Ch – Bush 41

George H.W. Bush  Youngest WWII pilot (illegally)  Ambassador to the UN under Nixon  Director of the CIA  VP under Reagan  Background perfect for international problems he would face…

1988 Election

Creating a “New World Order”  Bush felt that this was a singular moment to help shape the next century  Ending the Cold War  S. America and the Drug War  China  South Africa  Yugoslavia  War in the Persian Gulf

1989  George HW Bush (Daddy) – continued Reagan’s plan  Meanwhile in Poland: Solidarity and Lech Walesa  In wake of Gorbachev renouncing Brezhnev Backed by Pope John Paul II (assassination attempt because of threat) Berlin Wall falls 9 November 1989

Other States Begin to Fall…  Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia (Velvet Revolution and Vaclav Havel), Romania (Ceausescu)  Freedom

Christmas 1991  August 1991 – hardliners seize power and Gorbachev  Boris Yeltsin (President of Russian Republic) leads people to freedom  USSR bans communism 25 December 1991

The Cold War is Over

Part II of Reagan’s Foreign Policy  Led US and world into post- Cold War times  Importantly, didn’t flaunt victory over Soviets  Pushes US towards internationalism  Signs major arms reduction treaty with Boris Yeltsin

US as the Soul World Power  Capitalist Democracy seen as the only way  Monarchy, fascism, and communism dead Theocracy and New Nationalism are sleeping giants

Starts and Stops  South Africa – system of Apartheid comes down  Tutu, Mandela, and Bush push for rights  China – 4 June 1989  Tiananmen Square Massacre

Other Post-Cold War Hot Spots  Yugoslavia – Post – 1991 country disintegrates into factionalism (Balkan War)  Didn’t react strongly (fears of Vietnam)  Somalia – Operation Restore Hope gets food to civilians trapped between warlords

Operation Desert Storm  President H.W. Bush leads a UN coalition to expel Saddam from Kuwait  The war lasts about five days and is a complete US victory

Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia  Saudi’s let US keep troops in the “Holy Land” during wars and asks US to stay for stability afterwards  Wahhabis and Bin Laden angry over infidel troops in land of Mohammed

Difficult Domestic Front  Foreign Policy focus – seems indifferent to US problems  1,000 Points of Light Strategy (charity, not federal)  AIDs was on the rise (250,000 by 1994)  Bush greatly increases research funding  “No New Taxes” pledge  Short recession kills Bush after S & L Bailout pushes up deficits