[Wonder Warthog]

"It was an incredible act of will to send troops or to invade at all. People forget that."

I don't forget it, and I fault it as "not being incredible enough". I lay all the deaths of 9-11, and the military and civilian deaths in the current Iraq war DIRECTLY at the feet of Bush I. Simply put, the man screwed the pooch---BADLY.

Bush I had a historical tendency of "wussing out", on taxes AND in the Gulf War, despite his track record of personal heroism in WWII. Thank heaven that Bush II gets his cojones from his mom and not his dad.

[HRoarke]

OK, I'll bite. What in the hell does 9/11 have to do with not plowing through Baghdad?

[Strategerist]

I don't forget it, and I fault it as "not being incredible enough". I lay all the deaths of 9-11, and the military and civilian deaths in the current Iraq war DIRECTLY at the feet of Bush I. Simply put, the man screwed the pooch---BADLY.
Your memory of the time period back then, like almost everyone, for some odd reason, seems non-existent. There actually wasn't much public debate at all over going to Baghdad or not. It was all over "how do we survive the thousands killed in a year or more of trench warfare retaking Kuwait" and whether it's worth it, and shouldn't we really sit around and wait for sanctions to be painful enough to cause Hussein to withdraw on his own.

[Strategerist]

I don't forget it, and I fault it as "not being incredible enough". I lay all the deaths of 9-11, and the military and civilian deaths in the current Iraq war DIRECTLY at the feet of Bush I. Simply put, the man screwed the pooch---BADLY.

Your memory of the time period back then, like almost everyone, for some odd reason, seems non-existent. There actually wasn't much public debate at all over going to Baghdad or not. It was all over "how do we survive the thousands killed in a year or more of trench warfare retaking Kuwait" and whether it's worth it, and shouldn't we really sit around and wait for sanctions to be painful enough to cause Hussein to withdraw on his own...

[iopscusa]

Read the whole thing, it sounds like wussy talk....jeewiz.
I agree....Bush I had a historical tendency of "wussing out", on taxes AND in the Gulf War....I remember well...standing and screaming at the TV....Don't Stop Now you idiots....go to Baghdad or at least destroy the Republican Guard which was bottled up between Basra and Baghdad at the end of the 100 hours of combat. IMO, GB-1 was decent but no Reagan in any sense of commitment, GW1 was too much of a DC Insider...go along to get along ....today, 15 yrs on these types are known as RINOS!
The Treaty that was sort-of, kind-of agreed to by Saddam was a total screw-up. I lost a lot of respect for Colin Powell and Gen. Schwartzkopf due to their lack of enforcement after GW1. Yes they are all culpable to some degree for the run up to 9/11....failure is the result of weakness. History will not be kind to those involved with the leadership in GW1.