George W. Bush: Difference between revisions
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{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}} |
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{{otherpeople2|George Bush}} |
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{{Infobox President |
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| name = George Walker Bush |
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| image = George-W-Bush.jpeg |
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| order = 43rd |
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| office = President of the United States |
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| term_start = [[January 20]], [[2001]] |
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| term_end = |
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| vicepresident = [[Dick Cheney]] |
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| predecessor = [[Bill Clinton]] |
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| order2 = 46th |
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| office2 = Governor of Texas |
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| term_start2 = [[January 17]], [[1995]] |
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| term_end2 = [[December 21]], [[2000]] |
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| lieutenant2 = [[Bob Bullock]]<br>[[Rick Perry]] |
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| predecessor2 = [[Ann Richards]] |
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| successor2 = [[Rick Perry]] |
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|7|6}} |
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| birth_place = [[New Haven, Connecticut]] |
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| party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] |
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| spouse = [[Laura Bush]] |
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| children = [[Barbara Pierce Bush|Barbara]] and [[Jenna Bush]] |
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| occupation = [[Businessperson|Businessman]] ([[Petroleum industry|oil]], [[baseball]]) |
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| alma_mater = [[Yale University]]<br>[[Harvard Business School]] |
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| residence = [[White House]] (official)<br>[[Crawford, Texas|Crawford]], [[Texas]] (private) |
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| religion = [[United Methodist Church|United Methodist]]<ref name="um">{{cite web |
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| url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jesus/etc/script.html |
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| title = The Jesus Factor |
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| accessdate = 2004-05-06 |
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| work = [[WGBH-TV|WGBH]] |
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| publisher = [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] |
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}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |
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| last = Cooperman |
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| first = Alan |
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| title = Openly Religious, to a Point |
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| url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A24634-2004Sep15?language=printer |
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| work = The Washington Post |
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| date = [[2004-09-15]] |
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| accessdate = 2007-09-22 |
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}}</ref> |
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| net worth = $8–21 million ([[United States Dollar|USD]])<ref>{{Cite news |
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| last = Kakutani |
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| first = Michiko |
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| title = Bush Profiled: Big Ideas, Tiny Details |
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| url = |
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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/books/05kaku.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/R/Rumsfeld,%20Donald%20H.&pagewanted=print |
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| work = The New York Times |
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| date = [[2007-09-05]] |
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| accessdate = 2007-02-27 |
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}}</ref> |
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| signature = Gw_signature_2008_svg.svg |
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| footnotes = |
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}} |
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'''George Walker Bush''' ({{IPAEng|ʤɔɹʤ ˈwɔːkəɹ bʊʃ}}; born [[July 6]], [[1946]]) is the forty-third and current [[President of the United States|President of the United States of America]]. He previously served as the forty-sixth [[List of Governors of Texas|Governor of Texas]] from 1995 to 2000 and is the eldest son of former United States President [[George H. W. Bush|George Herbert Walker Bush]] and [[Barbara Bush]]. He was inaugurated as president on [[January 20]], [[2001]] and his current term is scheduled to end at [[noon]] on [[January 20]], [[2009]].<ref>See [[Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Section 1 of the Twentieth Amendment]]</ref> |
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After graduating from college, Bush worked in his [[Bush family|family's]] oil businesses. In 1978, he made an unsuccessful run for the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]. He later co-owned the [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] [[baseball]] team before returning to politics in a campaign for Governor of [[Texas]]. He defeated [[Ann Richards]] and was elected Governor of Texas in 1994. Bush was elected to the Presidency in 2000 as the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidate in a [[United States presidential election, 2000|close and controversial contest]], in which he lost the nationwide popular vote, but won the [[United States Electoral College|electoral vote]]. |
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Bush signed into law a [[United States dollar|$]]1.35 trillion [[tax cut]] program in 2001,<ref>{{cite news| url = http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/06/07/bush.taxes/ | work=CNN|title = $1.35 trillion tax cut becomes law| date=[[June 7]] [[2001]]|accessdate = 2007-10-21}}</ref> and in 2002 the [[No Child Left Behind Act]]. In October 2001, after the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|attacks on September 11, 2001]], Bush announced a global ''[[War on Terrorism]]'' and ordered an [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|invasion of Afghanistan]] to overthrow the [[Taliban]], destroy [[Al-Qaeda]], and to capture [[Osama bin Laden]]. In March 2003, Bush ordered the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invasion of Iraq]], asserting that Iraq was in possession of [[weapons of mass destruction]] and that the war was necessary for the protection of the United States.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030319-1.html| title=March 18, 2003 Presidential Letter| publisher=The White House| accessdate=2006-05-25|date=[[March 19]] [[2003]]}}; {{cite web| url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030205-1.html| date=[[February 5]], [[2003]]| title=U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell Addresses the U.N. Security Council|first=Colin| last=Powell| publisher=The White House| accessdate=2006-05-25}}</ref> |
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Running in the midst of the [[Iraq War]],<ref name="War President">{{cite news| url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4179618/| title = Transcript for Feb. 8th| accessdate = 2006-09-09|date= [[2004-02-08]]| work= MSNBC}}</ref> Bush was [[United States presidential election, 2004|re-elected]] on [[November 2]], [[2004]];<ref>[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=2004 2004 Presidential Election Results]</ref> his [[George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2004|presidential campaign]] against [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[John Kerry]] was successful despite controversy over Bush's execution of the Iraq War and domestic issues.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2004d.html |date=[[October 13]] [[2004]] |title=Transcript of the third Bush-Kerry Presidential debate}}; CNN's exit poll showed Terrorism (19%) and Iraq (15%) as the third and fourth most important issues behind Moral Values (22%) and the Economy (20%) [http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/US/P/00/epolls.0.html "CNN — U.S. President / National / Exit Poll / Election 2004"]</ref> After his re-election, Bush received increasingly heated [[Criticism of George W. Bush|criticism]]. During his two terms he has had both the highest and among the lowest domestic [[approval rating]]s of any president in history. His approval rating has ranged from around 90 percent immediately after the [[September 11]], [[2001]] attacks, to 26% or lower in mid 2007.<ref>Gallup reported a high of 90% and a low of 29%: {{cite news|url= http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/07/usatgallup-po-1.html |accessdate=2007-11-28 |work=USA Today |date=[[10 July]] [[2007]] |title=USAT/Gallup Poll: Bush approval at new low; Republican support eroding}}; Most polls in late February and early March 2008 reported ratings in the low 30s: [http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm ''Polling Report''] and [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls/archive/?poll_id=19 ''Real Clear Politics]; One poll reported a rating of only 24%: [http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1624620720071017?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews Reuters/Zogby], and one found only 19%: [http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy American Research Group]</ref> Bush has been referred to by some historians as being the worst President in US history.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/01/AR2006120101509.html Worst ever president - Washingtonpost by Eric Foner is DeWitt Clinton professor of history at Columbia University]</ref><ref>[http://www.rollingstone.com/news/profile/story/9961300/the_worst_president_in_history The worst president in history - Rolling Stone]</ref> (see also [[Historical rankings of United States Presidents]]). |
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{{TOClimit|limit=3}} |
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==Childhood to mid-life== |
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{{main|Early life of George W. Bush|Professional life of George W. Bush}} |
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Born in [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]], [[Connecticut]] on [[July 6]], [[1946]], Bush was the first child of [[George H. W. Bush]] and [[Barbara Bush]] (née Pierce). Bush was raised in [[Midland, Texas|Midland]] and [[Houston, Texas]], with his four siblings, [[Jeb Bush|Jeb]], [[Neil Bush|Neil]], [[Marvin P. Bush|Marvin]], and [[Dorothy Bush Koch|Dorothy]]. Another younger sister, [[Robin Bush|Robin]], died in 1953 at the age of three from [[leukemia]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.famoustexans.com/georgewbush.htm | title = George Walker Bush | accessdate = 2006-06-27 |date= [[February 3]] [[2005]] | work = Famous Texans }}</ref> Bush's grandfather, [[Prescott Bush]], was a [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] from Connecticut, and his father served as U.S. President from 1989 to 1993. |
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[[Image:GW-Bush-in-uniform.jpg|thumb|Lt. George W. Bush while in the National Guard]] |
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Bush attended [[Phillips Academy]] in [[Andover, Massachusetts]], where he played baseball, and was the head cheerleader at the all-boys school during his senior year.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/democracy/bush/stories/bush/ |
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| title = George W. Bush: Living the Bush Legacy | accessdate = 2007-03-18 | date = [[October 29]] [[2000]] | work = CNN}}; {{cite web |url = http://partners.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/061000wh-bush.html |
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|title = George W. Bush's Journey ''The Cheerleader'': Earning A's in People Skills at Andover |author = [[Nicholas D. Kristof]] |
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|work= The New York Times |date = [[June 10]] [[2000]] |accessdate = 2007-06-23}}</ref> Following in his father's footsteps, Bush attended [[Yale University]], where he received a [[Bachelor's degree]] in history in 1968.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.whitehouse.gov/president/biography.html |title=Biography of President George W. Bush |accessdate=2007-07-10 |publisher=The White House}}</ref> As a college senior, Bush became a member of the secretive [[Skull and Bones]] society, although, by his own characterization, he was an average student.<ref>{{cite news |
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|author = Associated Press |url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,25229,00.html |title = Self-Deprecating Bush Talks to Yale Grads |work= Fox News Channel |
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|date= [[May 21]] [[2001]] |accessdate = 2006-06-27 |
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}}; {{cite news |work= Inside Politics |url = http://www.insidepolitics.org/heard/heard32300.html |title = Bush/Gore Grades and SAT Scores |date=[[June 17]] [[2005]] |accessdate = 2007-07-05}}</ref> |
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In May 1968, at the height of the ongoing [[Vietnam War]], Bush was accepted into the Texas [[Air National Guard]], despite scoring the lowest acceptable passing grade on the pilot's written aptitude test.<ref name=wpbushguardquestion>{{cite news |url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A7372-2004Feb2?language=printer |
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|title = Bush's Guard Service In Question |accessdate = 2007-07-03 |
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|last = Romano |first = Lois |date =[[February 3]] [[2004]] |work= The Washington Post |pages = p. A08}}</ref><ref name=USDoDbushrecords>{{cite news |
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|publisher= Department of Defense |url = http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/bush_records/index.html |title = Official DoD service records of Texas Air National Guard member George Walker Bush |date=[[June 17]] [[2005]] |accessdate = 2007-07-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| format=PDF |url= http://www.icodap.org/papers/AFHRL/AFHRL-TR-69-103.pdf |publisher= The Innovation Center for Occupational Data, Applications and Practices |title=Interpretation and Utilization of Scores on the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test}}</ref> This was at a time when more than ten thousand Air National Guard personnel, many fighter pilots, had been called to active duty to serve both in Vietnam, and in support of operations there.<ref>{{cite web |
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| publisher=United States Air Force, National Guard Bureau Historical Services Division | title =Vietnam War |
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| url =http://www.ang.af.mil/history/Heritage/VietnamWar.asp |
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| archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20061004105434/http://www.ang.af.mil/history/Heritage/VietnamWar.asp |
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| archivedate=2006-10-04 |
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| accessdate =2007-08-08}}</ref> After training, he was assigned to duty in [[Houston]], flying [[Convair]] [[F-102 Delta Dagger|F-102s]] out of [[Ellington Field|Ellington Air Force Base]].<ref>{{cite news |first = Byron |last = York |
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|url = http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/york200408261025.asp |
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|title = The Facts about Bush and the National Guard |work= National Review Online |date=[[August 26]] [[2004]] |
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|accessdate = 2007-10-19}}</ref> [[George W. Bush military service controversy|Critics have alleged]] that Bush was favorably treated during his time of service because of his father's political standing and that he was irregular in attendance.{{fact|date=March 2008}} The [[United States Department of Defense]] has released all of the records of Bush's Texas Air National Guard service, which remain in its official archives.<ref name=USDoDbushrecords /> In 1970, Bush applied to the [[University of Texas School of Law]], but was subsequently was rejected.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/choice2000/bush/cron.html |
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| work= PBS - Frontline | title = Bush Chronology | accessdate = 2007-10-28}}</ref> He accepted a transfer to the [[Alabama]] Air National Guard in 1972 to work on a Republican senate campaign, and in October 1973 he was discharged from the Texas Air National Guard, almost eight months early,{{fact|date=April 2008}} to attend [[Harvard Business School]]; there, Bush completed his six-year service obligation in the inactive reserve.<!-- Is there any way to verify this reference? --><ref>{{cite news |last=Brit Hume, Mara Liasson, Jeff Birnbaum, Charles Krauthammer |title=The All-Star Panel Discusses John Kerry's Shifting Positions on Iraq War Spending | work=Fox News Network (transcript) |date=[[2004-07-09]] | language=English }}</ref> |
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There are a number of [[George W. Bush substance abuse controversy|accounts of substance abuse]] and otherwise disorderly conduct by Bush from this time.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6999665/|title=Bush feared past ‘mistakes’ would cost him|date=February 25, 2005|work=Associated Press|publisher=MSNBC|accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref> Bush has admitted to drinking "too much" in those years and described this period of his life as his "nomadic" period of "irresponsible youth".<ref name="Life-changing">{{cite news |first = Lois |last = Romano |coauthors = George Lardner Jr |url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/bush072599.htm |
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|title = Bush's Life-Changing Year |work= The Washington Post |
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|date=[[July 25]] [[1999]] |accessdate = 2006-06-27}}</ref> On [[September 4]], [[1976]], at the age of 30, Bush was arrested for [[Drunk driving (United States)|driving under the influence]] of alcohol ([[DUI]]) near his family's summer home in [[Kennebunkport, Maine|Kennebunkport]], [[Maine]]. He pled guilty, was fined [[United States dollar|US$]]150, and had his [[driver's license]] suspended in Maine until 1978.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bushdmv1.html| title = 2000 Driving Record| accessdate = 2006-08-09 |date=[[November 2]] [[2000]]| publisher= Department of the [[Secretary of State of Maine]]}}; {{cite web| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,998465,00.html |
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| title = Fallout From A Midnight Ride| accessdate = 2006-09-08 |
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|date=[[November 13]] [[2000]] | work = Time Magazine}}</ref> |
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[[Image:Bush daughers.gif|thumb|left|George and Laura Bush with their daughters Jenna and Barbara, 1990]] |
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Bush then attended [[Harvard University]], where he earned his [[Master of Business Administration|MBA]],<ref>{{cite web |
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| url = http://www.americanthinker.com/2004/02/gwb_hbs_mba.html |
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| title = GWB: HBS MBA| accessdate = 2006-10-16 |
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| publisher= The American Thinker}}</ref> and entered the [[oil industry]] in Texas not long afterward. In 1977, he was introduced by friends to [[Laura Bush|Laura Welch]], a schoolteacher and librarian. They married and settled in [[Midland, Texas]]. Bush left his family's [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal]] Church to join his wife's [[United Methodist Church]].<ref name="um" /> |
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In 1978, Bush ran for the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] from the [[Texas's 19th congressional district|19th Congressional District of Texas]]. His opponent, [[Kent Hance]], portrayed him as being out of touch with rural Texans; Bush lost the election by 6,000 votes.<ref name= NewsMine>{{cite news |url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991017/aponline114059_000.htm |
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|title = Bush Wasn't Always a Front-Runner |work=The Washington Post |date=[[October 17]] [[1999]] |accessdate = 2007-04-07}}</ref> He returned to the oil industry, becoming a senior partner, or chief executive officer, of several ventures, such as [[Arbusto Energy]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stone |first=Peter H. | title=Big oil's White House pipelines | journal=National Journal|date=[[July 4]] [[2001]] | issue=33 |page=1042 | language=English | id=ISSN: 03604217 }}</ref> [[Spectrum 7]], and, later, [[Harken Energy]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Carlisle, John K |title=George Soros's Plan to Defeat George Bush | work=Human Events |date=[[January 3]] [[2004]]}}</ref> These ventures suffered from the general decline of oil prices in the 1980s that had affected the industry and the regional economy. Additionally, questions of possible [[George W. Bush insider trading allegations|insider trading]] involving Harken have arisen, though the [[United States Securities and Exchange Commission|Securities and Exchange Commission]]'s (SEC) investigation of Bush concluded that he did not have enough insider information before his stock sale to warrant a case.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0721-02.htm |title = Files: Bush Knew Firm's Plight Before Stock Sale |work=The Washington Post |date=[[July 21]] [[2002]] |accessdate = 2007-01-02}}</ref> |
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Bush moved with his family to [[Washington, D.C.]] in 1988, to work on his father's campaign for the U.S. presidency.<ref>{{cite book |last= Bush |first= George W. |authorlink= |coauthors= Bill Adler | title= The Quotable George W. Bush: A Portrait in His Own Words |publisher= Andrews McMeel Publishing |date= 2004 |isbn= 978-0-7407-4154-8 }}; {{cite news |work= PBS |url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/choice2000/bush/wead.html |
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|title = George W. Bush and the religious right in the 1988 campaign of George H.W. Bush |date=[[June 17]] [[2005]] |accessdate = 2007-07-05}}</ref> Returning to Texas after the successful campaign, Bush purchased a share in the [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] baseball franchise in April 1989, where he served as managing general partner for five years.<ref name= TexRngrs>{{cite web |last = Farrey |first = Tom |url = http://espn.go.com/mlb/bush/timeline.html |title = A series of beneficial moves |publisher = ESPN |date=[[November 1]] [[1999]] |accessdate = 2007-01-21}}</ref> He actively led the team's projects and regularly attended its games, often choosing to sit in the open stands with fans.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/governors/modern/bush-p04.html |title = George W. Bush in Little League uniform |publisher = Texas State Library and Archives Commission |accessdate = 2007-01-21}}</ref> The sale of Bush's shares in the Rangers in 1998 brought him over US$15 million from his initial US$800,000 investment.<ref>{{cite web |
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|url = http://www.makethemaccountable.com/tax/BushTaxes1998.pdf |
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|title = 1998 Tax return |format=PDF |accessdate = 2007-01-21}}</ref> |
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==Elected positions== |
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===Governor of Texas=== |
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{{main|George W. Bush as Governor of Texas}} |
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[[Image:George H. W. Bush, Laura Bush, George W. Bush 1997.jpg|thumb|right|Governor Bush with wife, Laura, and father, former President [[George H. W. Bush]] at the dedication of the [[George Bush Presidential Library]], November 1997]] |
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Bush declared his candidacy for the 1994 Texas [[gubernatorial]] election as his brother, [[Jeb Bush|Jeb]], sought the governorship of [[Florida]]. Winning the Republican primary easily, Bush faced incumbent Governor [[Ann Richards]], a popular Democrat who was considered the favorite. |
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Bush was aided by several political advisers, including [[Karen Hughes]], [[Joe Allbaugh]], and [[Karl Rove]]. The Bush campaign was criticized for allegedly using controversial methods to disparage Richards.{{Fact|date=April 2008}} |
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Richards had vetoed a bill allowing Texans to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons. Bush pledged to sign it (and did so, after he won the election.)<ref name="concealed carry">{{cite web |url= http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/08/11/gun/index1.html |work=Salon News |title=Guns and Money}}</ref> Following an impressive performance in the debates, his popularity grew; he won the general election with 52 percent against Richards' 47 percent.<ref name="SlaterBrain">{{cite book | last = Wayne Slater | first = James Moore | year = 2003 | title = Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential | publisher = Wiley | isbn= 978-0-471-42327-0 | pages = p.210 }}</ref> |
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As governor, Bush successfully sponsored legislation for [[tort reform]], increased education funding, set higher standards for schools, and reformed the [[criminal justice]] system. Bush used a budget surplus to push through a $2 billion tax-cut plan, the largest in Texas history, which cemented Bush's credentials as a pro-business fiscal conservative.<ref name="SlaterBrain" /> |
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Bush also pioneered [[White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives|faith-based welfare programs]] by extending government funding and support for religious organizations that provide social services such as education, alcohol and drug abuse prevention, and reduction of domestic violence. He proclaimed [[June 10]] [[2000]] to be [[Jesus Day]] in Texas, a day on which he "urge[d] all Texans to answer the call to serve those in need."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jesus/art/pop_jesusday.jpg |
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| title = Jesus Day proclamation| accessdate = 2006-06-30| date=[[March 17]] [[2000]] | format = JPEG}}</ref> |
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In 1998, Bush won re-election in a [[landslide victory]] with nearly 69 percent of the vote.<ref>{{cite news |author = Associated Press |url = http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/11/03/election/governors/texas |
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|title = Texas Gov. George W. Bush wins in landslide |
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|work= CNN |date=[[November 3]] [[1998]] |accessdate = 2006-06-30 }}</ref> Within a year, he had decided to seek the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nomination for the presidency. |
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===2000 Presidential candidacy=== |
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{{main|United States presidential election, 2000}} |
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Bowing out from the Texas governorship, Bush sought his own bid for President of the United States in 2000. |
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====Primary==== |
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Bush's campaign was managed by Rove, Hughes and Allbaugh, as well as by other political associates from Texas. He was endorsed by a majority of Republicans in 38 state legislatures. After winning the [[Iowa caucus]], he lost to U.S. Senator [[John McCain]] of [[Arizona]] in the [[New Hampshire primary]]. Bush then picked up eleven of the next sixteen primaries, effectively clinching the Republican nomination. |
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In the televised Republican presidential debate held in [[Des Moines, Iowa]] on [[December 13]] [[1999]], all of the participating candidates were asked "What political [[philosophy|philosopher]] or thinker do you most identify with and why?" Unlike most of the other candidates, who cited former presidents and other political figures, Bush responded, "[[Jesus|Christ]], because he changed my heart". His appeal to religious values seems to have aided him in the general election. In a [[Gallup poll]] those who said they "attend church weekly" gave him 56% of their vote in 2000, and 63% of their vote in 2004.<ref>{{cite news |title = How Americans Voted |publisher = The Gallup Organization |date=[[November 5]] [[2004]]}}</ref> During the election cycle, Bush labeled himself a "[[compassionate conservatism|compassionate conservative]]", and his [[political campaign]] promised to "restore honor and dignity to the [[White House]]," a reference to the scandals and impeachment of his predecessor, [[Bill Clinton]].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0009/23/se.02.html |title=George W. Bush Speaks at Send-Off in Orlando |date=[[September 23]] [[2000]] |work=CNN}}; {{cite news| title=Ex-FBI Chief On Clinton's Scandals |date=[[October 6]], [[2005]] |work=60 Minutes |publisher=CBS News |url= http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/06/60minutes/main923095.shtml }}</ref> |
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====General election==== |
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On [[July 25]] [[2000]], Bush surprised some observers by asking the [[Halliburton]] corporation's chief executive officer [[Dick Cheney]], a former [[White House Chief of Staff]], [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]], and [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]], to be his Vice Presidential [[running mate]]. Cheney was then serving as head of Bush's Vice-Presidential search committee. |
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While stressing his successful record as governor of Texas, Bush's campaign criticized<ref>{{cite news |author=Sack, Kevin and Toner, Robin |date=[[August 13]] [[2000]] |url= http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E5DF133FF930A2575BC0A9669C8B63&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=1 |title=The 2000 Campaign: The Record; In Congress, Gore Selected Issues Ready for Prime Time |work=The New York Times |accessdate=2007-07-20}}</ref> the Democratic nominee, incumbent Vice President [[Al Gore]], over [[gun politics|gun control]] and taxation. |
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Bush won the 2000 election in a controversial victory. The closeness of the outcome, as well as reports of votes being miscounted, led to a [[United States presidential election in Florida, 2000|recount in Florida]]. Two initial counts went to Bush, but that outcome was tied up in courts for a month until reaching the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]]. On [[December 9]], in the ''[[Bush v. Gore]]'' case, the Court reversed a Florida Supreme Court ruling ordering a third count, and stopped an ordered statewide hand recount based on the argument that the different standards that different counting procedures would have used violated the [[Equal Protection Clause]] of the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]]. The machine recount stated that Bush had won the Florida vote by a margin of 537 votes out of six million cast.<ref name=2000results>{{cite web| url = http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/2000presgeresults.htm| title = 2000 Official General Election Presidential Results| access date = 2007-01-12|date= December 2001| publisher = Federal Election Commission}}</ref> The famous episode pushed terms such as [[chad (paper)|hanging chad]] into the popular lexicon. |
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Bush received 271 [[United States Electoral College|electoral votes]] to Gore's 266. However, he lost the popular vote by more than half a million votes,<ref name=2000results /> making him one of a handful of presidents elected without at least a [[plurality]] of the popular vote. |
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===2004 Presidential candidacy=== |
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{{main|United States presidential election, 2004}} |
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[[Image:Bush 43 10-19-04 Stpete.jpg|thumb|right|George W. Bush speaks at a campaign rally in 2004.]] |
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Bush commanded broad support in the Republican Party and did not encounter a primary challenge. He appointed [[Kenneth Mehlman]] as campaign manager, with a political strategy devised by Rove.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec04/rove_9-01.html| title = An Interview With Karl Rove| accessdate = 2006-09-09 |date=[[August 1]] [[2004]]| work = NewsHour with Jim Lehrer| publisher = PBS}}</ref> Bush outlined an agenda that included a strong commitment to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a renewal of the [[USA PATRIOT Act]], making earlier tax cuts permanent, cutting the budget deficit in half, promoting education, as well as reform in tort law, reforming Social Security, and creation of an [[ownership society]]. |
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The Bush campaign advertised across the U.S. against Democratic candidates, including Bush's emerging opponent, [[Massachusetts]] Senator [[John Kerry]]. Kerry and other Democrats attacked Bush on the war in Iraq, perceived excesses of the USA PATRIOT Act and for allegedly failing to stimulate the economy and job growth. The Bush campaign portrayed Kerry as a staunch [[American liberalism|liberal]] who would raise taxes and increase the size of government. The Bush campaign continuously criticized Kerry's seemingly contradictory statements on the war in Iraq, and claimed Kerry lacked the decisiveness and vision necessary for success in the war on terrorism. Bush carried 31 of 50 states for a total of 286 [[United States Electoral College|Electoral College]] votes. |
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Bush won an [[absolute majority]] of the popular vote, the first president to do so since his father in 1988.<ref name="16 years">{{cite web| url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/nov/04/uselections2004.usa16 |title = And now … four more years| accessdate = 2007-05-25 |date=[[November 4]] [[2004]]| work=The Guardian}}</ref> In addition, it was the first time since [[Calvin Coolidge]]'s election in [[United States presidential election, 1924|1924]] that a Republican president was elected, and the Republican Party maintained majorities in both houses of the Congress. |
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==Presidency== |
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{{main|Presidency of George W. Bush|George W. Bush's first term as President of the United States|George W. Bush's second term as President of the United States|George W. Bush Cabinet|Domestic policy of the George W. Bush administration}} |
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{{GW Bush cabinet infobox}} |
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===Domestic policy=== |
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====Economic policy==== |
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{{main|Economic policy of the George W. Bush administration}} |
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Facing opposition in the Congress, Bush held town hall-style public meetings across the U.S. in 2001 to increase public support for his plan for a US$1.35 trillion tax cut program — one of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history. Bush and his economic advisers argued that unspent government funds should be returned to taxpayers. With reports of the threat of recession from Federal Reserve Chairman [[Alan Greenspan]], Bush argued that such a tax cut would stimulate the economy and create jobs.<ref>{{cite news |first = Kelly |last = Wallace |url = http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/06/07/bush.taxes |title = $1.35 trillion tax cut becomes law |work= CNN InsidePolitics archives |date=[[June 7]] [[2001]] |accessdate = 2006-06-30}}</ref> Others, including the Treasury Secretary at the time [[Paul O'Neill (cabinet member)|Paul O'Neill]], were opposed to some of the tax cuts on the basis that they would contribute to budget deficits and undermine [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]].<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5510.htm |title = CBS Interviews Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill] |accessdate = 2007-07-25}}</ref> |
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Under the Bush Administration, Real [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] has grown at an average annual rate of 2.5 percent,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bea.gov/national/xls/gdpchg.xls |title = Gross Domestic Product |publisher = Bureau of Economic Analysis |accessdate = 2007-07-25}}</ref> considerably below the average for business cycles from 1949 to 2000.<ref name="Price">{{cite web |url= http://www.epi.org/briefingpapers/168/bp168.pdf |format=PDF |author=Price, L| date=[[October 25]] [[2005]] |title=The Boom That Wasn’t: The economy has little to show for $860 billion in tax cuts. |accessdate=2007-11-10}}</ref><ref name="Price & Ratner">{{cite web |url= http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_snapshots_20051026 |author=Price, L., Ratner, D |date=[[October 26]] [[2005]] |title=Economy pays price for Bush’s tax cuts. |accessdate=2007-11-10}}</ref> The Dow Jones Industrial Average has grown by about 30 percent since January 2001.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=%5EDJI |title=Historical Prices for Dow Jones Industrial Average |publisher=Yahoo! Finance}}</ref> [[Unemployment]] rose from 4.2 percent in January 2001 to 6.3 percent in June 2003, dropping to 4.5 percent as of July 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cpsatab1.htm |title = Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey |publisher = [[United States Department of Labor]] |accessdate = 2007-07-25}}</ref> The on-budget deficit for 2006 was US$434 billion, a change from an US$86 billion surplus in 2000.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cbo.gov/budget/historical.pdf |format=PDF |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070628072448/http://www.cbo.gov/budget/historical.pdf |archivedate=2007-06-28 |title=Revenues, Outlays, Surpluses, Deficits, and Debt Held by the Public, 1962 to 2006 |publisher= [[Congressional Budget Office]] |accessdate=2007-07-25}}</ref> Inflation-adjusted [[median household income]] has been flat while the nation's poverty rate has increased.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p60-231.pdf |format=PDF |title= Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2005 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |year=2006 |accessdate=2007-07-25}}</ref> By [[August 23]], [[2007]], the national debt had officially risen to US$8.98 trillion dollars; the national debt has increased US$3.25 trillion dollars since Bush took office.<ref>{{cite news |title= Spending and the national debt |work= The Washington Times |date=[[September 2]] [[2007]] |url= http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070902/EDITORIAL/109020028/1013 |accessdate= 2007-09-02}}</ref> |
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While some argue that the Bush-era economy has mostly benefited the wealthy and not the majority of middle and lower-class citizens,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/17/Dobbs.Oct18/index.html |title=Fighting back in the war on the middle class |author=[[Lou Dobbs]] |publisher=CNN}}; {{cite web |url= http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/43430/ |title=Bush's Economy 'Doing Remarkably Well' |author=[[Molly Ivins]] |date=[[October 24]] [[2006]]}}; {{cite news |url = http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/08/washington/08tax.html?ei=5088&en=e1dc830d58c7eacb&ex=1325912400&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1168290792-GR0HodSCCzDHPWdgiU8nlg |title = Tax Cuts Offer Most for Very Rich, Study Says |work= The New York Times|date =[[January 8]] [[2007]] |accessdate = 2007-01-14}}</ref> and others have claimed the exact opposite,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.creators.com/opinion/alan-reynolds/tax-cuts-and-the-rich.html |title=Tax Cuts and the Rich |author= Alan Reynolds |date=[[January 11]] [[2007]]</ref> information available suggests that the standard of living has increased on all rungs of the socio-economic strata — with the bulk of income gains having gone to the top one percent,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.frbsf.org/news/speeches/2006/1106.html |author=Yellen, J. L |date=[[November 6]] [[2006]] |title=Speech to the Center for the Study of Democracy at the University of California, Irvine. |publisher=[[Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco]] |accessdate=2007-06-20}}</ref> whose share of income has increased substantially.<ref>{{cite news| date=[[March 29]] [[2007]] |work=The New York Times |url= http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/29/business/29tax.html?ex=1332820800&en=fb472e72466c34c8&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss |author=Johnston, D |title=Income Gap Is Widening, Data Shows |accessdate=2007-06-20}}</ref> |
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Another significant part of the Bush economic plan was the [[Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act]] of 2005. |
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====Education and health==== |
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[[Image:No Child Left Behind Act.jpg|thumb|left|Bush signs the [[No Child Left Behind Act]] into law.]] |
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The [[No Child Left Behind Act]] aimed to measure and close the gap between rich and poor student performance, provide options to parents with students in low-performing schools, and target more federal funding to low-income [[schools]]. Critics argue that Bush has underfunded his own program, and Democratic Senator [[Ted Kennedy]] has claimed: "The tragedy is that these long-overdue reforms are finally in place, but the funds are not."<ref>{{cite news |author = W. James Antle III |url = http://www.amconmag.com/2005_08_01/article.html |title = Leaving No Child Left Behind |work= The American Conservative |date=[[August 1]] [[2005]] |accessdate = 2006-10-11}}</ref> Many educational experts have criticized these reforms, contending that NCLBA's focus on "high stakes testing" and quantitative outcomes is counterproductive.<ref>{{cite news |author = [[Harvard Graduate School of Education]] |url = http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/features/pierce07012002.html |title = No Child Left Behind? |work= HGSE News |date=[[June 1]] [[2002]] |accessdate = 2006-10-11}}; {{cite book |title=Raising Standards or Raising Barriers? |author=Edited by Gary Orfield and Mindy L. Kornhaber |publisher=The Century Foundation Press |date=[[May 1]] [[2001]]}}</ref> Bush increased funding for the [[National Science Foundation]] and [[National Institutes of Health]] in his first years of office, and created education programs to strengthen the grounding in science and mathematics for American high school students. However, funding for NIH failed to keep up with inflation in 2004 and 2005, and was actually cut in 2006, the first such cut in 36 years.<ref>{{cite news |author = [[Committee on Appropriations]] —Democratic Staff |title = President Bush and House Republicans Undermine Life Saving Health Research |publisher = United States House of Representatives |date=[[September 12]] [[2006]] |accessdate = 2006-10-11}}</ref> |
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In 2007, Bush opposed and vetoed [[State Children's Health Insurance Program]] (SCHIP) legislation which was tied by the Democrats onto a war funding bill and passed by Congress. The SCHIP legislation would have significantly expanded federally-funded health care benefits and plans to children of some low-income families from about 6 million to 10 million children. It was to be funded by an increase in the cigarette tax.<ref>{{cite news |author = Michael Abramowitz and Jonathan Weisman |url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/03/AR2007100300116.html?hpid=topnews |title = Bush Vetoes Health Measure |work=The Washington Post |date=[[October 4]] [[2007]] |accessdate = 2007-10-09}}</ref> Bush viewed the legislation as a move toward the liberal platform of socialized health care, and claimed that the program could benefit families making as much as US$83,000 per year who would not have otherwise needed the help.<ref>{{cite news |
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|url = http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/washington/04bush.html?hp |
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|title = Bush Vetoes Child Health Bill Privately |work= The New York Times |date=[[October 4]] [[2007]] |accessdate = 2007-11-01}}</ref> |
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====Social services and Social Security==== |
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Bush promoted increased deregulation and investment options in social services, leading Republican efforts to pass the [[Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act|Medicare Act of 2003]], which added prescription drug coverage to Medicare and created [[Health Savings Accounts]], which would permit people to set aside a portion of their Medicare tax to build a "nest egg". The retired persons lobby group [[AARP]] worked with the Bush Administration on the program and gave their endorsement. Bush said the law, estimated to cost US$400 billion over the first 10 years, would give the elderly "better choices and more control over their health care".<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/12/20031208-2.html |title = President Signs Medicare Legislation |publisher = The White House |date=[[December 8]] [[2003]] |accessdate = 2006-06-30}}</ref> |
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Bush began his second term by outlining a major initiative to reform Social Security, which was facing record deficit projections beginning in 2005. Bush made it the centerpiece of his agenda despite contrary beliefs in the media and in the U.S. Congress, which saw the program as the "[[third rail (metaphor)|third rail of politics]]," with the American public being suspicious of any attempt to change it. It was also widely believed to be the province of the Democratic Party, with Republicans in the past having been accused of efforts to dismantle or privatize it. In his [[2005 State of the Union Address]], Bush discussed the allegedly impending bankruptcy of the program and attacked political inertia against reform. He proposed options to permit Americans to divert a portion of their Social Security tax (FICA) into secured investments, creating a "nest egg" that he claimed would enjoy steady growth. Despite emphasizing safeguards and remaining open to other plans, Bush's proposal was criticized for its high cost, and Democrats attacked it as an effort to partially privatize the system, and for leaving Americans open to the whims of the market. Bush embarked on a 60-day national tour, campaigning vigorously for his initiative in media events ("Conversations on Social Security") in a largely unsuccessful attempt to gain support from the general public.<ref>{{cite news| url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28120-2005Mar11.html |
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| title = Social Security: On With the Show | accessdate = 2006-09-09 | author = Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker |date=[[February 12]] [[2005]] | work= The Washington Post}}</ref> Despite energetic campaign by Bush to promote his Social Security reform plan, by May 2005 the public support for the Bush proposal declined substantially<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.ft.com/cms/s/f944a850-b830-11d9-bc7c-00000e2511c8,_i_rssPage=80fdaff6-cbe5-11d7-81c6-0820abe49a01.html |
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| title =Bush shifts approach on Social Security reform |
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| accessdate= 2007-09-09 | date =[[April 28]] [[2005]] | work= The Financial Times}}</ref> and the House GOP leadership decided not to put Social Security reform on the priority list for the remainder of their 2005 legislative agenda.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://web.archive.org/web/20051205090810/http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/060105/social.html |title= Social Security in Limbo] |work=The Hill |date=[[June 1]], [[2005]] |author=Patrick O'Connor}}</ref> The proposal's legislative prospects were further diminished by the political fallout from the [[Hurricane Katrina]] in the fall of 2005.<ref>{{cite web | title=Hurricane impact — Hurricane dims Bush's hopes on Social Security date=[[September 22]] [[2005]] |author=Holly Yeager | url= http://news.ft.com/cms/s/00d6ee20-2b9f-11da-995a-00000e2511c8.html | accessdate=2007-09-09 |work=The Financial Times}}</ref> In the run-up to the 2006 congressional elections, the Republican leadership in Congress put the hot-button issue of the Social Security reform on the back burner. No substantive legislative action was taken on this issue in 2006. After the Democrats took over control of both houses of Congress as a result of the 2006 mid-term elections, the prospects of any further congressional action on the Bush proposal appeared to be dead for the remainder of his term in office. |
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====Environmental policy==== |
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{{main|Domestic policy of the George W. Bush administration#Environment}} |
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Upon arriving in office in 2001, Bush did not support the [[Kyoto Protocol]], an amendment to the [[United Nations]] Convention on Climate Change which seeks to impose mandatory targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Bush partially based this decision on the fact that the Senate had voted 95–0 in 1997 on a resolution expressing its disapproval of the protocol. Bush asserted he would not support it because the treaty exempted 80 percent of the world's population<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/03/20010314.html |title=Letter from the President to Senators Hagel, Helms, Craig, and Roberts |publisher= Office of the Press Secretary |date= [[March 13]], [[2001]]}}</ref> and would have cost the economy tens of billions of dollars per year,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/kyoto/economic.htm |title=Summary of the Kyoto Report—Assessment of Economic Impacts |publisher=Energy Information Administration |date= [[July 16]] [[2002]]}}</ref> and was based on the uncertain science of climate change.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.alternet.org/story/11054?page=entire/ | title= George W. Bush: The Un-science Guy | first= David last=Corn |date=[[June 19]] [[2001]]| accessdate=2006-11-05 }}</ref> The Bush Administration's stance on [[global warming]] has remained controversial in the scientific and environmental communities during his presidency. |
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In 2002, Bush announced the [[Clear Skies Initiative]],<ref name="EXsummary">{{cite web |url = http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/02/clearskies.html |
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|title = Executive Summary—The Clear Skies Initiative |publisher = The White House |date =[[February 14]] [[2002]] |accessdate = 2007-02-02}}</ref> aimed at amending the [[Clean Air Act]] to reduce air pollution through the use of [[emissions trading]] programs. Critics contended that it would have weakened the original legislation by allowing higher levels of pollutants than were permitted at that time.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.sierraclub.org/cleanair/clear_skies.asp |publisher = The [[Sierra Club]] |title = Clear Skies Proposal Weakens the Clean Air Act |accessdate = 2007-02-04}}</ref> The initiative was introduced to Congress, but failed to make it out of committee. |
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In 2004, the Director of [[NASA]]'s Goddard Institute, [[James Hansen]], publicly and harshly accused the Administration of misinforming the public by suppressing the scientific evidence of the dangers of greenhouse gases, saying the Bush Administration wanted to hear only scientific results that “fit predetermined, inflexible positions” and edited reports to make the dangers sound less threatening in what he asserted was "direct opposition to the most fundamental precepts of science."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6341451 | title = NASA Scientist Rips Bush on Global Warming | publisher = MSNBC | date =[[October 27]] [[2004]] | accessdate = 2007-01-22}}; {{cite web | url = http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/17/60minutes/main1415985_page2.shtml |
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| title = 60 Minutes: Rewriting the Science | publisher = CBS News |
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| date =[[March 19]] [[2006]] | accessdate = 2007-01-22}}</ref> Other experts, such as former [[United States Department of Energy]] official [[Joseph Romm]], have decried the Bush administration as a "denier and delayer" of government action essential to reduce [[carbon emissions]] and deter [[global warming]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Hell or High Water |first=Joe |last=Romm |publisher=William Morrow |year=2006 |isbn=9780061172120}}; Romm calls Bush's "don't rush to judgment" and "we need to ask more questions" stance a classic delay tactic. Part 2.}}</ref> Bush had said that he has consistently noted that global warming is a serious problem, but asserted there is a "debate over whether it's manmade or naturally caused".<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060626-2.html |
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| title = Press Conference | publisher = The White House | date =[[June 26]] [[2006]] | accessdate = 2007-01-22}}</ref> In his [[2007 State of the Union Address]], Bush renewed his pledge to work toward diminished reliance on foreign oil by reducing fossil fuel consumption and increasing alternative fuel production.<ref> [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070123-2.html Full text (and video) of 2007 State of the Union address]</ref> |
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In 2006 Bush declared the [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]] a national monument, creating the largest marine reserve to date. The [[Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument]] comprises 84 million acres (340,000 km²) and is home to 7,000 species of fish, birds and other marine animals, many of which are specific to only those islands.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13300363/ |
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|title = Bush creates world’s biggest ocean preserve |publisher = MSNBC |date =[[June 16]] [[2006]]|accessdate = 2007-01-31}}</ref> The move was hailed by conservationists for "its foresight and leadership in protecting this incredible area."<ref>{{cite web |
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|url = http://www.nature.org/initiatives/marine/press/press2489.html |
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|title = The Nature Conservancy Applauds President Bush for Creating World’s Largest Marine Conservation Area in Hawaii |publisher = [[The Nature Conservancy]] |date =[[June 16]] [[2006]] |accessdate = 2007-01-31}}</ref> |
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During his [[2008 State of the Union Address]] Bush announced that the U.S. would commit US$2 billion over the next three years towards a new international fund to promote clean energy technologies and fight climate change. He declared that; ''"along with contributions from other countries, this fund will increase and accelerate the deployment of all forms of cleaner, more efficient technologies in developing nations like India and China, and help leverage substantial private-sector capital by making clean energy projects more financially attractive."'' |
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During the speech, Bush announced plans to reaffirm the United States' commitment to work with major economies and through the United Nations to complete an international agreement that will slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases. He stated that; ''"this agreement will be effective only if it includes commitments by every major economy and gives none a free ride."''<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23125585-401,00.html |title=State of the Union:Bush fights for spotlight |author= Reuters/AFP |date=[[January 29]] [[2008]]}}</ref> |
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====Stem cell research and first use of veto power==== |
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Federal funding for medical research involving the creation or destruction of human embryos through the [[Department of Health and Human Services]] and the [[National Institutes of Health]] has been forbidden by law since the [[Republican Revolution]] of 1995.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.aaas.org/spp/cstc/briefs/stemcells/index.shtml | title = AAAS Policy Brief: Stem Cell Research | accessdate = 2006-09-09 |
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| publisher = [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]]}}</ref> Bush has said that he supports [[stem cell]] research, but only to the extent that human embryos are not destroyed in order to harvest additional cells.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url = http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010809-2.html |
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| title = President Discusses Stem Cell Research |
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| publisher = Office of the President}}</ref> On [[August 9]] [[2001]], Bush signed an executive order lifting the ban on federal funding for the 71 existing "lines" of stem cells,<ref>{{cite web |
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| url = http://stemcells.nih.gov/policy/NIHFedPolicy.asp |
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| title = NIH's Role in Federal Policy [Stem Cell Information] |
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| publisher = [[National Institutes of Health]]}}</ref> but the ability of these existing lines to provide an adequate medium for testing has been questioned. Testing can only be done on 12 of the original lines, and all of the approved lines have been cultured in contact with mouse cells, which makes it highly unlikely the [[Food and Drug Administration|FDA]] would ever approve them for administration to humans.<ref>{{cite news| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,472876,00.html |
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| title = Stem Cells in Limbo | work=TIME Magazine | date = [[2003-08-11]] | accessdate = 2007-01-13}}</ref> On [[July 19]] [[2006]], Bush used his [[veto]] power for the first time in his presidency to veto the [[Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act]]. The bill would have repealed the [[Dickey Amendment]], thereby permitting federal money to be used for research where stem cells are derived from the destruction of an embryo.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/19/stemcells.veto/ |
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| title = Bush Vetoes Embryonic Stem Cell Bill | publisher = CNN}}</ref> |
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====Immigration==== |
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In 2006, Bush shifted focus somewhat to re-emphasize immediate and comprehensive immigration reform. Going beyond calls from Republicans and conservatives to secure the border, Bush demanded that Congress create a "temporary guest-worker program" to allow more than 12 million [[illegal immigration|illegal immigrants]] to obtain legal status. Bush continues to argue that the lack of legal status denies the protections of U.S. laws to millions of people who face dangers of poverty and exploitation, and penalizes employers despite a demand for immigrant labor. |
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Bush urged Congress to provide additional funding for border security, and committed to deploying 6,000 [[United States National Guard|National Guard]] troops to the [[United States-Mexico border]].<ref>{{cite web |
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| url = http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/11/29/bush.immigration/ |
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| title = Bush takes tough talk on immigration to Texas | accessdate = 2006-09-09 | publisher = CNN |date=[[November 29]] [[2005]] }}</ref> In May-June 2007 Bush strongly supported the [[Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007]] which was written by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators with the active participation of the Bush administration.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070517-7.html |title=Fact Sheet: Border Security and Immigration Reform |date=[[May 17]], [[2007]] |publisher=The White House}}</ref> The bill envisioned: a legalization program for undocumented immigrants, with an eventual path to citizenship; establishing a guest worker program; a series of border and work site enforcement measures; a reform of the green card application process and the introduction of a point-based "merit" system for green cards; elimination of "chain migration" and of the diversity [[Green Card Lottery]]; and other measures. |
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A heated public debate followed, which resulted in a substantial rift within the Republican Party, with the majority of the conservative base opposing the bill because of its legalization or amnesty provisions.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0807/5449.html |title=Talk radio helped sink immigration reform] |work=Politico.com |date=[[August 20]], [[2007]]}}</ref> The bill was finally defeated in the Senate on [[June 28]], [[2007]], when a cloture motion failed on a 46-53 vote.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/immigration-bill-goes-down-in-defeat-2007-06-28.html |work=The Hill |title= 46-53, immigration bill goes down in defeat |author=Klaus Marre |date=[[June 28]] [[2007]]}}</ref> Bush was very disappointed at the defeat of one of his signature domestic initiatives.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/28/immigration.congress/index.html |title=Senate immigration bill suffers crushing defeat |publisher=CNN}}; {{cite web |url= http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/06/20070628-7.html |title=President Bush Disappointed by Congress's Failure to Act on Comprehensive Immigration Reform |date=[[June 28]], [[2007]] |publisher=The White House}}</ref> The Bush administration later proposed a series of immigration enforcement measures that do not require a change in law.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070810.html |title=The White House Fact Sheet: Improving Border Security and Immigration Within Existing Law] |date=[[August 10]], [[2007]]|publisher=The White House}}</ref> |
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====Civil liberties and treatment of detainees==== |
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Following the events of [[September 11]], Bush issued an executive order authorizing the [[National Security Agency|NSA]] to monitor communications between suspected terrorists outside the U.S. and parties within the U.S. without obtaining a warrant pursuant to the [[Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act]],<ref>{{cite press release |title=Briefing by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and General Michael Hayden |publisher=The White House |date=[[December 19]] [[2005]] |url= http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051219-1.html |accessdate=2007-09-02}}</ref> maintaining that the warrant requirements of FISA were implicitly superseded by the subsequent passage of the [[Authorization for Use of Military Force]].<ref>U.S. Department of Justice White Paper on NSA Legal Authorities. {{cite web |url=http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/nsa/dojnsa11906wp.pdf |format=PDF |title=Legal Authorities Supporting the Activities of the National Security Agency Described by the President |date=[[January 19]] [[2006]]}}</ref> The program proved to be [[NSA warrantless surveillance controversy|controversial]], as critics of the administration, as well as organizations such as the [[American Bar Association]], claimed it was illegal.<ref>{{cite news |title = Gonzales defends wiretaps amid protest| work= CNN |date =[[January 26]] [[2006]] |url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/24/nsa.strategy/index.html |accessdate = 2007-09-02}}; {{cite news|title=Lawyers Group Criticizes Surveillance Program |work=The Washington Post |date=[[February 14]] [[2006]] |url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/13/AR2006021302006.html |accessdate=2007-09-02}}</ref> In August 2006, a U.S. district court judge ruled that the [[Terrorist Surveillance Program]] was unconstitutional,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/01/AR2006090101410.html |
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| title = Judge Asked to Suspend Ruling Against Wiretaps | accessdate = 2006-09-21 |date=[[February 9]] [[2006]] |
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| work = The Washington Post}}</ref> but the decision was later reversed.<ref>{{cite news |title=Court dismisses lawsuit on spying program |publisher=Reuters |date=[[July 6]] [[2007]] |url= http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0642400020070706 |accessdate = 2007-09-02}}</ref> On [[January 17]], [[2007]], Attorney General Alberto Gonzales informed U.S. Senate leaders that the program would not be reauthorized by the president, but would be subjected to judicial oversight.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20060117gonzales_Letter.pdf |format=PDF |title=Letter from the AG to the Senate leaders}}</ref> |
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On [[October 17]], [[2006]] Bush signed into law the [[Military Commissions Act of 2006]],<ref name="detainee">{{cite web |
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| url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-09-28-congress-terrorism_x.htm |
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| title = Bush's detainee interrogation and prosecution plan approved by Senate | accessdate = 2006-09-29 | author = Associated Press |date=[[September 28]] [[2005]]| work= USA Today}}</ref> a bill passed in the wake of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]]'s decision on ''[[Hamdan v. Rumsfeld]]'',<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/28/opinion/28thu1.html?ex=1317096000&en=3eb3ba3410944ff9&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss |title=Rushing Off a Cliff" |work=The New York Times |date=[[September 28]], [[2006]]}}</ref> which allows the U.S. government the ability to prosecute [[unlawful enemy combatants]] by military commission rather than the standard trial. The bill also denies them access to [[habeas corpus]] and, while barring torture of detainees, allows the president to determine what constitutes torture.<ref name="detainee" /> |
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====Hurricane Katrina==== |
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{{main|Political effects of Hurricane Katrina}} |
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One of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, [[Hurricane Katrina]], struck early in Bush’s second term. Katrina formed in late August during the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season and devastated much of the north-central [[Gulf Coast]] of the United States, particularly [[New Orleans]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Knabb, Richard D; Rhome, Jamie R.; Brown, Daniel P |date=[[December 20]] [[2005]] |title=Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Katrina: 23–30 August 2005 |publisher=National Hurricane Center}}</ref> |
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[[Image:Hurricane Katrina President Bush with New Orleans Mayor.jpg|thumb|left|Bush shakes hands with [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]] Mayor [[Ray Nagin]] on [[September 2]], [[2005]] after viewing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.]] |
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Bush declared a state of emergency in [[Louisiana]] on [[August 27]],<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html |title=Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana |publisher=The White House]] |date=[[August 27]], [[2005]]}}</ref> and in [[Mississippi]] and [[Alabama]] on [[August 28]];<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050828.html |title=Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Mississippi |publisher=The White House |date=[[August 28]], [[2005]]}}; {{cite web |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050828-3.html |title=Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Alabama|publisher=The White House |date=[[August 28]], [[2005]]}}</ref> he authorized the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]] (DHS) and [[Federal Emergency Management Agency]] (FEMA) to manage the disaster, but his announcement failed to spur these agencies to action.<ref name=dyson>{{cite book | last = Dyson | first = Michael Eric | authorlink = Michael Eric Dyson | title = Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster | publisher = Basic Civitas | year = 2006 | page = p.57 | isbn = 978-0-465-01761-4 }}</ref> The eye of the hurricane made landfall on [[August 29]], and New Orleans started to flood due to levee breaches; later that day, Bush declared that a major disaster existed in Louisiana,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050829-2.html |title=Statement on Federal Disaster Assistance for Louisiana |publisher=The White House |date=[[August 29]] [[2005]]}}</ref> officially authorizing FEMA to start using federal funds to help with the recovery effort. On [[August 30]], Department of Homeland Security secretary [[Michael Chertoff]] declared it "an incident of national significance,"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050831-2.html |title=Press Gaggle with Scott McClellan |date=August 31, 2005 |publisher=The White House |accessdate=2008-02-14}}</ref> triggering the first use of the newly created [[National Response Plan]]. Three days later, on [[September 2]], National Guard troops first entered the city of New Orleans.<ref name = "tpm">[http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/katrina-timeline.php Hurricane Katrina Timeline]</ref> The same day, Bush toured parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and declared that the success of the recovery effort up to that point was "not enough."<ref name=USAToday-Katrina>{{cite web |
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| title = National Guard descends on New Orleans, giving evacuees hope | author = Associated Press | url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-09-02-katrina_x.htm |
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| work = USA Today |date= [[September 3]], [[2005]] | accessdate = 2007-01-09}}</ref> |
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As the disaster in New Orleans intensified, Bush responded to mounting criticism by assuming full responsibility for the federal government's failures in its handling of the emergency.<ref name = "tpm" /> Criticisms of Bush focused on three main issues. First, leaders from both parties attacked the president for having appointed incompetent leaders to positions of power at FEMA, most notably [[Michael D. Brown]],<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.billingsgazette.com/newdex.php?display=rednews/2005/09/06/build/nation/38-brown.inc |title=FEMA director Brown singled out by critics of federal response |work=Washington Post]] |date=[[September 6]], [[2005]] |author=Spencer S. Hsu and Susan B. Glasser}}</ref> who had worked for the [[Arabian Horse Association]] before commanding FEMA. Bush had praised the work of Brown just as weaknesses in the FEMA response were becoming obvious to the public. Second, many people argued that the inadequacy of the federal response was the result of the [[Iraq War]] and the demands it placed on the armed forces and the federal budget.<ref name="ArmyTimesDeployment">{{cite web |
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| url = http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1066780.php |
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| title = Overseas deployments hinder Guard hurricane presence |
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| accessdate = 2005-09-29 | author = Pete Yost, Associated Press |
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|date=[[August 30]] [[2005]] | work = Army Times}}</ref> Third, in the days immediately following the disaster, Bush denied having received warnings about the possibility of floodwaters breaching the levees protecting New Orleans.<ref>"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." George W. Bush to [[Diane Sawyer]], ''[[Good Morning America]]'', [[September 1]] [[2005]].</ref> However, the presidential videoconference briefing of [[August 28]] shows [[Max Mayfield]] warning the president that overflowing the levees was "obviously a very, very grave concern."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/katrinatranscript-0828.pdf |format=PDF |pages= Page 6 |title=Transcript, Presidential Videoconference Briefing |date=[[August 28]] [[2005]]}}</ref> Critics claimed that the president was misrepresenting his administration's role in what they saw as a flawed response. |
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====Critical views and public perception==== |
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{{main|Criticism of George W. Bush|Public perception of George W. Bush}} |
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{{see also|Movement to impeach George W. Bush|Fictionalized portrayals of George W. Bush}} |
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[[Image:George W Bush approval ratings.svg|thumb|right|{{legend|#4A7EBB|approve}} |
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{{legend|#BE4B48|disapprove}} |
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{{legend|#98B954|unsure}} |
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[[Gallup]]/''[[USA Today]]'' Bush [[public opinion polling]] from February 2001 to March 2008. Blue denotes approve, red disapprove, and green unsure. Large increases in [[approval rating|approval]] followed the [[September 11]] attacks, the beginning of the [[2003 Iraq conflict]], and the capture of [[Saddam Hussein]].]] |
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Bush began his presidency with [[approval rating]]s near 50 percent;<ref name=ApprovalRatingsOverTime>{{cite web |
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| url = http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/cgi-bin/hsrun.exe/Roperweb/PresJob/PresJob.htx;start=HS_fullresults?pr=Bush| title = Job Performance Ratings for President Bush| accessdate = 2006-09-09| author = Roper Center| year = 2006}}</ref> following the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]], Bush gained an approval rating of greater than 85 percent, maintaining 80–90 percent approval for four months after the attacks. Since then, his approval ratings and approval of his handling of domestic and foreign policy issues have steadily dropped. Bush has received heavy criticism for his handling of the [[Iraq War]], his [[Political effects of Hurricane Katrina|response to Hurricane Katrina]], and to the [[Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse]], [[NSA warrantless surveillance]] of terrorists or individuals suspected of involvement with terrorist groups, [[Scooter Libby]]/[[Plamegate]], and [[Guantanamo Bay detainment camp]] controversies.<ref name="Unchecked and Unbalanced">{{cite news | last = Kakutani | first = Michiko | title = Unchecked and Unbalanced | work= The New York Times | date = [[July 6]], [[2007]] | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/books/06book.html?pagewanted=all | accessdate = 2007-06-07}}</ref> Additionally, critics have decried his frequent use of [[signing statement (United States)|signing statements]], contending that they are unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?id=1969&wit_id=5482 |title=Testimony of Bruce Fein, United States Senate |date=[[June 27]] [[2006]]}}</ref> The decision of Rep. [[John Conyers]] (D-MI) the House Judiciary Chair to hold hearings on Bush’s use of “[[signing statements]]”, has been hailed by the president’s critics as a step towards impeachment.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://baltimorechronicle.com/2007/012607Lindorff.shtml | author=Dave Lindorff |title=Conyers Puts Abuse of Power 'On the Table' |date=[[January 25]] [[2007]] |accessdate=2007-01-27}}</ref> |
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In the 2004 elections, 95–98 percent of the Republican electorate approved of him. This support waned, however, due mostly to Republicans' growing frustration with Bush on the issues of spending and illegal immigration. Some Republican leaders began criticizing Bush on his policies in Iraq, Iran, and the Palestinian Territories.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-02-15-rice-request_x.htm| title = Republicans criticize Rice over Bush Mideast policy| accessdate = 2006-09-09| author = Associated Press |date=[[February 15]] [[2006]]}}</ref> Bush's approval rating has been below the 50 percent mark in AP-Ipsos polling since December 2004.<ref Name="Taipei Times">{{cite news |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2007/03/10/2003351719 |title=Bush's job approval rating creeps up in AP-Ipsos poll |work=Taipei Times |date=[[March 10]] [[2007]] |accessdate=2007-04-27}}</ref> |
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Polls conducted in 2006 showed an average of 37 percent approval ratings for Bush;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm |title=President Bush—Overall Job Rating |work= Polling Report |accessdate=2007-04-27}}</ref> the lowest for any second term president in this point of term since [[Harry S. Truman]] in March 1951, when his approval rating was 28 percent,<ref Name="Taipei Times" /><ref>{{cite news |author=Silva, Mark |url= http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2007/03/bushs_secondter.html |title=Bush's second-term slump |work=Chicago Tribune |date=[[March 7]] [[2007]] |accessdate=2007-04-27}}</ref> which contributed to what Bush called the "thumping" of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] in the [[United States general elections, 2006|2006 mid-term elections]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://elections.us.reuters.com/top/news/usnN07478317.html | date=[[November 8]], [[2006]] | title=Bush admits Republicans took a "thumping" (Reuters)}}</ref> In the average of major polls Bush's approval rating was, as of [[September 25]], [[2007]], 33.8 percent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls/ |title=President Bush Job Approval |accessdate=2007-10-9 |publisher=RealClearPolitics.}}</ref> In a ''Reuters'' poll of [[October 17]], [[2007]], Bush received an approval rating of 24 percent,<ref name="Reuters Poll">{{cite web |url= http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1624620720071017?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews |title=Voters unhappy with Bush and Congress |publisher=Reuters}}</ref> the lowest point of his presidency, and the second lowest of any president in the last thirty five years, within the margin of error of [[Harry Truman]]'s all time record low presidential approval of 22 percent.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/popularity.php?pres=43&sort=time&direct=ASC&Submit=DISPLAY| title =Presidential Job Approval for Harry Truman| accessdate = 2008-03-15| publisher =The American Presidency Project }}</ref> In response to the numbers, during a [[February 10]], [[2008]] interview on ''[[Fox News Sunday]]'' Bush stated, "I frankly don't give a damn about the polls"<ref name="Fox News">{{cite web |url= http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,330234,00.html |title=Transcript: President Bush on 'FOX News Sunday' |publisher=Fox News |date=[[February 11]] [[2008]]}}</ref> |
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Calls for the impeachment of Bush have been made by various groups and individuals, with their reasons usually centering on the [[NSA warrantless surveillance controversy]],<ref>{{cite web |url= http://writ.corporate.findlaw.com/dean/20051230.html |title=George W. Bush as the New Richard M. Nixon: Both Wiretapped Illegally, and Impeachably |author=John W. Dean |date=[[December 30]] [[2005]] |accessdate=2007-04-14}}</ref> the Bush administration's justification for the war in Iraq,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.alternet.org/story/16434 |title=A Firm Basis for Impeachment |author=Robert Scheer |date=[[July 18]] [[2003]] |accessdate=2007-04-14}}</ref> and violations of the [[Geneva Conventions]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0308-33.htm |title=Grounds for Impeachment|author=Matthew Rothschild |publisher=CommonDreams.org |date=[[2006-03-08]] |accessdate=2007-04-14}}</ref> One poll taken immediately after Bush commuted [[Lewis Libby]]'s prison sentence asked whether the House of Representatives should begin impeachment proceedings against Bush; it found that while a plurality (46/45) of all adults were against, a plurality (46/44) of registered voters were in favor.<ref name="AmReImp">{{cite web |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070809001910/http://www.americanresearchgroup.com/ |title=Do you favor or oppose the US House of Representatives beginning impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush? |publisher=[[American Research Group]] |date=[[July 6]] [[2007]]}}</ref> |
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Bush's intellectual capacities have been questioned by the news media,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/19/AR2006081900568_pf.html| title = Pundits Renounce The President | accessdate = 2006-09-11| last = Baker| first = Peter|date=[[August 20]] [[2006]]| work=The Washington Post}}</ref> and by other politicians.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=401414| title = Blair 'feels betrayed by Bush on Lebanon'| accessdate = 2006-09-11| last = Walters| first = Simon|date=[[August 19]] [[2006]] | work=The Daily Mail}}; {{cite web| url = http://www.csbsju.edu/uspp/Election/bush011401.htm| title = Bush gets bad rap on intelligence| accessdate = 2006-10-09|date= [[January 14]] [[2001]]| work = The St. Cloud Times }}</ref> Detractors tended to cite the various linguistic errors made by Bush during his public speeches, which are colloquially known as [[Bushism]]s.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2000/nov/04/uselections2000.usa5 |
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| title = Bush, in his own words | accessdate = 2006-10-09| author = Jacob Weisberg |date= [[November 4]] [[2000]]| publisher = The Guardian}}</ref> |
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Liberal activist and filmmaker [[Michael Moore]] released ''[[Fahrenheit 9/11]]'' in 2004, making a plethora of accusations against Bush, most notably using public sentiments following 9/11 for political purposes, financial connections between the Bush family and the prominent Saudi Arabian families such as the royal family and the [[bin Laden family]], and lying about the cause for war in Iraq. In 2000 and again in 2004, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine named George W. Bush as its [[Person of the Year]], a title awarded to someone who, "for better or for worse, … has done the most to influence the events of the year."<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,998831,00.html |title = Person of the Year |author=Nancy Gibbs | accessdate = 2008-03-19 | year = 2000| work = TIME Magazine}}; {{cite web| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1009814-1,00.html |title = Person of the Year |author=Nancy Gibbs and John F. Dickerson | accessdate = 2008-03-19| year = 2004 | work = TIME Magazine}}</ref> In 2006, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine featured an article by historian [[Sean Wilentz]] contending Bush is one of the worst presidents in American history.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/profile/story/9961300/the_worst_president_in_history |title = The Worst President in History| accessdate = 2007-05-18 |year = 2006 |work = [[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22070368-28737,00.html |title = Defending the home front| accessdate = 2007-07-14 |year = 2007 |work = [[The Australian]]}}</ref> Bush responded that to "assume that historians can figure out the effect of the Bush administration before the Bush administration has ended is...in my mind...not an accurate reflection upon how history works."<ref name="Fox News"/> A 2008 [[History News Network]] poll among professional historians found that 61% believed that the George W. Bush presidency was the worst in history.<ref>McElvaine, Robert S. "HNN Poll: 61% of Historians Rate the Bush Presidency Worst". 1 April 2008. [http://hnn.us/articles/48916.html Available online.]</ref> |
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On [[November 14]], [[2007]], Bush topped the annual [[Film Threat]] Frigid 50 list of Hollywood's coldest people. He was cited because of the large number of hostile film and television programs that criticized his presidency, and because of the excess number of documentaries that called his domestic and foreign policy judgments into question. "With all due respect to Hollywood, the mighty W is as much a cinema celebrity as the next despotic tyrant," said Film Threat, adding: "President George W. Bush has been a fixture on the big and small screens for the length of his historically tragic run."<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=features&Id=2076| title=FILM THREAT'S FRIGID 50: THE COLDEST PEOPLE IN HOLLYWOOD 2007| accessdate = 2007-07-14 |date = [[2007-11-14]] |work = [[Film Threat]]}}</ref> |
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=====Midterm dismissal of U.S. attorneys===== |
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{{main|Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy}} |
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During Bush's second term, controversy arose over the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]]'s unprecedented midterm dismissal of seven [[United States Attorney]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uspolitics.about.com/od/electionissues/i/attorney_firing.htm |title=The Firing Of US Attorneys - Nefarious Or Business As Usual? |accessdate=2007-10-09 |last=Gill |first=Kathy |date=[[2007-03-22]] |publisher=About.com}}</ref> The White House maintains the U.S. attorneys were fired for poor performance.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070307/oppose07.art.htm |title=They lost my confidence |accessdate=2007-10-09 |author=Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales |date=[[2007-03-07]]}}</ref> Attorney General [[Alberto Gonzales]] would later resign over the issue, along with other senior members of the Justice Department.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/27/AR2007082700372.html |title=Embattled Gonzales Resigns |accessdate=2007-10-09 |last=Eggen |first=Dan |coauthors=Michael Fletcher |date=[[2007-08-28]] |publisher=[[Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/gonzales-resigns/ |title=Gonzales' Resignation Letter |accessdate=2007-10-09 |author=[[Alberto Gonzales]] |date=[[2007-08-26]] |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]] |quote=Please accept my resignation as Attorney General of the United States, effective September 17, 2007.}}</ref> Although Congressional investigations have focused on whether the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] and the [[Executive Office of the President|White House]] were using the U.S. Attorney positions for political advantage, no official findings have been released. Bush has claimed [[Executive privilege|Executive Privilege]] for advisers [[Harriet Miers]] and [[Josh Bolten]] while testifying at these hearings. |
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On [[November 29]], [[2007]], the chairman of the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]], [[Patrick Leahy]] (VT-D), stated that the Executive Privilege claim was strange considering "the President had no involvement in these firings." Bush has maintained that all of his advisers are protected under a broad Executive Privilege protection to receive candid advice. Per his ruling as the head of the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]], Leahy cited legal precedents that "Executive privilege, even when properly asserted, 'is qualified, not absolute' and 'neither the doctrine of separation of powers, nor the need for confidentiality of high-level communications, without more, can sustain an absolute, unqualified presidential privilege." Leahy asserts that the President's use of Executive Privilege is invalid in this case. However, the President retains his claim of Executive Privilege for his advisers.<ref>Leahy, Patrick. [http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200711/112907a.html Leahy Takes Next Step On White House Subpoenas,Directing Compliance By Current And Former White House Officials: Chairman Rules That Executive Privilege And Immunity Claims Are Not Legally Valid]. Office of Senator Patrick Leahy (Press Release), United States Senate. [[2007-11-29]]. Retrieved [[March 4]], [[2008]]. |
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</ref><ref> |
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Kellman, Laurie (Associated Press) [http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Nov29/0,4670,SenateProsecutors,00.html Leahy: Bush Not Involved in Firings Leahy: Bush Not Involved in Firings]. Fox News. [[2007-11-29]]. Retrieved [[March 4]], [[2008]]. |
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</ref> The [[United States House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]] issued subpoenas for Miers and Bolten to testify about this matter, and Bush directed Miers and Bolten to not comply with those subpoenas. Subsequently, the Justice Department determined that the president's order was legal.<ref>[http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-32236820080301 Mukasey won't pursue contempt probe of Bush aides], Reuters ([[2008-03-01]]).</ref> |
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===Foreign policy=== |
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{{main|Foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration}} |
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[[Image:Martín Torrijos visits GWBush, 2007Feb16.jpg|thumb|President George Bush reunites with Panamanian president [[Martín Torrijos]].]] |
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The Bush administration withdrew U.S. support for several international agreements, including the [[Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty]] (ABM) with [[Russia]]. It pursued a [[national missile defense]] which was previously barred by the ABM treaty and was never ratified by Congress.<ref>{{cite news |
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|url = http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/abmt/news/010501bush.html |
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|title = President Bush Speech on Missile Defense |publisher = [[Federation of American Scientists]] |date= [[2001-05-01]] |accessdate = 2006-06-30}}</ref> Bush also expressed U.S. support for the defense of [[Taiwan]] following the stand-off in April 2001 with the [[People's Republic of China]] over the [[Hainan Island incident]], when an [[EP-3E]] [[spy plane]] collided with a [[Chinese Air Force]] [[jet]], leading to the detention of U.S. personnel. In 2003–2004, Bush authorized U.S. military intervention in [[Haiti]] and [[Liberia]] to protect U.S. interests. |
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[[Image:Red Sea Summit in Aqaba.jpg|right|thumb|Bush, [[Mahmoud Abbas]], and [[Ariel Sharon]] meet at the Red Sea Summit in [[Aqaba]], [[Jordan]] on [[June 4]], [[2003]].]] |
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Bush emphasized a careful approach to the conflict between [[Israel]] and the [[Palestinian]]s. Bush denounced [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] leader [[Yasser Arafat]] for alleged support of violence. However, he sponsored dialogs between prime ministers [[Ariel Sharon]] and [[Mahmoud Abbas]]. Bush supported Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, and lauded the democratic elections held in Palestine after Arafat's death. |
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[[Image:Bush Fox Harper.jpg|thumb|President George W. Bush, then-President of Mexico, [[Vicente Fox]] and [[Canada]]'s Prime Minister [[Stephen Harper]] stand in front of "[[El Castillo, Chichen Itza|El Castillo]]" in [[Chichen Itza]], [[March 30]], [[2006]].]] |
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In his [[State of the Union Address]] in January 2003, Bush outlined a five-year strategy for global emergency [[AIDS]] relief, the [[President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief]]. Bush announced US$15 billion for this effort—US$3 billion per year for five years—but requested less in annual budgets.<ref>{{cite news |
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|author = Associated Press |url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/01/29/quarter-of-bushs-15-bil_n_14689.html |
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|title = Quarter Of Bush's $15 Billion For AIDS Going To Christian Groups |work= The Huffington Post |date=[[January 29]] [[2006]] |accessdate = 2006-06-30 }}</ref> |
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Bush condemned the [[Darfur conflict|attacks]] by militia forces on the people of [[Darfur]], and denounced the killings in [[Sudan]] as [[genocide]].<ref>{{cite news |author = Jim VandeHei |url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/01/AR2005060101725.html |
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|title = In Break With U.N., Bush Calls Sudan Killings Genocide |work= The Washington Post |date=[[June 2]] [[2005]] |accessdate = 2006-07-25}}</ref> Bush said that an international [[peacekeeping]] presence was critical in Darfur, but opposed referring the situation to the [[International Criminal Court]]. |
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Bush began his second term with an emphasis on improving strained relations with [[Europe]]an nations. He appointed long-time adviser [[Karen Hughes]] to oversee a global public relations campaign. Bush lauded the pro-democracy struggles in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and [[Ukraine]]. In March 2006, Bush visited [[India]], leading to renewed ties between the two countries, particularly in areas of [[nuclear energy]] and counter-terrorism cooperation.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url = http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/03/20060302-5.html |
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| title = U.S.-India Joint Statement | date =[[March 2]] [[2006]] |
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| publisher = The White House | accessdate = 2006-09-28 }}</ref> Midway through Bush's second term, many analysts observed a retreat from his freedom and democracy agenda, highlighted in policy changes toward some oil-rich former Soviet republics in central Asia.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/23/AR2006042301017.html |
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| title = Retreat From the Freedom Agenda | accessdate = 2006-09-14 |
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| last = Diehl | first = Jackson |date=[[April 24]] [[2005]] | work = The Washington Post}}</ref> |
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Bush has voiced his staunch support for the independence of [[Kosovo]]. On [[June 10]], [[2007]], he met with Albanian Prime Minister [[Sali Berisha]] and became the first president to visit Albania. He repeated his support for Kosovo's independence: "At some point in time, sooner rather than later, you've got to say, 'Enough is enough. Kosovo is independent.'"<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/world/europe/10cnd-prexy.html?hp |title=Bush is Greeted Warmly in Albania |author=Sheryl Gay Stolberg |work=The New York Times |date=[[10 June]] [[2007]]}}</ref> On [[February 18]], [[2008]], in response to Kosovo's [[2008 Kosovo declaration of independence|Declaration of Independence]], Bush declared that "The Kosovars are now independent".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/world/02/19/0219kosovo.html |title=U.S., major European nations recognize Kosovo's independence |author=Robert Wielaard, AP |date=[[February 19]], [[2008]]}}</ref> |
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====September 11, 2001==== |
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[[Image:Bush Ground Zero.jpg|thumb|right|Bush addresses rescue workers at [[World Trade Center site|Ground Zero]] in [[New York City|New York]], [[September 14]], [[2001]].]] |
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The [[September 11, 2001 attacks|September 11 terrorist attacks]] were a major turning point in Bush's presidency. That evening, he addressed the nation from the [[Oval Office]], promising a strong response to the attacks but emphasizing the need for the nation to come together and comfort the families of the victims. On [[September 14]], he visited the [[World Trade Center site]], meeting with [[Mayor]] [[Rudy Giuliani]] and firefighters, police officers, and volunteers. Bush addressed the gathering via megaphone while standing on a heap of rubble: {{cquote|I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010914-9.html |year=[[September 14]] [[2001]]|title=President Bush's remarks to police, firemen, and rescue workers}}</ref>}} |
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In a [[September 20]] [[2001]] speech, Bush condemned [[Osama bin Laden]] and [[al-Qaeda]], and issued the [[Taliban]] regime in Afghanistan, where bin Laden was operating, an ultimatum to "hand over the terrorists, or … share in their fate."<ref>[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People]</ref> Bush announced a global [[War on Terrorism]], and after the Afghan Taliban regime was not forthcoming with Osama bin Laden, he ordered the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|invasion of Afghanistan]] to overthrow the Taliban regime.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/20/gen.bush.transcript/ |year=[[September 20]] [[2001]]|title=President Bush's address to joint session of Congress}}</ref> |
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====War on Terror==== |
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{{main|War on Terrorism}} |
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After the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] on the United States by the [[al-Qaeda]] organization of [[Osama bin Laden]] and the invasion of Afghanistan in response, Bush announced a global [[War on Terrorism]] in his [[January 29]] [[2002]] [[State of the Union]] address and asserted that an "[[axis of evil]]" consisting of [[North Korea]], [[Iran]], and [[Iraq]] was "arming to threaten the peace of the world" and "pose[d] a grave and growing danger".<ref name=sotu2002>[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html Presidential State of the Union Address [[January 29]] [[2002]]]</ref> The Bush Administration proceeded to assert a right and intention to engage in [[preemptive war]], also called [[preventive war]], in response to perceived threats.<ref>[http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss5.html National Security Strategy of the United States, Part V] September 2002.</ref> This would form a basis for what became known as the [[Bush Doctrine]]. The broader "War on Terror", allegations of an "axis of evil", and, in particular, the doctrine of preemptive war, began to weaken the unprecedented levels of international and domestic support for Bush and United States action against al Qaeda following the [[September 11]] attacks.<ref>[http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob1.htm President Bush: Job Ratings] Polling Report.com</ref> |
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Some national leaders alleged abuse by U.S. troops and called for the U.S. to shut down detention centers in [[Guantanamo Bay detainment camp|Guantanamo Bay]] and elsewhere. Dissent from, and criticism of, Bush's leadership in the War on Terror increased as the war in Iraq expanded.<ref>{{cite book |last= Cumings |first= Bruce |authorlink= |coauthors= Ervand Abrahamian, Moshe Ma'oz |title= Inventing the Axis of Evil: The Truth About North Korea, Iran, and Syria |publisher= New Press |year= 2006 |isbn= 978-1-59558-038-2 }}</ref><ref>Lopez, George, "Perils of Bush's Pre-emptive War Doctrine", [[Indianapolis Star]], [[October 3]] [[2003]].</ref><ref>[http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss5.html Prevent Our Enemies from Threatening Us, Our Allies, and Our Friends with Weapons of Mass Destruction]</ref> In 2006, a [[National Intelligence Estimate]] expressed the combined opinion of the United States' own intelligence agencies, concluding that the Iraq War had become the "[[cause celebre]] for [[jihad]]ists" and that jihad movement was growing.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/26/nie.iraq/index.html NIE: Al Qaeda 'Damaged' Becoming More Scattered] [[CNN]], [[September 26]] [[2006]].</ref><ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/23/AR2006092301130.html Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Hurting U.S. Terror Fight] [[Washington Post]], [[September 24]] [[2006]].</ref> |
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Bush [[February 20]] [[2008]] called [[Pakistani general election, 2008]] a "part of the victory in the [[war on Terror]]" even though it effectively robbed a key [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] ally, [[Pervez Musharraf]], of his authority over the nuclear-armed nation.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/02/20/pakistan/index.html Bush: Pakistan vote 'victory in war on terror'] [[CNN]], [[February 20]] [[2008]].</ref> |
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====Afghanistan==== |
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{{main|War in Afghanistan (2001-present)}} |
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[[Image:GW Bush and Hamid Karzai in Kabul 2006-03-01.jpg|thumb|left|President George W. Bush and President [[Hamid Karzai]] of [[Afghanistan]] appear together in 2006 at a joint news conference at the Presidential Palace in [[Kabul]].]] |
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On [[October 7]], [[2001]], U.S. and Australian forces initiated bombing campaigns that led to the arrival on [[November 13]] of [[Afghan Northern Alliance|Northern Alliance]] troops in [[Kabul]]. The main goals of the war were to defeat the [[Taliban]], drive [[al Qaeda]] out of Afghanistan, and capture key al Qaeda leaders. By December 2001, the [[United Nations|UN]] had installed the [[Afghan Interim Authority]] chaired by [[Hamid Karzai]].<ref>{{cite web |
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|url = http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/isaf.cfm |
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|title = Fact Sheet: International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan |
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|publisher = [[Center for Defense Information]] |
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|date = [[2002-02-14]] |
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|accessdate = 2007-01-13 |
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}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |
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|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4673026.stm |
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|title = More Dutch troops for Afghanistan |
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|publisher = [[BBC News]] |
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|date = [[2006-02-03]] |
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|accessdate = 2007-01-13 |
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}}</ref> |
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Efforts to kill or capture al Qaeda leader [[Osama bin Laden]] failed as he escaped a battle in December 2001 in the mountainous region of [[Tora Bora]], which the Bush Administration later acknowledged to have resulted from a failure to commit enough U.S. ground troops.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A62618-2002Apr16 | title = U.S. Concludes bin Laden Escaped at Tora Bora Fight | accessdate = 2007-01-11 |date= [[2002-04-17]] | publisher = [[Washington Post]]}}</ref> Bin Laden and al Qaeda's number two leader, [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]], as well as the leader of the Taliban, [[Mohammed Omar]], remain at large as of December 2007. |
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Despite the initial success in driving the Taliban from power in [[Kabul]], by early 2003 the Taliban was regrouping, amassing new funds and recruits.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0508/p01s02-wosc.html?related | title = Taliban Appears To Be Regrouped and Well-Funded | accessdate = 2006-10-23 |date= [[2003-05-08]] | publisher = [[Christian Science Monitor]]}}</ref> In 2006 the [[Taliban insurgency]] appeared larger, fiercer, and better organized than expected, with large-scale allied offensives such as [[Operation Mountain Thrust]] attaining limited success.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=285 | title = World Cannot Give Up on Afghanistan, Coalition Officials Say | accessdate = 2006-10-23 |date= [[2006-06-28]] | publisher = [[United States Department of Defense]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5107816.stm | title = Frustrated Karzai toughens stance | accessdate = 2006-10-23 |date= [[2006-07-22]] | publisher = [[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-06-19-taliban-afghanistan-cover_x.htm?csp=34 | title = Revived Taliban waging 'full-blown insurgency' | accessdate = 2006-06-19 |date= [[2006-07-22]] | publisher = [[USA Today]]}}</ref> |
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====Iraq==== |
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{{main|Iraq War}} |
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Beginning with his [[January 29]], [[2002]] State of the Union address, Bush began publicly focusing attention on Iraq, which he labeled as part of an "[[axis of evil]]" allied with terrorists and posing "a grave and growing danger" to U.S. interests through possession of "[[weapons of mass destruction]]".<ref name=sotu2002> In the latter half of 2002, [[Central Intelligence Agency]] [[National Intelligence Estimate|reports]] requested by the administration contained conflicting assertions on whether [[Saddam Hussein]] was intent on reconstituting nuclear weapons programs, had not properly accounted for Iraqi [[biological warfare|biological]] and [[chemical warfare|chemical weapons]], and that some Iraqi missiles had a range greater than allowed by the UN sanctions.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/general-reports-1/iraq_wmd/Iraq_Oct_2002.htm| title = Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs| accessdate = | year = 2002| month = October| publisher = [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]}}</ref><ref>[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB129/index.htm The National Security Archive at George Washington University]</ref> The question of whether the Bush Administration manipulated or exaggerated the threat and evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction capabilities or attempted to create a tie between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda attacks would eventually become a major point of criticism and controversy for the president.<ref>Judis, John B. and Ackerman, Spencer, “The Selling of the Iraq War”, ''[[The New Republic]]'', June 2003.</ref><ref>Hersh, Seymour M., "The Stovepipe", ''[[The New Yorker]]'', [[October 27]] [[2003]].</ref> In late 2002 and early 2003, Bush urged the United Nations to enforce Iraqi [[disarmament]] mandates, precipitating a [[Iraq disarmament crisis|diplomatic crisis]]. In November 2002, Hans Blix and [[Mohamed ElBaradei]] led UN weapons inspectors in Iraq, but were forced to depart Iraq four days prior to the U.S. invasion, despite their requests for more time to complete their tasks.<ref>{{cite news |author = [[Associated Press]] |url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-03-17-inspectors-iraq_x.htm |title = U.S. advises weapons inspectors to leave Iraq |publisher = [[USA Today]] |date= [[2003-03-17]] |accessdate = 2006-06-30 }}</ref> The U.S. initially sought a [[UN Security Council]] resolution authorizing the use of military force but dropped the bid for UN approval due to vigorous opposition from several countries.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.worldpress.org/specials/iraq/chapterVII.htm | title = Enforcement Measures under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter | accessdate = 2006-06-30 | author = [[United Nations]] |date= [[2003-02-13]] | work = [[United Nations Charter]] | publisher = [[United Nations]]}}</ref> |
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[[Image:20030501-15 d050103-2-664v.jpg|thumb|left|President Bush, with [[Naval Flight Officer]] Lieutenant Ryan Philips, in the flight suit he wore for his [[Mission Accomplished|televised arrival and speech]] aboard the [[USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)|USS ''Abraham Lincoln'']] in 2003.]] |
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The war effort was joined by more than 20 other nations (most notably the [[United Kingdom]]), designated the "[[Multinational force in Iraq|coalition of the willing]]".<ref>{{cite news |first = Steve |last = Schifferes |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2862343.stm |title = US names 'coalition of the willing' |publisher = [[BBC]] |date= [[2003-03-18]] |accessdate = 2006-06-30}}</ref> The invasion of Iraq commenced on [[March 20]], [[2003]] and the Iraqi military was quickly defeated. [[Kofi Annan]], [[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]], as well as leaders of several nations made statements implying that the attack constituted a war crime.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3661134.stm |title = Iraq war illegal, says Annan |publisher = [[BBC]] |date= [[2004-09-16]] |accessdate = 2006-07-11}}</ref> The capital, [[Baghdad]], fell on [[April 9]], [[2003]]. On [[May 1]], [[2003]], Bush declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq. The initial success of U.S. operations had increased his popularity, but the U.S. and allied forces faced a growing insurgency led by sectarian groups. As the situation deteriorated, Bush's [[May 1]] [[2003]] "[[Mission Accomplished]]" speech would be criticized as premature.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101031006/ Mission Not Accomplished] [[Time Magazine]]</ref> The Bush Administration was also criticized in subsequent months following the report of the [[Iraq Survey Group]], which did not find the large quantities of weapons that the regime was believed to possess. On [[December 14]], [[2005]], Bush stated that "It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong."<ref>{{cite news |author = Times Online |coauthors = agencies|url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article764622.ece |title = Bush: we went to war on faulty intelligence |publisher = [[Times Online]] |date= [[2005-12-14]] |accessdate = 2006-06-30}}</ref> Bush nevertheless continued to assert the war had been worthwhile and confirmed he would have made the same decision if he had known more. |
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[[Image:MALIKIBUSH.jpg|thumb|President Bush shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister [[Nouri al-Maliki]].]] |
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Iraqi elections and a referendum to approve a constitution were held in January and December 2005. From 2004 through 2007, the situation in Iraq deteriorated further, with some observers arguing that the country was engaged in a full scale [[Iraq civil war|civil war]].<ref>{{cite news|title = Colin Powell says Iraq in a 'civil war'|url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/29/powell.iraq/index.html|publisher = [[CNN]]|date = [[2006-11-29]]|accessdate = 2007-02-17}}</ref> Bush's policies regarding the war in Iraq met increasing criticism, with demands within the United States to set a timetable to withdraw troops from Iraq. In 2006 a [[National Intelligence Estimate]] asserted that the Iraq war had increased Islamic radicalism and worsened the terror threat.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/washington/25terrorcnd.html |title = Report Stirs Debate on Terror Fight |publisher = The New York Times |date= [[2006-09-24]] |accessdate = 2006-09-25}}</ref> The 2006 report of the bipartisan [[Iraq Study Group]] led by [[James Baker]], concluded that the situation in Iraq was "grave and deteriorating". While Bush admitted that there were strategic mistakes made in regards to the stability of Iraq, he maintained he would not change the overall Iraq strategy.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/images/20061021_d-0072-515h.html | title = President George W. Bush speaks during a video teleconference with Vice President Dick Cheney, on screen, and military commanders. |date= [[2006-10-21]] | accessdate = 2006-10-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=at9X1Z7oilgY | title = Bush Reviews Iraq War Strategy as Violence Mounts (Update1) |date= [[2006-10-21]] | accessdate = 2006-10-22|publisher=[[Bloomberg.com]]}}</ref> On [[January 10]], [[2007]] Bush addressed the U.S. about the situation in Iraq. In [[wikisource:Presidential Speech Regarding Iraq, January 10 2007|his speech]] he announced the [[Iraq troop surge of 2007|surge of 21,500 more troops for Iraq]], as well as a job program for Iraqis, more reconstruction proposals, and US$1.2 billion for these programs.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16558652/page/1/| title=Admitting strategy error, Bush adds Iraq troops | publisher=[[MSNBC]] |date=[[January 11]] [[2007]]}}</ref> On [[May 1]], [[2007]], Bush used his [[veto]] for only the second time in his presidency, rejecting a congressional bill setting a deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.<ref>Stolberg, Sheryl Gay and Jeff Zeleny, [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/washington/02policy.html?hp Bush Vetoes Bill Tying Iraq Funds to Exit], The New York Times, [[May 1]], [[2007]].</ref>Five years after the invasion, Bush called the debate over the conflict "understandable" but insisted that a continued U.S. presence there is crucial.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/18/bush.iraq/index.html Bush on anniversary: War in Iraq must go on], ''[[CNN]]'', [[March 19]], [[2008]].</ref> |
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In March 2008 Bush praised the Iraqi government's "bold decision" to launch the [[Battle of Basra (2008)]] against the [[Mahdi Army]], and called it "a defining moment in the history of a free Iraq".<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/28/iraq.main/index.html Baghdad on lockdown as rockets, bombs fly], ''CNN'', [[March 28]], [[2008]].</ref> He said he will carefully weigh recommendations from his commanders Gen. [[David Petraeus]] and Ambassador [[Ryan Crocker]] about how to proceed after the military buildup ends in the summer of 2008. He also praised the Iraqis' legislative achievements, including a pension law, a revised de-Baathification law, a new budget, an amnesty law and a provincial powers measure that, he said, sets the stage for the [[Iraqi governorate elections, 2008]].<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/27/bush.iraq/index.html Bush: Baghdad's move against Shiite militias a 'bold decision'], ''[[CNN]]'', [[March 27]], [[2008]].</ref> |
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====North Korea==== |
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{{main|United States-North Korea relations}} |
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Bush publicly condemned [[Kim Jong-Il]] of [[North Korea]], naming North Korea one of three states in an "[[axis of evil]]," and saying that "[t]he United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons."<ref name=sotu2002 /> Within months, "both countries had walked away from their respective commitments under the [[Agreed Framework between the United States of America and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea|U.S.-DPRK Agreed Framework of October 1994]]."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nwc.navy.mil/press/Review/2003/Summer/art1-su3.htm |title= Pollack, Jonathan. "The United States, North Korea, and the End of the Agreed Framework." ''Naval War College Review'', Summer 2003, Vol. LVI, No. 3. |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20060818114650/http://www.nwc.navy.mil/press/Review/2003/Summer/art1-su3.htm |archivedate=2006-08-18}}</ref> North Korea's [[October 9]] [[2006]] [[2006 North Korean nuclear test|detonation]] of a nuclear device further complicated Bush's foreign policy, which centered for both terms of his presidency on "[preventing] the terrorists and regimes who seek chemical, biological or nuclear weapons from threatening the United States and the world."<ref name=sotu2002 /> Bush condemned North Korea's claims, reaffirmed his commitment to "a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula," and stated that "transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to states or non-state entities would be considered a grave threat to the United States," for which North Korea would be held accountable.<ref>[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061009.html President's Statement on North Korea Nuclear Test]</ref> On [[May 7]], [[2007]], North Korea agreed to shut down its nuclear reactors immediately pending the release of frozen funds held in a foreign bank account. This was a result of a series of three-way talks initiated by the [[United States]] and including [[China]].<ref>{{cite news | author =[[Associated Press]] | url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270397,00.html | title = North Korea Ready to Shut Down Reactor 'Immediately' | publisher =[[Fox News Channel|FOXNews.com]] |date= [[2007-05-07]] | accessdate = 2007-08-18}}</ref> On [[September 2]], [[2007]], North Korea agreed to disclose and dismantle all of its nuclear programs by the end of 2007.<ref>{{cite news|title = U.S.: North Korea agrees to shut down nuke facilities| author = [[Associated Press]]|publisher=[[CNN]] date = [[2007-09-02]]|url = http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/09/02/koreas.nuclear.ap/index.html|accessdate = 2007-09-02}}</ref> |
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====Syria==== |
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Bush has been supportive of expanding economic sanctions on [[Syria]].<ref>{{cite news |
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}}</ref> For example, under an [[executive order]] signed by Bush in June 2005, in early 2007 the [[U.S. Treasury]] Department ordered any American bank accounts of Syria's Higher Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Electronics Institute, and National Standards and Calibration Laboratory frozen, and prohibited Americans from doing business with them, because they were suspected of helping spread [[weapons of mass destruction]].<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/04/america/NA_GEN_US_Terror_Financing.php "U.S. Treasury moves to clamp down on Syrian entities accused of spreading weapons"], International Herald Tribune online edition, [[January 4]], [[2007]]. Retrieved [[February 17]], [[2008]].</ref> Under separate executive orders signed by Bush in May 2004 and August 2007, in November 2007 Treasury froze the assets of two Lebanese and two Syrians, accusing them of activities to "undermine the legitimate political process in Lebanon." Those designated included: [[Assaad Halim Hardan]], a member of [[Lebanon]]'s parliament and chief of the Syrian Socialist National Party central political bureau; [[Wi'am Wahhab]], a former member of Lebanon's parliament; [[Hafiz Makhluf]], a colonel and senior official in the [[Syrian General Intelligence Directorate]] and a cousin of Syrian President [[Bashar al-Assad]]; and [[Muhammad Nasif Khayrbik]], identified as a close adviser to Assad.<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/05/america/NA-GEN-US-Lebanon-Syria.php "U.S. announces sanctions to combat Syrian influence on Lebanon"], International Herald Tribune online edition, [[November 5]], [[2007]]. Retrieved [[February 17]], [[2008]].</ref> |
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====Foreign perceptions==== |
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[[Image:2006 Musharaff at the White House.jpeg||right|thumb|President Bush with President [[Pervez Musharraf]] of the [[Islamic Republic of Pakistan]] in late 2006.]] |
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Bush has been criticized internationally, targeted by the global anti-war and anti-globalization campaigns particularly for his administration's foreign policy. Bush's policies were also the subject of heated criticism in the [[German federal election, 2002|2002 elections in Germany]] and the [[Canadian federal election, 2006|2006 elections in Canada]].<ref>{{cite journal| title= Die außenpolitischen Positionen der Parteien im Bundestagswahlkampf 2002| year=2002| author= M. Overhaus, S. Schieder| journal= Politik im Netz| volume 3| url= http://www.deutsche-aussenpolitik.de/daparchive/dateien/2002/01300.pdf|language=[[German language|German]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author = CBC News |url = http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/realitycheck/americans.html |title = Was the American ambassador meddling in a Canadian election? |publisher = CBC.ca Reality Check Team |date= [[2005-12-14]] |accessdate = 2006-09-23}}</ref> Bush was openly condemned by current and former international leaders such as [[Gerhard Schröder]], [[Jean Chrétien]], [[Mohammad Khatami]], [[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero]], [[Romano Prodi]], [[Paul Martin]], and particularly [[Hugo Chávez]].<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/sep/21/usa.venezuela Chávez attacks 'devil' Bush in UN speech | World news | The Guardian<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Later in Bush's presidency, tensions arose between himself and [[Vladimir Putin]], which has led to a cooling of their relationship.<ref name=LeeryofPutin>{{cite web| url = http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20060721-9999-1n21usrussia.html| title = Bush, White House now leery of Putin as Russian turns back on democracy | accessdate = 2006-09-09| author = Condon, George E. Jr.|date= [[2006-07-21]]| publisher = San Diego Union Tribune}}</ref> |
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Bush has been described as having especially close personal relationships with [[Tony Blair]] and [[Vicente Fox]], although formal relations are sometimes strained.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/02/AR2006030201431.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns Keeping the U.S. at Bay, Mexican Presidential Candidate Looks to Move Past Fox's Failures] Marcela Sanchez ([[March 3]] [[2006]]).</ref><ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/15/deathpenalty/main518772.shtml Mexico's President Snubs Bush, Vicente Fox Cancels Visit To Bush Ranch To Protest Execution] ([[August 15]] [[2002]]).</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/nov/11/uk.usa Row over Bush security as Blair defends visit] Ewen MacAskill, Hugh Muir, and Julian Borger in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]], [[The Guardian]] ([[November 11]] [[2003]]).</ref> |
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Bush was nominated for the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 2002<ref>{{cite web |
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|date=[[February 5]], [[2002]] |
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|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/feb/05/politics.labour |
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}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |
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|date=[[February 5]], [[2002]] |
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|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1801773.stm |
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|title=Nobel nomination for Bush and Blair |
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}}</ref> and in 2004,<ref>{{cite web |
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|date=[[January 30]], [[2004]] |
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|url=http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1068699/posts |
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|title=Bush and Blair nominated for Nobel peace prize |
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}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |
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|date=[[March 9]], [[2004]] |
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|url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200403/09/eng20040309_136930.shtml |
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|title=What's the meaning of Bush & Blair nominated as candidates for Nobel Peace Prize? |
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|publisher=English People Daily |
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|accessdate=2008-02-12 |
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}}</ref> although the nominations were viewed as having little chance of success. |
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In 2006, a majority of respondents in 18 of 21 countries surveyed around the world were found to hold an unfavorable opinion of Bush. Respondents indicated that they judged his administration as negative for world security.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.globescan.com/news_archives/bbcpoll.html | title = In 18 of 21 Countries Polled, Most See Bush’s Reelection as Negative for World Security| accessdate = 2006-09-24|date=2004| publisher = [[BBC World Service]] and [[Program on International Policy Attitudes]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/04/world/main604135.shtml| title = Polls: World Not Pleased With Bush| accessdate = 2006-09-24|date= [[March 4]] [[2004]]| publisher = [[Associated Press]]}}</ref> A poll conducted in Britain named Bush the second largest threat to world peace after [[Osama bin Laden|bin Laden]], and over [[North Korea]]n leader [[Kim Jong-Il]].<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1938434,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12 British believe Bush is more dangerous than Kim Jong-il]</ref> According to a poll taken in November 2006, [[Finland|Finns]] also believed that Bush was the most prominent threat to world peace after bin Laden, with [[Kim Jong-Il]] coming in third in the poll and [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] and [[Hassan Nasrallah]] tied for fourth.<ref>{{cite web |
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| url = http://www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/200611115352441_uu.shtml| title = He uhkaavat maailman turvallisuutta (They threaten world peace) |
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| accessdate = 2006-11-11| last = | first =|date= [[2006-11-11]]| publisher = Iltalehti |language=[[Finnish language|Finnish]]}}</ref>{{Dead link|date=February 2008}} |
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A March 2007 survey of Arab opinion conducted by Zogby International and the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]] found that George W. Bush is the most disliked leader in the Arab world. More than three times as many respondents registered their dislike for Bush as for the second most unpopular leader, [[Ariel Sharon]].<ref>{{citation|url=http://worldpoliticsreview.com/Article.aspx?id=594|title=Middle East Opinion: Iran Fears Aren't Hitting the Arab Street |author=Peter Kiernan | date=[[March 1]], [[2007]]|publisher=World Politics Review Exclusive}}</ref> According to a 2006 poll conducted by the Iraq Center for Research and Strategic studies, a majority of Iraqis believe that the U.S. has lost its global credibility as a result of Bush's foreign policies.<ref>{{cite web |
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|date=November 2006 |
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|url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/poll/2006/11icrss.pdf |
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|title=Public Opinion Survey in Iraq |
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|accessdate=2007-06-08 |
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}}</ref> |
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The [[Pew Research Center]]'s 2007 Global Attitudes poll found that out of 47 countries, only respondents from [[Israel]] and some sub-Saharan countries expressed a lot or some confidence in George W. Bush more than 50% of the time. Of European respondents surveyed, [[Italy]] and the [[Czech Republic]] expressed 30% or greater confidence in Bush.<ref>{{cite web |
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|date=[[June 27]], [[2007]] |
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|publisher=[[Pew Research Center]] |
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|url=http://pewglobal.org/reports/pdf/256topline.pdf |
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|title=Pew Global Attitudes Project: Spring 2007, Survey of 47 Publics, Final 2007 Comparative Topline |
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|accessdate=2007-07-17 |
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}}</ref> |
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During a June 2007 visit to [[Albania]] Bush was greeted with a "rockstar reception" as the Albanian people cheered, shook his hands, and kissed his cheeks. Albanian prime minister, [[Sali Berisha]] commented that Bush "was [the] greatest and most distinguished guest we have ever had in all times." The largely Islamic nation has troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan and the country's government is highly supportive of American foreign policy.<ref>{{cite web |
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|date=[[June 10]], [[2007]] |
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|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6738055.stm |
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|title=Bush greeted as hero in Albania |
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|publisher=[[BBC]] |
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|accessdate=2007-12-16 |
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}}</ref> A huge image of the President now hangs in the middle of the capital city of [[Tirana]] flanked by Albanian and American flags.<ref>{{cite web |
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|date=[[June 10]], [[2007]] |
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|url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10919634 |
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|publisher=[[National Public Radio|NPR]] |
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|title=Bush Gets Warm Reception in Albania |
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|accessdate=2007-12-16 |
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}}</ref> The Bush administration's support for the independence of Albanian-majority [[Kosovo]], while endearing him to the [[Albanians]], has troubled U.S. relations with [[Serbia]], leading to the February 2008 torching of the U.S. embassy in [[Belgrade]].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.star-telegram.com/279/story/491646.html |title=Serbia blames U.S. for violence |publisher=Associated Press |date=[[February 24]] [[2008]]}}</ref> |
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====Veto of waterboarding bill==== |
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On Saturday, March 8, 2008, Bush [[veto]]ed bill "H.R. 2082" that would have expanded Congressional oversight over the intelligence community and banned the use of [[waterboarding]] as well as other forms of harsh interrogation techniques.<ref>[http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.2082.ENR: Text of H.R. 2082]</ref> He said that "[t]he bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror." The Army Field Manual prohibits waterboarding as a form of torture and "recognizes that harsh interrogation tactics elicit unreliable information."{{Fact|date=March 2008}} |
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Bush has consistently stated that the United States does not torture, but will not remove waterboarding from the available options to the CIA. <ref>http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080308/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_torture</ref> The CIA has admitted to use of waterboarding on certain key terrorist suspects. <ref> |
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{{cite web |
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|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/05/india.terrorism |
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|title=CIA admit 'waterboarding' al-Qaida suspects | World news | guardian.co.uk |
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|publisher=www.guardian.co.uk |
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|accessdate=2008-02-21 |
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|last=Tran |
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|first=Mark |
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}} |
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</ref> Waterboarding is widely considered to be a form of torture.<ref name='DN!_WB_110507'>{{cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=French Journalist Henri Alleg Describes His Torture Being Waterboarded by French Forces During Algerian War | date=[[2007-11-05]] | publisher=[[Democracy Now!]] | url =http://www.democracynow.org/2007/11/5/french_journalist_henri_alleg_describes_his | accessdate = 2007-12-18 | quote = I have described the waterboarding I was submitted to. And no one can say, having passed through it, that this was not torture, especially when he has endured other types of torture—burning, electricity and beating, and so on.}}</ref><ref name='NW_WB_110507'>{{cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Torture's Terrible Toll | date=[[2005-11-21]] | publisher=[[Newsweek]] | url =http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10019179/site/newsweek/page/2/ | work = | pages = | accessdate = | language = }}According to Republican [[United States Senator]] and 2008 presidential candidate [[John McCain]], who was tortured as a [[prisoner of war]] in [[North Vietnam]], waterboarding is "torture, no different than holding a pistol to his head and firing a blank" and can damage the subject's psyche "in ways that may never heal."</ref> <ref>{{cite book | last = Grey | first = Stephen| title = Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA Torture Program | publisher = St. Martin's Press | date = 2006 | location = New York, New York | pages = 225-226 | quote = }} A former senior official in the directorate of operations is quoted (in full) as saying: "'Of course it was torture. Try it and you'll see.'" Another "former higher-up in the directorate of operations" said "'Yes, it's torture'".</ref> |
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===Assassination attempt=== |
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On [[May 10]], [[2005]], in [[Freedom Square, Tbilisi]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Vladimir Arutyunian]] threw a live hand grenade toward the podium where Bush was giving a speech and Georgian President [[Mikhail Saakashvili]] was seated. It landed in the crowd about {{convert|65|ft|m|0}} from the podium after hitting a girl, but it did not detonate. Arutyunian was arrested in July 2005, confessed, and was convicted and given a life sentence in January 2006.<ref>{{cite news | coauthors =Chilcote, | url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/01/11/georgia.grenade/index.html | title = Bush grenade attacker gets life | publisher =[[CNN]] |date= [[2006-01-11]] | accessdate = 2007-01-03}}</ref> |
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===Supreme Court appointments=== |
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{{main|George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates}} |
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George W. Bush appointed the following justices to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]]: |
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*[[John Glover Roberts, Jr.]] — appointed in 2005 |
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*[[Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.]] — appointed in 2006 |
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==Publication== |
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In 1999 George W. Bush published a book entitled ''[[A Charge to Keep]]'', co-written with Michael Herskowitz. Later editions have the subtitle 'My Journey to the White House'. |
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==Electoral history== |
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{{see|Electoral history of George W. Bush}} |
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==See also== |
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*[[Bush family]] |
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*[[List of George W. Bush legislation and programs|George W. Bush legislation and programs]] |
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*[[List of Presidents of the United States]] |
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*[[List of United States Presidential names#43 — George W. (Walker) Bush|List of nicknames for George W. Bush]] |
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==References== |
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==External links== |
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{{Sisterlinks|George W. Bush}} |
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*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/ Official White House web site] |
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*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/president/gwbbio.html Official White House biography] |
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*{{cite web |url=http://www.gop.com/About/Bio.aspx?id=1 |title= Republican National Committee biography |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070414215908/http://www.gop.com/About/Bio.aspx?id=1 |archivedate=2007-04-14}} |
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*[http://www.presidentprofiles.com/Kennedy-Bush/Bush-George-W.html Comprehensive Presidential profile by Nicholas D. Kristof] |
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*[http://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=CNIP9043 Project Vote Smart information] |
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*[http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/index.php/academic/americanpresident/gwbush Extensive essay on George W. Bush and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs] |
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*{{imdb name|0124133}} |
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|NAME=Bush, George Walker |
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Revision as of 06:33, 8 April 2008
George Walker Bush | |
---|---|
![]() | |
43rd President of the United States | |
Assumed office January 20, 2001 | |
Vice President | Dick Cheney |
Preceded by | Bill Clinton |
46th Governor of Texas | |
In office January 17, 1995 – December 21, 2000 | |
Lieutenant | Bob Bullock Rick Perry |
Preceded by | Ann Richards |
Succeeded by | Rick Perry |
Personal details | |
Born | New Haven, Connecticut | July 6, 1946
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Laura Bush |
Children | Barbara and Jenna Bush |
Residence(s) | White House (official) Crawford, Texas (private) |
Alma mater | Yale University Harvard Business School |
Occupation | Businessman (oil, baseball) |
Signature | File:Gw signature 2008 svg.svg |
George Walker Bush (/ʤɔɹʤ ˈwɔːkəɹ bʊʃ/; born July 6, 1946) is the forty-third and current President of the United States of America. He previously served as the forty-sixth Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 and is the eldest son of former United States President George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Bush. He was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2001 and his current term is scheduled to end at noon on January 20, 2009.[4]
After graduating from college, Bush worked in his family's oil businesses. In 1978, he made an unsuccessful run for the U.S. House of Representatives. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers baseball team before returning to politics in a campaign for Governor of Texas. He defeated Ann Richards and was elected Governor of Texas in 1994. Bush was elected to the Presidency in 2000 as the Republican candidate in a close and controversial contest, in which he lost the nationwide popular vote, but won the electoral vote.
Bush signed into law a $1.35 trillion tax cut program in 2001,[5] and in 2002 the No Child Left Behind Act. In October 2001, after the attacks on September 11, 2001, Bush announced a global War on Terrorism and ordered an invasion of Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban, destroy Al-Qaeda, and to capture Osama bin Laden. In March 2003, Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, asserting that Iraq was in possession of weapons of mass destruction and that the war was necessary for the protection of the United States.[6]
Running in the midst of the Iraq War,[7] Bush was re-elected on November 2, 2004;[8] his presidential campaign against Senator John Kerry was successful despite controversy over Bush's execution of the Iraq War and domestic issues.[9] After his re-election, Bush received increasingly heated criticism. During his two terms he has had both the highest and among the lowest domestic approval ratings of any president in history. His approval rating has ranged from around 90 percent immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks, to 26% or lower in mid 2007.[10] Bush has been referred to by some historians as being the worst President in US history.[11][12] (see also Historical rankings of United States Presidents).
Childhood to mid-life
Born in New Haven, Connecticut on July 6, 1946, Bush was the first child of George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush (née Pierce). Bush was raised in Midland and Houston, Texas, with his four siblings, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. Another younger sister, Robin, died in 1953 at the age of three from leukemia.[13] Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a U.S. Senator from Connecticut, and his father served as U.S. President from 1989 to 1993.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/GW-Bush-in-uniform.jpg/220px-GW-Bush-in-uniform.jpg)
Bush attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where he played baseball, and was the head cheerleader at the all-boys school during his senior year.[14] Following in his father's footsteps, Bush attended Yale University, where he received a Bachelor's degree in history in 1968.[15] As a college senior, Bush became a member of the secretive Skull and Bones society, although, by his own characterization, he was an average student.[16]
In May 1968, at the height of the ongoing Vietnam War, Bush was accepted into the Texas Air National Guard, despite scoring the lowest acceptable passing grade on the pilot's written aptitude test.[17][18][19] This was at a time when more than ten thousand Air National Guard personnel, many fighter pilots, had been called to active duty to serve both in Vietnam, and in support of operations there.[20] After training, he was assigned to duty in Houston, flying Convair F-102s out of Ellington Air Force Base.[21] Critics have alleged that Bush was favorably treated during his time of service because of his father's political standing and that he was irregular in attendance.[citation needed] The United States Department of Defense has released all of the records of Bush's Texas Air National Guard service, which remain in its official archives.[18] In 1970, Bush applied to the University of Texas School of Law, but was subsequently was rejected.[22] He accepted a transfer to the Alabama Air National Guard in 1972 to work on a Republican senate campaign, and in October 1973 he was discharged from the Texas Air National Guard, almost eight months early,[citation needed] to attend Harvard Business School; there, Bush completed his six-year service obligation in the inactive reserve.[23]
There are a number of accounts of substance abuse and otherwise disorderly conduct by Bush from this time.[24] Bush has admitted to drinking "too much" in those years and described this period of his life as his "nomadic" period of "irresponsible youth".[25] On September 4, 1976, at the age of 30, Bush was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) near his family's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. He pled guilty, was fined US$150, and had his driver's license suspended in Maine until 1978.[26]
Bush then attended Harvard University, where he earned his MBA,[27] and entered the oil industry in Texas not long afterward. In 1977, he was introduced by friends to Laura Welch, a schoolteacher and librarian. They married and settled in Midland, Texas. Bush left his family's Episcopal Church to join his wife's United Methodist Church.[1]
In 1978, Bush ran for the U.S. House of Representatives from the 19th Congressional District of Texas. His opponent, Kent Hance, portrayed him as being out of touch with rural Texans; Bush lost the election by 6,000 votes.[28] He returned to the oil industry, becoming a senior partner, or chief executive officer, of several ventures, such as Arbusto Energy,[29] Spectrum 7, and, later, Harken Energy.[30] These ventures suffered from the general decline of oil prices in the 1980s that had affected the industry and the regional economy. Additionally, questions of possible insider trading involving Harken have arisen, though the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) investigation of Bush concluded that he did not have enough insider information before his stock sale to warrant a case.[31]
Bush moved with his family to Washington, D.C. in 1988, to work on his father's campaign for the U.S. presidency.[32] Returning to Texas after the successful campaign, Bush purchased a share in the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in April 1989, where he served as managing general partner for five years.[33] He actively led the team's projects and regularly attended its games, often choosing to sit in the open stands with fans.[34] The sale of Bush's shares in the Rangers in 1998 brought him over US$15 million from his initial US$800,000 investment.[35]
Elected positions
Governor of Texas
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Bush declared his candidacy for the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election as his brother, Jeb, sought the governorship of Florida. Winning the Republican primary easily, Bush faced incumbent Governor Ann Richards, a popular Democrat who was considered the favorite.
Bush was aided by several political advisers, including Karen Hughes, Joe Allbaugh, and Karl Rove. The Bush campaign was criticized for allegedly using controversial methods to disparage Richards.[citation needed]
Richards had vetoed a bill allowing Texans to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons. Bush pledged to sign it (and did so, after he won the election.)[36] Following an impressive performance in the debates, his popularity grew; he won the general election with 52 percent against Richards' 47 percent.[37]
As governor, Bush successfully sponsored legislation for tort reform, increased education funding, set higher standards for schools, and reformed the criminal justice system. Bush used a budget surplus to push through a $2 billion tax-cut plan, the largest in Texas history, which cemented Bush's credentials as a pro-business fiscal conservative.[37]
Bush also pioneered faith-based welfare programs by extending government funding and support for religious organizations that provide social services such as education, alcohol and drug abuse prevention, and reduction of domestic violence. He proclaimed June 10 2000 to be Jesus Day in Texas, a day on which he "urge[d] all Texans to answer the call to serve those in need."[38]
In 1998, Bush won re-election in a landslide victory with nearly 69 percent of the vote.[39] Within a year, he had decided to seek the Republican nomination for the presidency.
2000 Presidential candidacy
Bowing out from the Texas governorship, Bush sought his own bid for President of the United States in 2000.
Primary
Bush's campaign was managed by Rove, Hughes and Allbaugh, as well as by other political associates from Texas. He was endorsed by a majority of Republicans in 38 state legislatures. After winning the Iowa caucus, he lost to U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona in the New Hampshire primary. Bush then picked up eleven of the next sixteen primaries, effectively clinching the Republican nomination.
In the televised Republican presidential debate held in Des Moines, Iowa on December 13 1999, all of the participating candidates were asked "What political philosopher or thinker do you most identify with and why?" Unlike most of the other candidates, who cited former presidents and other political figures, Bush responded, "Christ, because he changed my heart". His appeal to religious values seems to have aided him in the general election. In a Gallup poll those who said they "attend church weekly" gave him 56% of their vote in 2000, and 63% of their vote in 2004.[40] During the election cycle, Bush labeled himself a "compassionate conservative", and his political campaign promised to "restore honor and dignity to the White House," a reference to the scandals and impeachment of his predecessor, Bill Clinton.[41]
General election
On July 25 2000, Bush surprised some observers by asking the Halliburton corporation's chief executive officer Dick Cheney, a former White House Chief of Staff, U.S. Representative, and Secretary of Defense, to be his Vice Presidential running mate. Cheney was then serving as head of Bush's Vice-Presidential search committee.
While stressing his successful record as governor of Texas, Bush's campaign criticized[42] the Democratic nominee, incumbent Vice President Al Gore, over gun control and taxation.
Bush won the 2000 election in a controversial victory. The closeness of the outcome, as well as reports of votes being miscounted, led to a recount in Florida. Two initial counts went to Bush, but that outcome was tied up in courts for a month until reaching the U.S. Supreme Court. On December 9, in the Bush v. Gore case, the Court reversed a Florida Supreme Court ruling ordering a third count, and stopped an ordered statewide hand recount based on the argument that the different standards that different counting procedures would have used violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The machine recount stated that Bush had won the Florida vote by a margin of 537 votes out of six million cast.[43] The famous episode pushed terms such as hanging chad into the popular lexicon.
Bush received 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266. However, he lost the popular vote by more than half a million votes,[43] making him one of a handful of presidents elected without at least a plurality of the popular vote.
2004 Presidential candidacy
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Bush commanded broad support in the Republican Party and did not encounter a primary challenge. He appointed Kenneth Mehlman as campaign manager, with a political strategy devised by Rove.[44] Bush outlined an agenda that included a strong commitment to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act, making earlier tax cuts permanent, cutting the budget deficit in half, promoting education, as well as reform in tort law, reforming Social Security, and creation of an ownership society.
The Bush campaign advertised across the U.S. against Democratic candidates, including Bush's emerging opponent, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. Kerry and other Democrats attacked Bush on the war in Iraq, perceived excesses of the USA PATRIOT Act and for allegedly failing to stimulate the economy and job growth. The Bush campaign portrayed Kerry as a staunch liberal who would raise taxes and increase the size of government. The Bush campaign continuously criticized Kerry's seemingly contradictory statements on the war in Iraq, and claimed Kerry lacked the decisiveness and vision necessary for success in the war on terrorism. Bush carried 31 of 50 states for a total of 286 Electoral College votes.
Bush won an absolute majority of the popular vote, the first president to do so since his father in 1988.[45] In addition, it was the first time since Calvin Coolidge's election in 1924 that a Republican president was elected, and the Republican Party maintained majorities in both houses of the Congress.
Presidency
Template:GW Bush cabinet infobox
Domestic policy
Economic policy
Facing opposition in the Congress, Bush held town hall-style public meetings across the U.S. in 2001 to increase public support for his plan for a US$1.35 trillion tax cut program — one of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history. Bush and his economic advisers argued that unspent government funds should be returned to taxpayers. With reports of the threat of recession from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Bush argued that such a tax cut would stimulate the economy and create jobs.[46] Others, including the Treasury Secretary at the time Paul O'Neill, were opposed to some of the tax cuts on the basis that they would contribute to budget deficits and undermine Social Security.[47]
Under the Bush Administration, Real GDP has grown at an average annual rate of 2.5 percent,[48] considerably below the average for business cycles from 1949 to 2000.[49][50] The Dow Jones Industrial Average has grown by about 30 percent since January 2001.[51] Unemployment rose from 4.2 percent in January 2001 to 6.3 percent in June 2003, dropping to 4.5 percent as of July 2007.[52] The on-budget deficit for 2006 was US$434 billion, a change from an US$86 billion surplus in 2000.[53] Inflation-adjusted median household income has been flat while the nation's poverty rate has increased.[54] By August 23, 2007, the national debt had officially risen to US$8.98 trillion dollars; the national debt has increased US$3.25 trillion dollars since Bush took office.[55]
While some argue that the Bush-era economy has mostly benefited the wealthy and not the majority of middle and lower-class citizens,[56] and others have claimed the exact opposite,[57] information available suggests that the standard of living has increased on all rungs of the socio-economic strata — with the bulk of income gains having gone to the top one percent,[58] whose share of income has increased substantially.[59]
Another significant part of the Bush economic plan was the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005.
Education and health
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The No Child Left Behind Act aimed to measure and close the gap between rich and poor student performance, provide options to parents with students in low-performing schools, and target more federal funding to low-income schools. Critics argue that Bush has underfunded his own program, and Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy has claimed: "The tragedy is that these long-overdue reforms are finally in place, but the funds are not."[60] Many educational experts have criticized these reforms, contending that NCLBA's focus on "high stakes testing" and quantitative outcomes is counterproductive.[61] Bush increased funding for the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health in his first years of office, and created education programs to strengthen the grounding in science and mathematics for American high school students. However, funding for NIH failed to keep up with inflation in 2004 and 2005, and was actually cut in 2006, the first such cut in 36 years.[62]
In 2007, Bush opposed and vetoed State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation which was tied by the Democrats onto a war funding bill and passed by Congress. The SCHIP legislation would have significantly expanded federally-funded health care benefits and plans to children of some low-income families from about 6 million to 10 million children. It was to be funded by an increase in the cigarette tax.[63] Bush viewed the legislation as a move toward the liberal platform of socialized health care, and claimed that the program could benefit families making as much as US$83,000 per year who would not have otherwise needed the help.[64]
Social services and Social Security
Bush promoted increased deregulation and investment options in social services, leading Republican efforts to pass the Medicare Act of 2003, which added prescription drug coverage to Medicare and created Health Savings Accounts, which would permit people to set aside a portion of their Medicare tax to build a "nest egg". The retired persons lobby group AARP worked with the Bush Administration on the program and gave their endorsement. Bush said the law, estimated to cost US$400 billion over the first 10 years, would give the elderly "better choices and more control over their health care".[65]
Bush began his second term by outlining a major initiative to reform Social Security, which was facing record deficit projections beginning in 2005. Bush made it the centerpiece of his agenda despite contrary beliefs in the media and in the U.S. Congress, which saw the program as the "third rail of politics," with the American public being suspicious of any attempt to change it. It was also widely believed to be the province of the Democratic Party, with Republicans in the past having been accused of efforts to dismantle or privatize it. In his 2005 State of the Union Address, Bush discussed the allegedly impending bankruptcy of the program and attacked political inertia against reform. He proposed options to permit Americans to divert a portion of their Social Security tax (FICA) into secured investments, creating a "nest egg" that he claimed would enjoy steady growth. Despite emphasizing safeguards and remaining open to other plans, Bush's proposal was criticized for its high cost, and Democrats attacked it as an effort to partially privatize the system, and for leaving Americans open to the whims of the market. Bush embarked on a 60-day national tour, campaigning vigorously for his initiative in media events ("Conversations on Social Security") in a largely unsuccessful attempt to gain support from the general public.[66] Despite energetic campaign by Bush to promote his Social Security reform plan, by May 2005 the public support for the Bush proposal declined substantially[67] and the House GOP leadership decided not to put Social Security reform on the priority list for the remainder of their 2005 legislative agenda.[68] The proposal's legislative prospects were further diminished by the political fallout from the Hurricane Katrina in the fall of 2005.[69] In the run-up to the 2006 congressional elections, the Republican leadership in Congress put the hot-button issue of the Social Security reform on the back burner. No substantive legislative action was taken on this issue in 2006. After the Democrats took over control of both houses of Congress as a result of the 2006 mid-term elections, the prospects of any further congressional action on the Bush proposal appeared to be dead for the remainder of his term in office.
Environmental policy
Upon arriving in office in 2001, Bush did not support the Kyoto Protocol, an amendment to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change which seeks to impose mandatory targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Bush partially based this decision on the fact that the Senate had voted 95–0 in 1997 on a resolution expressing its disapproval of the protocol. Bush asserted he would not support it because the treaty exempted 80 percent of the world's population[70] and would have cost the economy tens of billions of dollars per year,[71] and was based on the uncertain science of climate change.[72] The Bush Administration's stance on global warming has remained controversial in the scientific and environmental communities during his presidency.
In 2002, Bush announced the Clear Skies Initiative,[73] aimed at amending the Clean Air Act to reduce air pollution through the use of emissions trading programs. Critics contended that it would have weakened the original legislation by allowing higher levels of pollutants than were permitted at that time.[74] The initiative was introduced to Congress, but failed to make it out of committee.
In 2004, the Director of NASA's Goddard Institute, James Hansen, publicly and harshly accused the Administration of misinforming the public by suppressing the scientific evidence of the dangers of greenhouse gases, saying the Bush Administration wanted to hear only scientific results that “fit predetermined, inflexible positions” and edited reports to make the dangers sound less threatening in what he asserted was "direct opposition to the most fundamental precepts of science."[75] Other experts, such as former United States Department of Energy official Joseph Romm, have decried the Bush administration as a "denier and delayer" of government action essential to reduce carbon emissions and deter global warming.[76] Bush had said that he has consistently noted that global warming is a serious problem, but asserted there is a "debate over whether it's manmade or naturally caused".[77] In his 2007 State of the Union Address, Bush renewed his pledge to work toward diminished reliance on foreign oil by reducing fossil fuel consumption and increasing alternative fuel production.[78]
In 2006 Bush declared the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a national monument, creating the largest marine reserve to date. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument comprises 84 million acres (340,000 km²) and is home to 7,000 species of fish, birds and other marine animals, many of which are specific to only those islands.[79] The move was hailed by conservationists for "its foresight and leadership in protecting this incredible area."[80]
During his 2008 State of the Union Address Bush announced that the U.S. would commit US$2 billion over the next three years towards a new international fund to promote clean energy technologies and fight climate change. He declared that; "along with contributions from other countries, this fund will increase and accelerate the deployment of all forms of cleaner, more efficient technologies in developing nations like India and China, and help leverage substantial private-sector capital by making clean energy projects more financially attractive."
During the speech, Bush announced plans to reaffirm the United States' commitment to work with major economies and through the United Nations to complete an international agreement that will slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases. He stated that; "this agreement will be effective only if it includes commitments by every major economy and gives none a free ride."[81]
Stem cell research and first use of veto power
Federal funding for medical research involving the creation or destruction of human embryos through the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health has been forbidden by law since the Republican Revolution of 1995.[82] Bush has said that he supports stem cell research, but only to the extent that human embryos are not destroyed in order to harvest additional cells.[83] On August 9 2001, Bush signed an executive order lifting the ban on federal funding for the 71 existing "lines" of stem cells,[84] but the ability of these existing lines to provide an adequate medium for testing has been questioned. Testing can only be done on 12 of the original lines, and all of the approved lines have been cultured in contact with mouse cells, which makes it highly unlikely the FDA would ever approve them for administration to humans.[85] On July 19 2006, Bush used his veto power for the first time in his presidency to veto the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. The bill would have repealed the Dickey Amendment, thereby permitting federal money to be used for research where stem cells are derived from the destruction of an embryo.[86]
Immigration
In 2006, Bush shifted focus somewhat to re-emphasize immediate and comprehensive immigration reform. Going beyond calls from Republicans and conservatives to secure the border, Bush demanded that Congress create a "temporary guest-worker program" to allow more than 12 million illegal immigrants to obtain legal status. Bush continues to argue that the lack of legal status denies the protections of U.S. laws to millions of people who face dangers of poverty and exploitation, and penalizes employers despite a demand for immigrant labor.
Bush urged Congress to provide additional funding for border security, and committed to deploying 6,000 National Guard troops to the United States-Mexico border.[87] In May-June 2007 Bush strongly supported the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 which was written by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators with the active participation of the Bush administration.[88] The bill envisioned: a legalization program for undocumented immigrants, with an eventual path to citizenship; establishing a guest worker program; a series of border and work site enforcement measures; a reform of the green card application process and the introduction of a point-based "merit" system for green cards; elimination of "chain migration" and of the diversity Green Card Lottery; and other measures.
A heated public debate followed, which resulted in a substantial rift within the Republican Party, with the majority of the conservative base opposing the bill because of its legalization or amnesty provisions.[89] The bill was finally defeated in the Senate on June 28, 2007, when a cloture motion failed on a 46-53 vote.[90] Bush was very disappointed at the defeat of one of his signature domestic initiatives.[91] The Bush administration later proposed a series of immigration enforcement measures that do not require a change in law.[92]
Civil liberties and treatment of detainees
Following the events of September 11, Bush issued an executive order authorizing the NSA to monitor communications between suspected terrorists outside the U.S. and parties within the U.S. without obtaining a warrant pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act,[93] maintaining that the warrant requirements of FISA were implicitly superseded by the subsequent passage of the Authorization for Use of Military Force.[94] The program proved to be controversial, as critics of the administration, as well as organizations such as the American Bar Association, claimed it was illegal.[95] In August 2006, a U.S. district court judge ruled that the Terrorist Surveillance Program was unconstitutional,[96] but the decision was later reversed.[97] On January 17, 2007, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales informed U.S. Senate leaders that the program would not be reauthorized by the president, but would be subjected to judicial oversight.[98]
On October 17, 2006 Bush signed into law the Military Commissions Act of 2006,[99] a bill passed in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision on Hamdan v. Rumsfeld,[100] which allows the U.S. government the ability to prosecute unlawful enemy combatants by military commission rather than the standard trial. The bill also denies them access to habeas corpus and, while barring torture of detainees, allows the president to determine what constitutes torture.[99]
Hurricane Katrina
One of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, Hurricane Katrina, struck early in Bush’s second term. Katrina formed in late August during the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season and devastated much of the north-central Gulf Coast of the United States, particularly New Orleans.[101]
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Bush declared a state of emergency in Louisiana on August 27,[102] and in Mississippi and Alabama on August 28;[103] he authorized the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to manage the disaster, but his announcement failed to spur these agencies to action.[104] The eye of the hurricane made landfall on August 29, and New Orleans started to flood due to levee breaches; later that day, Bush declared that a major disaster existed in Louisiana,[105] officially authorizing FEMA to start using federal funds to help with the recovery effort. On August 30, Department of Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff declared it "an incident of national significance,"[106] triggering the first use of the newly created National Response Plan. Three days later, on September 2, National Guard troops first entered the city of New Orleans.[107] The same day, Bush toured parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and declared that the success of the recovery effort up to that point was "not enough."[108]
As the disaster in New Orleans intensified, Bush responded to mounting criticism by assuming full responsibility for the federal government's failures in its handling of the emergency.[107] Criticisms of Bush focused on three main issues. First, leaders from both parties attacked the president for having appointed incompetent leaders to positions of power at FEMA, most notably Michael D. Brown,[109] who had worked for the Arabian Horse Association before commanding FEMA. Bush had praised the work of Brown just as weaknesses in the FEMA response were becoming obvious to the public. Second, many people argued that the inadequacy of the federal response was the result of the Iraq War and the demands it placed on the armed forces and the federal budget.[110] Third, in the days immediately following the disaster, Bush denied having received warnings about the possibility of floodwaters breaching the levees protecting New Orleans.[111] However, the presidential videoconference briefing of August 28 shows Max Mayfield warning the president that overflowing the levees was "obviously a very, very grave concern."[112] Critics claimed that the president was misrepresenting his administration's role in what they saw as a flawed response.
Critical views and public perception
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Bush began his presidency with approval ratings near 50 percent;[113] following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Bush gained an approval rating of greater than 85 percent, maintaining 80–90 percent approval for four months after the attacks. Since then, his approval ratings and approval of his handling of domestic and foreign policy issues have steadily dropped. Bush has received heavy criticism for his handling of the Iraq War, his response to Hurricane Katrina, and to the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse, NSA warrantless surveillance of terrorists or individuals suspected of involvement with terrorist groups, Scooter Libby/Plamegate, and Guantanamo Bay detainment camp controversies.[114] Additionally, critics have decried his frequent use of signing statements, contending that they are unconstitutional.[115] The decision of Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) the House Judiciary Chair to hold hearings on Bush’s use of “signing statements”, has been hailed by the president’s critics as a step towards impeachment.[116]
In the 2004 elections, 95–98 percent of the Republican electorate approved of him. This support waned, however, due mostly to Republicans' growing frustration with Bush on the issues of spending and illegal immigration. Some Republican leaders began criticizing Bush on his policies in Iraq, Iran, and the Palestinian Territories.[117] Bush's approval rating has been below the 50 percent mark in AP-Ipsos polling since December 2004.[118]
Polls conducted in 2006 showed an average of 37 percent approval ratings for Bush;[119] the lowest for any second term president in this point of term since Harry S. Truman in March 1951, when his approval rating was 28 percent,[118][120] which contributed to what Bush called the "thumping" of the Republican Party in the 2006 mid-term elections.[121] In the average of major polls Bush's approval rating was, as of September 25, 2007, 33.8 percent.[122] In a Reuters poll of October 17, 2007, Bush received an approval rating of 24 percent,[123] the lowest point of his presidency, and the second lowest of any president in the last thirty five years, within the margin of error of Harry Truman's all time record low presidential approval of 22 percent.[124] In response to the numbers, during a February 10, 2008 interview on Fox News Sunday Bush stated, "I frankly don't give a damn about the polls"[125]
Calls for the impeachment of Bush have been made by various groups and individuals, with their reasons usually centering on the NSA warrantless surveillance controversy,[126] the Bush administration's justification for the war in Iraq,[127] and violations of the Geneva Conventions.[128] One poll taken immediately after Bush commuted Lewis Libby's prison sentence asked whether the House of Representatives should begin impeachment proceedings against Bush; it found that while a plurality (46/45) of all adults were against, a plurality (46/44) of registered voters were in favor.[129]
Bush's intellectual capacities have been questioned by the news media,[130] and by other politicians.[131] Detractors tended to cite the various linguistic errors made by Bush during his public speeches, which are colloquially known as Bushisms.[132]
Liberal activist and filmmaker Michael Moore released Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004, making a plethora of accusations against Bush, most notably using public sentiments following 9/11 for political purposes, financial connections between the Bush family and the prominent Saudi Arabian families such as the royal family and the bin Laden family, and lying about the cause for war in Iraq. In 2000 and again in 2004, Time magazine named George W. Bush as its Person of the Year, a title awarded to someone who, "for better or for worse, … has done the most to influence the events of the year."[133] In 2006, Rolling Stone magazine featured an article by historian Sean Wilentz contending Bush is one of the worst presidents in American history.[134][135] Bush responded that to "assume that historians can figure out the effect of the Bush administration before the Bush administration has ended is...in my mind...not an accurate reflection upon how history works."[125] A 2008 History News Network poll among professional historians found that 61% believed that the George W. Bush presidency was the worst in history.[136]
On November 14, 2007, Bush topped the annual Film Threat Frigid 50 list of Hollywood's coldest people. He was cited because of the large number of hostile film and television programs that criticized his presidency, and because of the excess number of documentaries that called his domestic and foreign policy judgments into question. "With all due respect to Hollywood, the mighty W is as much a cinema celebrity as the next despotic tyrant," said Film Threat, adding: "President George W. Bush has been a fixture on the big and small screens for the length of his historically tragic run."[137]
Midterm dismissal of U.S. attorneys
During Bush's second term, controversy arose over the Department of Justice's unprecedented midterm dismissal of seven United States Attorneys.[138] The White House maintains the U.S. attorneys were fired for poor performance.[139] Attorney General Alberto Gonzales would later resign over the issue, along with other senior members of the Justice Department.[140][141] Although Congressional investigations have focused on whether the Department of Justice and the White House were using the U.S. Attorney positions for political advantage, no official findings have been released. Bush has claimed Executive Privilege for advisers Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten while testifying at these hearings.
On November 29, 2007, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy (VT-D), stated that the Executive Privilege claim was strange considering "the President had no involvement in these firings." Bush has maintained that all of his advisers are protected under a broad Executive Privilege protection to receive candid advice. Per his ruling as the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Leahy cited legal precedents that "Executive privilege, even when properly asserted, 'is qualified, not absolute' and 'neither the doctrine of separation of powers, nor the need for confidentiality of high-level communications, without more, can sustain an absolute, unqualified presidential privilege." Leahy asserts that the President's use of Executive Privilege is invalid in this case. However, the President retains his claim of Executive Privilege for his advisers.[142][143] The House Judiciary Committee issued subpoenas for Miers and Bolten to testify about this matter, and Bush directed Miers and Bolten to not comply with those subpoenas. Subsequently, the Justice Department determined that the president's order was legal.[144]
Foreign policy
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The Bush administration withdrew U.S. support for several international agreements, including the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) with Russia. It pursued a national missile defense which was previously barred by the ABM treaty and was never ratified by Congress.[145] Bush also expressed U.S. support for the defense of Taiwan following the stand-off in April 2001 with the People's Republic of China over the Hainan Island incident, when an EP-3E spy plane collided with a Chinese Air Force jet, leading to the detention of U.S. personnel. In 2003–2004, Bush authorized U.S. military intervention in Haiti and Liberia to protect U.S. interests.
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Bush emphasized a careful approach to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Bush denounced Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat for alleged support of violence. However, he sponsored dialogs between prime ministers Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas. Bush supported Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, and lauded the democratic elections held in Palestine after Arafat's death.
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In his State of the Union Address in January 2003, Bush outlined a five-year strategy for global emergency AIDS relief, the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief. Bush announced US$15 billion for this effort—US$3 billion per year for five years—but requested less in annual budgets.[146]
Bush condemned the attacks by militia forces on the people of Darfur, and denounced the killings in Sudan as genocide.[147] Bush said that an international peacekeeping presence was critical in Darfur, but opposed referring the situation to the International Criminal Court.
Bush began his second term with an emphasis on improving strained relations with European nations. He appointed long-time adviser Karen Hughes to oversee a global public relations campaign. Bush lauded the pro-democracy struggles in Georgia and Ukraine. In March 2006, Bush visited India, leading to renewed ties between the two countries, particularly in areas of nuclear energy and counter-terrorism cooperation.[148] Midway through Bush's second term, many analysts observed a retreat from his freedom and democracy agenda, highlighted in policy changes toward some oil-rich former Soviet republics in central Asia.[149]
Bush has voiced his staunch support for the independence of Kosovo. On June 10, 2007, he met with Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha and became the first president to visit Albania. He repeated his support for Kosovo's independence: "At some point in time, sooner rather than later, you've got to say, 'Enough is enough. Kosovo is independent.'"[150] On February 18, 2008, in response to Kosovo's Declaration of Independence, Bush declared that "The Kosovars are now independent".[151]
September 11, 2001
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The September 11 terrorist attacks were a major turning point in Bush's presidency. That evening, he addressed the nation from the Oval Office, promising a strong response to the attacks but emphasizing the need for the nation to come together and comfort the families of the victims. On September 14, he visited the World Trade Center site, meeting with Mayor Rudy Giuliani and firefighters, police officers, and volunteers. Bush addressed the gathering via megaphone while standing on a heap of rubble:
I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.[152]
In a September 20 2001 speech, Bush condemned Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, and issued the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, where bin Laden was operating, an ultimatum to "hand over the terrorists, or … share in their fate."[153] Bush announced a global War on Terrorism, and after the Afghan Taliban regime was not forthcoming with Osama bin Laden, he ordered the invasion of Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban regime.[154]
War on Terror
After the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States by the al-Qaeda organization of Osama bin Laden and the invasion of Afghanistan in response, Bush announced a global War on Terrorism in his January 29 2002 State of the Union address and asserted that an "axis of evil" consisting of North Korea, Iran, and Iraq was "arming to threaten the peace of the world" and "pose[d] a grave and growing danger".[155] The Bush Administration proceeded to assert a right and intention to engage in preemptive war, also called preventive war, in response to perceived threats.[156] This would form a basis for what became known as the Bush Doctrine. The broader "War on Terror", allegations of an "axis of evil", and, in particular, the doctrine of preemptive war, began to weaken the unprecedented levels of international and domestic support for Bush and United States action against al Qaeda following the September 11 attacks.[157]
Some national leaders alleged abuse by U.S. troops and called for the U.S. to shut down detention centers in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. Dissent from, and criticism of, Bush's leadership in the War on Terror increased as the war in Iraq expanded.[158][159][160] In 2006, a National Intelligence Estimate expressed the combined opinion of the United States' own intelligence agencies, concluding that the Iraq War had become the "cause celebre for jihadists" and that jihad movement was growing.[161][162]
Bush February 20 2008 called Pakistani general election, 2008 a "part of the victory in the war on Terror" even though it effectively robbed a key Washington ally, Pervez Musharraf, of his authority over the nuclear-armed nation.[163]
Afghanistan
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On October 7, 2001, U.S. and Australian forces initiated bombing campaigns that led to the arrival on November 13 of Northern Alliance troops in Kabul. The main goals of the war were to defeat the Taliban, drive al Qaeda out of Afghanistan, and capture key al Qaeda leaders. By December 2001, the UN had installed the Afghan Interim Authority chaired by Hamid Karzai.[164][165]
Efforts to kill or capture al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden failed as he escaped a battle in December 2001 in the mountainous region of Tora Bora, which the Bush Administration later acknowledged to have resulted from a failure to commit enough U.S. ground troops.[166] Bin Laden and al Qaeda's number two leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, as well as the leader of the Taliban, Mohammed Omar, remain at large as of December 2007.
Despite the initial success in driving the Taliban from power in Kabul, by early 2003 the Taliban was regrouping, amassing new funds and recruits.[167] In 2006 the Taliban insurgency appeared larger, fiercer, and better organized than expected, with large-scale allied offensives such as Operation Mountain Thrust attaining limited success.[168][169][170]
Iraq
Beginning with his January 29, 2002 State of the Union address, Bush began publicly focusing attention on Iraq, which he labeled as part of an "axis of evil" allied with terrorists and posing "a grave and growing danger" to U.S. interests through possession of "weapons of mass destruction".Cite error: A <ref>
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(see the help page).[171] The question of whether the Bush Administration manipulated or exaggerated the threat and evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction capabilities or attempted to create a tie between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda attacks would eventually become a major point of criticism and controversy for the president.[172][173] In late 2002 and early 2003, Bush urged the United Nations to enforce Iraqi disarmament mandates, precipitating a diplomatic crisis. In November 2002, Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei led UN weapons inspectors in Iraq, but were forced to depart Iraq four days prior to the U.S. invasion, despite their requests for more time to complete their tasks.[174] The U.S. initially sought a UN Security Council resolution authorizing the use of military force but dropped the bid for UN approval due to vigorous opposition from several countries.[175]
The war effort was joined by more than 20 other nations (most notably the United Kingdom), designated the "coalition of the willing".[176] The invasion of Iraq commenced on March 20, 2003 and the Iraqi military was quickly defeated. Kofi Annan, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, as well as leaders of several nations made statements implying that the attack constituted a war crime.[177] The capital, Baghdad, fell on April 9, 2003. On May 1, 2003, Bush declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq. The initial success of U.S. operations had increased his popularity, but the U.S. and allied forces faced a growing insurgency led by sectarian groups. As the situation deteriorated, Bush's May 1 2003 "Mission Accomplished" speech would be criticized as premature.[178] The Bush Administration was also criticized in subsequent months following the report of the Iraq Survey Group, which did not find the large quantities of weapons that the regime was believed to possess. On December 14, 2005, Bush stated that "It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong."[179] Bush nevertheless continued to assert the war had been worthwhile and confirmed he would have made the same decision if he had known more.
Iraqi elections and a referendum to approve a constitution were held in January and December 2005. From 2004 through 2007, the situation in Iraq deteriorated further, with some observers arguing that the country was engaged in a full scale civil war.[180] Bush's policies regarding the war in Iraq met increasing criticism, with demands within the United States to set a timetable to withdraw troops from Iraq. In 2006 a National Intelligence Estimate asserted that the Iraq war had increased Islamic radicalism and worsened the terror threat.[181] The 2006 report of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group led by James Baker, concluded that the situation in Iraq was "grave and deteriorating". While Bush admitted that there were strategic mistakes made in regards to the stability of Iraq, he maintained he would not change the overall Iraq strategy.[182][183] On January 10, 2007 Bush addressed the U.S. about the situation in Iraq. In his speech he announced the surge of 21,500 more troops for Iraq, as well as a job program for Iraqis, more reconstruction proposals, and US$1.2 billion for these programs.[184] On May 1, 2007, Bush used his veto for only the second time in his presidency, rejecting a congressional bill setting a deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.[185]Five years after the invasion, Bush called the debate over the conflict "understandable" but insisted that a continued U.S. presence there is crucial.[186]
In March 2008 Bush praised the Iraqi government's "bold decision" to launch the Battle of Basra (2008) against the Mahdi Army, and called it "a defining moment in the history of a free Iraq".[187] He said he will carefully weigh recommendations from his commanders Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker about how to proceed after the military buildup ends in the summer of 2008. He also praised the Iraqis' legislative achievements, including a pension law, a revised de-Baathification law, a new budget, an amnesty law and a provincial powers measure that, he said, sets the stage for the Iraqi governorate elections, 2008.[188]
North Korea
Bush publicly condemned Kim Jong-Il of North Korea, naming North Korea one of three states in an "axis of evil," and saying that "[t]he United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons."[155] Within months, "both countries had walked away from their respective commitments under the U.S.-DPRK Agreed Framework of October 1994."[189] North Korea's October 9 2006 detonation of a nuclear device further complicated Bush's foreign policy, which centered for both terms of his presidency on "[preventing] the terrorists and regimes who seek chemical, biological or nuclear weapons from threatening the United States and the world."[155] Bush condemned North Korea's claims, reaffirmed his commitment to "a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula," and stated that "transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to states or non-state entities would be considered a grave threat to the United States," for which North Korea would be held accountable.[190] On May 7, 2007, North Korea agreed to shut down its nuclear reactors immediately pending the release of frozen funds held in a foreign bank account. This was a result of a series of three-way talks initiated by the United States and including China.[191] On September 2, 2007, North Korea agreed to disclose and dismantle all of its nuclear programs by the end of 2007.[192]
Syria
Bush has been supportive of expanding economic sanctions on Syria.[193] For example, under an executive order signed by Bush in June 2005, in early 2007 the U.S. Treasury Department ordered any American bank accounts of Syria's Higher Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Electronics Institute, and National Standards and Calibration Laboratory frozen, and prohibited Americans from doing business with them, because they were suspected of helping spread weapons of mass destruction.[194] Under separate executive orders signed by Bush in May 2004 and August 2007, in November 2007 Treasury froze the assets of two Lebanese and two Syrians, accusing them of activities to "undermine the legitimate political process in Lebanon." Those designated included: Assaad Halim Hardan, a member of Lebanon's parliament and chief of the Syrian Socialist National Party central political bureau; Wi'am Wahhab, a former member of Lebanon's parliament; Hafiz Makhluf, a colonel and senior official in the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate and a cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad; and Muhammad Nasif Khayrbik, identified as a close adviser to Assad.[195]
Foreign perceptions
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Bush has been criticized internationally, targeted by the global anti-war and anti-globalization campaigns particularly for his administration's foreign policy. Bush's policies were also the subject of heated criticism in the 2002 elections in Germany and the 2006 elections in Canada.[196][197] Bush was openly condemned by current and former international leaders such as Gerhard Schröder, Jean Chrétien, Mohammad Khatami, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Romano Prodi, Paul Martin, and particularly Hugo Chávez.[198] Later in Bush's presidency, tensions arose between himself and Vladimir Putin, which has led to a cooling of their relationship.[199]
Bush has been described as having especially close personal relationships with Tony Blair and Vicente Fox, although formal relations are sometimes strained.[200][201][202]
Bush was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002[203][204] and in 2004,[205][206] although the nominations were viewed as having little chance of success.
In 2006, a majority of respondents in 18 of 21 countries surveyed around the world were found to hold an unfavorable opinion of Bush. Respondents indicated that they judged his administration as negative for world security.[207][208] A poll conducted in Britain named Bush the second largest threat to world peace after bin Laden, and over North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.[209] According to a poll taken in November 2006, Finns also believed that Bush was the most prominent threat to world peace after bin Laden, with Kim Jong-Il coming in third in the poll and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Nasrallah tied for fourth.[210][dead link]
A March 2007 survey of Arab opinion conducted by Zogby International and the University of Maryland found that George W. Bush is the most disliked leader in the Arab world. More than three times as many respondents registered their dislike for Bush as for the second most unpopular leader, Ariel Sharon.[211] According to a 2006 poll conducted by the Iraq Center for Research and Strategic studies, a majority of Iraqis believe that the U.S. has lost its global credibility as a result of Bush's foreign policies.[212]
The Pew Research Center's 2007 Global Attitudes poll found that out of 47 countries, only respondents from Israel and some sub-Saharan countries expressed a lot or some confidence in George W. Bush more than 50% of the time. Of European respondents surveyed, Italy and the Czech Republic expressed 30% or greater confidence in Bush.[213]
During a June 2007 visit to Albania Bush was greeted with a "rockstar reception" as the Albanian people cheered, shook his hands, and kissed his cheeks. Albanian prime minister, Sali Berisha commented that Bush "was [the] greatest and most distinguished guest we have ever had in all times." The largely Islamic nation has troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan and the country's government is highly supportive of American foreign policy.[214] A huge image of the President now hangs in the middle of the capital city of Tirana flanked by Albanian and American flags.[215] The Bush administration's support for the independence of Albanian-majority Kosovo, while endearing him to the Albanians, has troubled U.S. relations with Serbia, leading to the February 2008 torching of the U.S. embassy in Belgrade.[216]
Veto of waterboarding bill
On Saturday, March 8, 2008, Bush vetoed bill "H.R. 2082" that would have expanded Congressional oversight over the intelligence community and banned the use of waterboarding as well as other forms of harsh interrogation techniques.[217] He said that "[t]he bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror." The Army Field Manual prohibits waterboarding as a form of torture and "recognizes that harsh interrogation tactics elicit unreliable information."[citation needed]
Bush has consistently stated that the United States does not torture, but will not remove waterboarding from the available options to the CIA. [218] The CIA has admitted to use of waterboarding on certain key terrorist suspects. [219] Waterboarding is widely considered to be a form of torture.[220][221] [222]
Assassination attempt
On May 10, 2005, in Freedom Square, Tbilisi, Georgia, Vladimir Arutyunian threw a live hand grenade toward the podium where Bush was giving a speech and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili was seated. It landed in the crowd about 65 feet (20 m) from the podium after hitting a girl, but it did not detonate. Arutyunian was arrested in July 2005, confessed, and was convicted and given a life sentence in January 2006.[223]
Supreme Court appointments
George W. Bush appointed the following justices to the Supreme Court:
- John Glover Roberts, Jr. — appointed in 2005
- Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. — appointed in 2006
Publication
In 1999 George W. Bush published a book entitled A Charge to Keep, co-written with Michael Herskowitz. Later editions have the subtitle 'My Journey to the White House'.
Electoral history
See also
- Bush family
- George W. Bush legislation and programs
- List of Presidents of the United States
- List of nicknames for George W. Bush
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(help) - ^ Reuters/AFP (January 29 2008). "State of the Union:Bush fights for spotlight".
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:|author=
has generic name (help); Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "AAAS Policy Brief: Stem Cell Research". American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 2006-09-09.
- ^ "President Discusses Stem Cell Research". Office of the President.
- ^ "NIH's Role in Federal Policy [Stem Cell Information]". National Institutes of Health.
- ^ "Stem Cells in Limbo". TIME Magazine. 2003-08-11. Retrieved 2007-01-13.
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(help) - ^ "Bush Vetoes Embryonic Stem Cell Bill". CNN.
- ^ "Bush takes tough talk on immigration to Texas". CNN. November 29 2005. Retrieved 2006-09-09.
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(help) - ^ "Fact Sheet: Border Security and Immigration Reform". The White House. May 17, 2007.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Talk radio helped sink immigration reform]". Politico.com. August 20, 2007.
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(help) - ^ Klaus Marre (June 28 2007). "46-53, immigration bill goes down in defeat". The Hill.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Senate immigration bill suffers crushing defeat". CNN.; "President Bush Disappointed by Congress's Failure to Act on Comprehensive Immigration Reform". The White House. June 28, 2007.
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(help) - ^ "The White House Fact Sheet: Improving Border Security and Immigration Within Existing Law]". The White House. August 10, 2007.
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(help) - ^ "Briefing by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and General Michael Hayden" (Press release). The White House. December 19 2005. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
{{cite press release}}
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(help) - ^ U.S. Department of Justice White Paper on NSA Legal Authorities. "Legal Authorities Supporting the Activities of the National Security Agency Described by the President" (PDF). January 19 2006.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Gonzales defends wiretaps amid protest". CNN. January 26 2006. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
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(help); "Lawyers Group Criticizes Surveillance Program". The Washington Post. February 14 2006. Retrieved 2007-09-02.{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Judge Asked to Suspend Ruling Against Wiretaps". The Washington Post. February 9 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-21.
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(help) - ^ "Court dismisses lawsuit on spying program". Reuters. July 6 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Letter from the AG to the Senate leaders" (PDF).
- ^ a b Associated Press (September 28 2005). "Bush's detainee interrogation and prosecution plan approved by Senate". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-09-29.
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(help) - ^ "Rushing Off a Cliff"". The New York Times. September 28, 2006.
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(help) - ^ Knabb, Richard D; Rhome, Jamie R.; Brown, Daniel P (December 20 2005). "Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Katrina: 23–30 August 2005". National Hurricane Center.
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(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana". The White House]]. August 27, 2005.
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(help) - ^ "Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Mississippi". The White House. August 28, 2005.
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(help); "Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Alabama". The White House. August 28, 2005.{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Dyson, Michael Eric (2006). Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster. Basic Civitas. p. p.57. ISBN 978-0-465-01761-4.
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has extra text (help) - ^ "Statement on Federal Disaster Assistance for Louisiana". The White House. August 29 2005.
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(help) - ^ "Press Gaggle with Scott McClellan". The White House. August 31, 2005. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ a b Hurricane Katrina Timeline
- ^ Associated Press (September 3, 2005). "National Guard descends on New Orleans, giving evacuees hope". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
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(help) - ^ Spencer S. Hsu and Susan B. Glasser (September 6, 2005). "FEMA director Brown singled out by critics of federal response". Washington Post]].
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(help) - ^ Pete Yost, Associated Press (August 30 2005). "Overseas deployments hinder Guard hurricane presence". Army Times. Retrieved 2005-09-29.
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(help) - ^ "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." George W. Bush to Diane Sawyer, Good Morning America, September 1 2005.
- ^ "Transcript, Presidential Videoconference Briefing" (PDF). August 28 2005. pp. Page 6.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Roper Center (2006). "Job Performance Ratings for President Bush". Retrieved 2006-09-09.
- ^ Kakutani, Michiko (July 6, 2007). "Unchecked and Unbalanced". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
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(help) - ^ "Testimony of Bruce Fein, United States Senate". June 27 2006.
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(help) - ^ Dave Lindorff (January 25 2007). "Conyers Puts Abuse of Power 'On the Table'". Retrieved 2007-01-27.
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(help) - ^ Associated Press (February 15 2006). "Republicans criticize Rice over Bush Mideast policy". Retrieved 2006-09-09.
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(help) - ^ a b "Bush's job approval rating creeps up in AP-Ipsos poll". Taipei Times. March 10 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
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(help) - ^ "President Bush—Overall Job Rating". Polling Report. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
- ^ Silva, Mark (March 7 2007). "Bush's second-term slump". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
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(help) - ^ "Bush admits Republicans took a "thumping" (Reuters)". November 8, 2006.
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(help) - ^ "President Bush Job Approval". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved 2007-10-9.
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(help) - ^ "Voters unhappy with Bush and Congress". Reuters.
- ^ "Presidential Job Approval for Harry Truman". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
- ^ a b "Transcript: President Bush on 'FOX News Sunday'". Fox News. February 11 2008.
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(help) - ^ John W. Dean (December 30 2005). "George W. Bush as the New Richard M. Nixon: Both Wiretapped Illegally, and Impeachably". Retrieved 2007-04-14.
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(help) - ^ Robert Scheer (July 18 2003). "A Firm Basis for Impeachment". Retrieved 2007-04-14.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Matthew Rothschild (2006-03-08). "Grounds for Impeachment". CommonDreams.org. Retrieved 2007-04-14.
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(help) - ^ "Do you favor or oppose the US House of Representatives beginning impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush?". American Research Group. July 6 2007.
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(help) - ^ Baker, Peter (August 20 2006). "Pundits Renounce The President". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-09-11.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Walters, Simon (August 19 2006). "Blair 'feels betrayed by Bush on Lebanon'". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2006-09-11.
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(help); "Bush gets bad rap on intelligence". The St. Cloud Times. January 14 2001. Retrieved 2006-10-09.{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Jacob Weisberg (November 4 2000). "Bush, in his own words". The Guardian. Retrieved 2006-10-09.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Nancy Gibbs (2000). "Person of the Year". TIME Magazine. Retrieved 2008-03-19.; Nancy Gibbs and John F. Dickerson (2004). "Person of the Year". TIME Magazine. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
- ^ "The Worst President in History". Rolling Stone. 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
- ^ "Defending the home front". The Australian. 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
- ^ McElvaine, Robert S. "HNN Poll: 61% of Historians Rate the Bush Presidency Worst". 1 April 2008. Available online.
- ^ "FILM THREAT'S FRIGID 50: THE COLDEST PEOPLE IN HOLLYWOOD 2007". Film Threat. 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Gill, Kathy (2007-03-22). "The Firing Of US Attorneys - Nefarious Or Business As Usual?". About.com. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales (2007-03-07). "They lost my confidence". Retrieved 2007-10-09.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Eggen, Dan (2007-08-28). "Embattled Gonzales Resigns". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
{{cite web}}
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(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - ^ Alberto Gonzales (2007-08-26). "Gonzales' Resignation Letter". United States Department of Justice. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
Please accept my resignation as Attorney General of the United States, effective September 17, 2007.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Leahy, Patrick. Leahy Takes Next Step On White House Subpoenas,Directing Compliance By Current And Former White House Officials: Chairman Rules That Executive Privilege And Immunity Claims Are Not Legally Valid. Office of Senator Patrick Leahy (Press Release), United States Senate. 2007-11-29. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
- ^ Kellman, Laurie (Associated Press) Leahy: Bush Not Involved in Firings Leahy: Bush Not Involved in Firings. Fox News. 2007-11-29. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
- ^ Mukasey won't pursue contempt probe of Bush aides, Reuters (2008-03-01).
- ^ "President Bush Speech on Missile Defense". Federation of American Scientists. 2001-05-01. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Associated Press (January 29 2006). "Quarter Of Bush's $15 Billion For AIDS Going To Christian Groups". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Jim VandeHei (June 2 2005). "In Break With U.N., Bush Calls Sudan Killings Genocide". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-07-25.
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(help) - ^ "U.S.-India Joint Statement". The White House. March 2 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-28.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Diehl, Jackson (April 24 2005). "Retreat From the Freedom Agenda". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-09-14.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Sheryl Gay Stolberg (10 June 2007). "Bush is Greeted Warmly in Albania". The New York Times.
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(help) - ^ Robert Wielaard, AP (February 19, 2008). "U.S., major European nations recognize Kosovo's independence".
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "President Bush's remarks to police, firemen, and rescue workers". September 14 2001.
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(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People
- ^ "President Bush's address to joint session of Congress". September 20 2001.
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(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ a b c Presidential State of the Union Address January 29 2002
- ^ National Security Strategy of the United States, Part V September 2002.
- ^ President Bush: Job Ratings Polling Report.com
- ^ Cumings, Bruce (2006). Inventing the Axis of Evil: The Truth About North Korea, Iran, and Syria. New Press. ISBN 978-1-59558-038-2.
{{cite book}}
: Unknown parameter|coauthors=
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suggested) (help) - ^ Lopez, George, "Perils of Bush's Pre-emptive War Doctrine", Indianapolis Star, October 3 2003.
- ^ Prevent Our Enemies from Threatening Us, Our Allies, and Our Friends with Weapons of Mass Destruction
- ^ NIE: Al Qaeda 'Damaged' Becoming More Scattered CNN, September 26 2006.
- ^ Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Hurting U.S. Terror Fight Washington Post, September 24 2006.
- ^ Bush: Pakistan vote 'victory in war on terror' CNN, February 20 2008.
- ^ "Fact Sheet: International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan". Center for Defense Information. 2002-02-14. Retrieved 2007-01-13.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "More Dutch troops for Afghanistan". BBC News. 2006-02-03. Retrieved 2007-01-13.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "U.S. Concludes bin Laden Escaped at Tora Bora Fight". Washington Post. 2002-04-17. Retrieved 2007-01-11.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Taliban Appears To Be Regrouped and Well-Funded". Christian Science Monitor. 2003-05-08. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "World Cannot Give Up on Afghanistan, Coalition Officials Say". United States Department of Defense. 2006-06-28. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Frustrated Karzai toughens stance". BBC News. 2006-07-22. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Revived Taliban waging 'full-blown insurgency'". USA Today. 2006-07-22. Retrieved 2006-06-19.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ The National Security Archive at George Washington University
- ^ Judis, John B. and Ackerman, Spencer, “The Selling of the Iraq War”, The New Republic, June 2003.
- ^ Hersh, Seymour M., "The Stovepipe", The New Yorker, October 27 2003.
- ^ Associated Press (2003-03-17). "U.S. advises weapons inspectors to leave Iraq". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ United Nations (2003-02-13). "Enforcement Measures under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter". United Nations Charter. United Nations. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Schifferes, Steve (2003-03-18). "US names 'coalition of the willing'". BBC. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Iraq war illegal, says Annan". BBC. 2004-09-16. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Mission Not Accomplished Time Magazine
- ^ Times Online (2005-12-14). "Bush: we went to war on faulty intelligence". Times Online. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
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(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
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suggested) (help) - ^ "Colin Powell says Iraq in a 'civil war'". CNN. 2006-11-29. Retrieved 2007-02-17.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Report Stirs Debate on Terror Fight". The New York Times. 2006-09-24. Retrieved 2006-09-25.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "President George W. Bush speaks during a video teleconference with Vice President Dick Cheney, on screen, and military commanders". 2006-10-21. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Bush Reviews Iraq War Strategy as Violence Mounts (Update1)". Bloomberg.com. 2006-10-21. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
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(help) - ^ "Admitting strategy error, Bush adds Iraq troops". MSNBC. January 11 2007.
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(help) - ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay and Jeff Zeleny, Bush Vetoes Bill Tying Iraq Funds to Exit, The New York Times, May 1, 2007.
- ^ Bush on anniversary: War in Iraq must go on, CNN, March 19, 2008.
- ^ Baghdad on lockdown as rockets, bombs fly, CNN, March 28, 2008.
- ^ Bush: Baghdad's move against Shiite militias a 'bold decision', CNN, March 27, 2008.
- ^ "Pollack, Jonathan. "The United States, North Korea, and the End of the Agreed Framework." Naval War College Review, Summer 2003, Vol. LVI, No. 3". Archived from the original on 2006-08-18.
- ^ President's Statement on North Korea Nuclear Test
- ^ Associated Press (2007-05-07). "North Korea Ready to Shut Down Reactor 'Immediately'". FOXNews.com. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Associated Press. "U.S.: North Korea agrees to shut down nuke facilities". CNN date = 2007-09-02. Retrieved 2007-09-02.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "Bush expands sanctions on Syria". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
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(help) - ^ "U.S. Treasury moves to clamp down on Syrian entities accused of spreading weapons", International Herald Tribune online edition, January 4, 2007. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
- ^ "U.S. announces sanctions to combat Syrian influence on Lebanon", International Herald Tribune online edition, November 5, 2007. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
- ^ M. Overhaus, S. Schieder (2002). "Die außenpolitischen Positionen der Parteien im Bundestagswahlkampf 2002" (PDF). Politik im Netz (in German).
{{cite journal}}
: Text "volume 3" ignored (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ CBC News (2005-12-14). "Was the American ambassador meddling in a Canadian election?". CBC.ca Reality Check Team. Retrieved 2006-09-23.
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(help) - ^ Chávez attacks 'devil' Bush in UN speech | World news | The Guardian
- ^ Condon, George E. Jr. (2006-07-21). "Bush, White House now leery of Putin as Russian turns back on democracy". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 2006-09-09.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Keeping the U.S. at Bay, Mexican Presidential Candidate Looks to Move Past Fox's Failures Marcela Sanchez (March 3 2006).
- ^ Mexico's President Snubs Bush, Vicente Fox Cancels Visit To Bush Ranch To Protest Execution (August 15 2002).
- ^ Row over Bush security as Blair defends visit Ewen MacAskill, Hugh Muir, and Julian Borger in Washington, The Guardian (November 11 2003).
- ^ "Shoulder to shoulder, Blair and Bush nominated for peace prize". Guardian. February 5, 2002. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
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(help) - ^ "Nobel nomination for Bush and Blair". BBC. February 5, 2002. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
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(help) - ^ "Bush and Blair nominated for Nobel peace prize". Free Republic. January 30, 2004. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "What's the meaning of Bush & Blair nominated as candidates for Nobel Peace Prize?". English People Daily. March 9, 2004. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
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(help) - ^ "In 18 of 21 Countries Polled, Most See Bush's Reelection as Negative for World Security". BBC World Service and Program on International Policy Attitudes. 2004. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
- ^ "Polls: World Not Pleased With Bush". Associated Press. March 4 2004. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
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(help) - ^ British believe Bush is more dangerous than Kim Jong-il
- ^ "He uhkaavat maailman turvallisuutta (They threaten world peace)" (in Finnish). Iltalehti. 2006-11-11. Retrieved 2006-11-11.
{{cite web}}
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(help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ Peter Kiernan (March 1, 2007), Middle East Opinion: Iran Fears Aren't Hitting the Arab Street, World Politics Review Exclusive
{{citation}}
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(help) - ^ "Public Opinion Survey in Iraq" (PDF). November 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
- ^ "Pew Global Attitudes Project: Spring 2007, Survey of 47 Publics, Final 2007 Comparative Topline" (PDF). Pew Research Center. June 27, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
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(help) - ^ "Bush greeted as hero in Albania". BBC. June 10, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Bush Gets Warm Reception in Albania". NPR. June 10, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Serbia blames U.S. for violence". Associated Press. February 24 2008.
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(help) - ^ Text of H.R. 2082
- ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080308/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_torture
- ^
Tran, Mark. "CIA admit 'waterboarding' al-Qaida suspects". www.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
{{cite web}}
: Text "World news" ignored (help); Text "guardian.co.uk" ignored (help) - ^ "French Journalist Henri Alleg Describes His Torture Being Waterboarded by French Forces During Algerian War". Democracy Now!. 2007-11-05. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
I have described the waterboarding I was submitted to. And no one can say, having passed through it, that this was not torture, especially when he has endured other types of torture—burning, electricity and beating, and so on.
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(help) - ^ "Torture's Terrible Toll". Newsweek. 2005-11-21.
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(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=
(help)According to Republican United States Senator and 2008 presidential candidate John McCain, who was tortured as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, waterboarding is "torture, no different than holding a pistol to his head and firing a blank" and can damage the subject's psyche "in ways that may never heal." - ^ Grey, Stephen (2006). Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA Torture Program. New York, New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 225–226. A former senior official in the directorate of operations is quoted (in full) as saying: "'Of course it was torture. Try it and you'll see.'" Another "former higher-up in the directorate of operations" said "'Yes, it's torture'".
- ^ "Bush grenade attacker gets life". CNN. 2006-01-11. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
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suggested) (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
External links
- Official White House web site
- Official White House biography
- "Republican National Committee biography". Archived from the original on 2007-04-14.
- Comprehensive Presidential profile by Nicholas D. Kristof
- Project Vote Smart information
- Extensive essay on George W. Bush and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs
- George W. Bush at IMDb
{{subst:#if:Bush, George W.|}} [[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:1946}}
|| UNKNOWN | MISSING = Year of birth missing {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:}}||LIVING=(living people)}} | #default = 1946 births
}}]] {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:}}
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}}
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