To Be Seen as a Great Leader (BBA X)
So that we might satisfy the President's delusions of greatness (bold is mine):
Two years before the September 11 attacks, presidential candidate George W. Bush was already talking privately about the political benefits of attacking Iraq, according to his former ghost writer, who held many conversations with then-Texas Governor Bush in preparation for a planned autobiography.
"He was thinking about invading Iraq in 1999," said author and journalist Mickey Herskowitz. "It was on his mind.[*] He said to me: 'One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief.' "
[Russ Baker, "Two Years Before 9/11, Candidate Bush was Already Talking Privately About Attacking Iraq, According to His Former Ghost Writer", 28 October 2004.]
"Nothing could be farther from the truth," Bush said last week, responding to a question about the July 23, 2002, memo [explaining that Bush was already planning to invade Iraq well before diplomatic efforts had failed]. "Both of us [the US and UK] didn't want to use our military. Nobody wants to commit military into combat. It's the last option."
[John Daniszewski, "New Memos Detail Early Plans for Invading Iraq", the Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2005.]
[This continues my series of posts concerning the pre-Iraq-war actions of the US administration, aimed at increasing awareness of those activities, as part of the Big Brass Alliance (or BBA) and it's support of AfterDowningStreet.org. For more information from me, see my first posting on The Downing Street Memo: "Worth Remembering"]
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*Which is to say, he was looking for something to invade so he could grow up into a wartime president. Here is a further excerpt from the Baker piece that clarifies that idea:
According to Herskowitz, George W. Bush's beliefs on Iraq were based in part on a notion dating back to the Reagan White House – ascribed in part to now-vice president Dick Cheney, Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee under Reagan. "Start a small war. Pick a country where there is justification you can jump on, go ahead and invade."
Bush's circle of pre-election advisers had a fixation on the political capital that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher collected from the Falklands War. Said Herskowitz: "They were just absolutely blown away, just enthralled by the scenes of the troops coming back, of the boats, people throwing flowers at [Thatcher] and her getting these standing ovations in Parliament and making these magnificent speeches."
Republicans, Herskowitz said, felt that Jimmy Carter's political downfall could be attributed largely to his failure to wage a war. He noted that President Reagan and President Bush's father himself had (besides the narrowly-focused Gulf War I) successfully waged limited wars against tiny opponents – Grenada and Panama – and gained politically.