George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography - Get a Free Blog

The US expeditionary force in Saudi Arabia became widely known in Washington on
Tuesday, August 7, as White House officials hastened to share the news with journalists.
Bush personally wanted to stay out of the spotlight. At a Cabinet meeting, Bush told his
advisers that his regime had warned the Saudi government that the threat posed by the
Iraqi military to Saudi Arabia was also a threat to the national security of the United
States. According to Fitzwater, Saddam Hussein met with the US charge d'affaires in
Baghdad, Joseph Wilson, to tell him that "he had no intention of leaving Kuwait and
every intention of staying and claiming it as his own."
On Wednesday morning, Bush delivered a televised address to the American people from
the Oval Office. This was still a format that he disliked very much, since it made him
seem maladroit. Bush grinned incongruously as he read his prepared text. He told the
public that his troop deployments were "to take up defensive positions in Saudi Arabia."
These US forces would "work together with those of Saudi Arabia and other nations to
preserve the integrity of Saudi Arabia and to deter further Iraqi aggression." He
inaugurated the Anglo-American Big Lie that the Iraqi actions had been "without
provocation," which readers of daily newspapers knew not to be true. He also minted the
story that Iraq possessed ":the fourth largest military in the world," a wild exaggeration
that was repeated many times. The "new Hitler" theme was already prominent:
"Appeasement does not work," Bush asserted. "As was the case in the 1930's, we see in
Saddam Hussein an aggressive dictator threatening his neighbors....His promises mean
nothing." Bush summed up the goals of his policy as follows:
First, we seek the immediate, unconditional and complete withdrawal of all Iraqi forces
from Kuwait. Second, Kuwait's legitimate government must be restored to replace the
puppet regime. And third, my administration, as has been the case with every president
from President Roosevelt to President Reagan, is committed to the security and stability
of the Persian Gulf. And fourth, I am determined to protect the lives of American citizens
abroad. [fn 45]
None of this appeared to include offensive military action. Bush attempted to re-enforce
that false impression in his news conference later the same afternoon. It was during this
appearance that the extent of Bush's mental disintegration and psychic dissociation
became most evident. But first, Bush wanted to stress his "defensive" cover story:
Well, as you know, from what I said, they're there in a defensive mode right now, and
therefore that is not the mission, to drive the Iraqis out of Kuwait. We have economic
sanctions that I hope will be effective to that end.
The purpose, he stressed, was the "defense of the Saudis." "We're not in a war," Bush
added. After several exchanges, he was asked what had tipped his hand in deciding to
send troops and aircraft into Saudi Arabia? If this had been a polygraph test, the needles
would have jumped, since this went to Bush's collusion with Thatcher long before any
annoucement had been made. Bush replied: