but she could not confirm. She asked if I could “check my sources.”
What she wanted was for me to call the CIA, which maintained a special relationship with President Bush. After all, he once was the top boss there, and CIA headquarters in McLean, Virginia, is named “The George Bush Center for Intelligence.”
So I called, and my point of contact told me they were aware of the rumors; they were trying to confirm; they had “boots on the ground,” checking sources.
By noon the next day we had heard nothing. Then Margaret called to update me that the French press was reporting that Prince Bandar had indeed been assassinated.
This was tough news to break to President Bush. Prince Bandar had been the Saudi ambassador to the United States from 1985 until 2003. They were very close, and I knew President Bush would take this news hard.
We were sitting outside President Bush’s office in Kennebunkport, enjoying the weather and going over some work when I told him. I explained that the CIA had not yet confirmed that Bandar was dead but feared it was true since no one had seen or heard from Bandar in months.
Then of course he had an idea.
Did you think about calling him? he asked me.
The answer would be NO. It never occurred to me to call and ask Bandar if he were dead or alive.
Well, let’s get him on the phone.
I hollered through an open window to his aide Jim Appleby and asked him to get Bandar on the phone. Jim leaned out the window and mouthed to me, “Haven’t you told him?!”
“Yes, I told him,” I assured Jim. “Ring his cell phone.”
A few minutes later an incredulous Jim leaned out the window, saying “Prince Bandar on Line 1.”
President Bush picked up the phone and literally asked his friend, Hey, Bandar, dead or alive? Everyone here thinks you are dead.
At some point, he covered the phone’s mouthpiece and whispered to me, He’s alive!
Yes, I got that.
As it turns out, Bandar knew the Syrians were trying to kill him, so he was in hiding but safe.
When the call was over, President Bush rang his friends James Baker and Brent Scowcroft and assured them Bandar was alive. Then he turned to me and said:
See, Jean, that’s the best way to figure these things out, if you aren’t sure if someone is dead or alive, call them. And if they answer, they are alive.
And with that he triumphantly drove off on his golf cart, on his way to the house for lunch. His work here was done.
A few hours later, the very apologetic CIA officer called to tell me they still had been unable to confirm the rumor, but they feared it was true. I took a deep breath and told her Bandar was indeed alive.
“How would you know that?” she asked.
“Because President Bush called him,” I replied. “Bandar confirmed he was alive.”
There was a long pause, and she said, “We have to put that man back on payroll.”
1 They had spent Christmas with their father. Doro and Billy LeBlond had divorced earlier in the year.
2 Yes, the President meant “wring.” He self-typed this letter on a typewriter on New Year’s Eve, worried about the gathering storm clouds. My guess is there was no Wite-Out nearby.
3 Continental Airlines merged with United Airlines in 2010.