*George H.W. Bush’s Bitter Legacy in the Middle East* December 12, 2018 • 14 Comments <https://consortiumnews.com/2018/12/12/george-hw-bushs-bitter-legacy-in-the-middle-east/#comments> *https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox?compose=GTvVlcSHxTqXdnsnNnBSXbrgtPdCVjnBxFwGJCvSflmGqjRCBRTDzMRrhLzMlpTtPPnSfXfnFwtdM <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox?compose=GTvVlcSHxTqXdnsnNnBSXbrgtPdCVjnBxFwGJCvSflmGqjRCBRTDzMRrhLzMlpTtPPnSfXfnFwtdM>*
The avalanche of funeral hagiography drowned any possible discussion of what Bush did to the Middle East. As’ad AbuKhalil writes that he rallied despots against Iraq and established a new, tyrannical security order in the region. *Sequel to ‘British Betrayal’ of WWI* *By As`ad AbuKhalil <https://consortiumnews.com/tag/asad-abukhalil/>**Special to Consortium News* <https://consortiumnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Asad.jpg>Any sober assessment of late President George H.W. Bush’s political legacy was drowned last week by the avalanche of hagiography by the mainstream media. This served, in part, the role of catharsis. The more loudly the members of the media praised Bush, whose family has testy relations <https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7903860/george-hw-bush-funeral-no-trump-criticism/> with President Donald Trump, the more it helped them vent their animosity towards the current president. Lost in this anti-historical, fact-free binge was any possible discussion of Bush’s most important legacies, one of which is certainly his great fake-out of Arab interests in the Middle East. Almost every U.S. president since Harry S. Truman has been more pro-Israel than his predecessor. The sole exception to this was George H.W. Bush. But via the war against Iraq, his administration wound up embracing Israeli interests and regional hegemony to such a degree that it left lasting damage to peace and stability in the region. H.W. Bush was adept at changing ideologies to suit the venue. The man who emerged from the “moderate” wing of the East Coast Republican Party became the political heir of President Ronald Reagan, who wooed the Religious Right and made abortion a litmus test for all Supreme Court nominees. While Bush did not leave a presidential memoir, (he is the first since Franklin D. Roosevelt not to do so), he did coauthor a book with Brent Scowcroft, his national security advisor, “A World Transformed.” This offers evidence of Bush’s close ties with Arab Gulf despots and the deposed Egyptian strongman Husni Mubarak, who served as his chief advisor on the region. Bush was obviously impressed by the fabulous wealth and hospitality of Arab potentates. At one point in the book, during a stay in one of King Fahd’s marble guest palaces, he marvels at the chandeliers, the air conditioning and goes on at length about a lavish state dinner. “I had never seen so much—and of nearly every conceivable type of food.” <https://consortiumnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Bush-on-board.jpg> Bush is greeted by Capt. Chip Miller, commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) on July 14, 2010. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nicholas Hall) *Wealthy Arab Friends * Bush’s ties with wealthy Arabs served him well. Lebanese businessman Najad Isam Faris and Syrian businessman Jamale Daniel helped the business career of Bush’s son, Neil. With his network of Gulf associates, Bush served as a prized advisor to the Carlyle Group <https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/05/us/elder-bush-in-big-gop-cast-toiling-for-top-equity-firm.html>, the global, private equity firm based in Washington, D.C., with a specialty of investing in companies that depend on government contracts. Bush’s footprints in the region begin with his oil-business years in Texas. At that point, in the 1950s, oil companies often served as a chief lobbying force for Gulf regimes against the Israeli lobby. This was not due to any humanitarian concern for the plight of the Palestinian people. It was due to the usual financial motivation. The Israel lobby opposed closer ties between the U.S. and all Arab countries, which compelled oil businesses to defend their Gulf suppliers. Since the Israeli lobby opposed U.S. arms sales to Middle East regimes, it had other big-business opponents as well. Later in his life, Bush also dealt with the Middle East as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and as director of the CIA. (The deputy chief of Saudi intelligence during Bush’s time at the CIA, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, was one of the few foreign dignitaries invited to attend the funeral). When the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, paid tribute last week to Bush he concealed a long history of Israeli detestation for the man. Please give to our end-of-year fund drive, by clicking Donate <https://org.salsalabs.com/o/1868/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=14124&okay=True> . As Ronald Reagan’s vice president, Bush—along with James Baker, the White House chief of staff, and Caspar Weinberger, the secretary of defense—had the coolest attitudes towards Israel of any in the administration, which was otherwise loaded with ardent Zionists. Bush was vilified for his 1991 remark that he was a “one lonely guy” battling “a thousand lobbyists on the Hill.” Nonetheless Bush toed the pro-Israeli line and championed the cause of Soviet Jewish dissidents and the sponsorship of the emigration of Jews from Ethiopia, Syria and the former Soviet Union to Israel. He also recruited ardent Zionists (Jack Kemp, Condoleezza Rice <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice> and Dennis Ross <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Ross>) for his administration. As president, Bush was branded an anti-Semite in 1991 for “deferring” for 120 days $10 billion in loan guarantees to Israel. He did this to prevent Israel from putting the money toward settlements in the occupied lands of 1967. Bush was also trying to persuade Israel to join the U.S.-sponsored peace process. *Click the link to read the rest.* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to Mark Crispin Miller's "News From Underground" newsgroup. 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