The Wars of the Bushes: A Father and Son as Military Leaders

by Stephen Tanner

It is a remarkable twist in history that over a period of 30 years the only full-fledged military campaigns waged by the United States have been initiated by a father and son--the two presidents Bush. Yet rather than representing a continuity in American policy, the wars launched by the Bushes have revealed a vast chasm between those who believe the New World should stand as a beacon for global freedom, and those who think that America should be its...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1932033327
• ISBN13: 9781932033328
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: Casemate Publishers and Book Distributors
• Length: 297 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

The Truth

I finished this book feeling despair and a lot of anger at our quagmire in Iraq. It is an eye-opener and a must-read for anyone wanting to know the truth. It is easy-to-understand non-partisan history.

Wars of the Bushes

There are times when the present is more interesting than the past, but we've yet to see an occasion when familiarity with history has not been invaluable to one's perception of current events. This is could not be more true than now since the United States lived through the 9/11 attacks. We are the strongest nation in history and recently entered new territory. Stephen Tanner's," Wars of the Bushes" has a great look on foreign policy that begins with the first Bush presidency. It focuses on the different approaches of father and son to war that are visible in each approach to Iraq. Bush II, Tanner notes, has stomped his father's achievements through reckless unilateralism. To make this case, Tanner compares Bush I's actions in Panama and the Gulf to Bush II's Iraq War. Of course, Bush I comes out shining, and in contrast, Bush II appears dumbfounded. Bush I helped lift the US military by planning for quick, decisive victories won by using overwhelming force to achieve a well defined, limited objective. These limited objectives were the capture of Manuel Noriega and the expulsion of Saddam Hussein from Kuwait. In contrast, Bush II fights wars without clear goals; he fights terror, rightly characterized by Tanner as a tactic of the enemy rather than the enemy itself. In Bush the son, Tanner has found it difficult to recognize the father, though acknowledging that while the former was greeted by the fall of the Berlin Wall in the first autumn of his presidency, the latter was greeted by the fall of New York's Twin Towers, an altogether more frightening event. But while the father built upon his opportunities to position America at the head of a global alliance, the son has adopted novel doctrines such as pre-emption and pre-eminence, which have left the United States shorn of world support. Standing apart from other analysts, Tanner criticizes the American war in Afghanistan as a timid failure, in which Bush the younger claimed a hollow victory while allowing the leadership of the Taliban, and most importantly, Al Qaeda to escape. According to Tanner, The United States has undertaken its first war in which it creates more enemies than it can destroy. He tries to explain the long build-up to the invasion of Iraq, during which the younger Bush divested himself of the worldwide respect earned by his father in order to prosecute a war that had nothing to do with 9/11. While ideologues may agree or disagree about the wisdom of this new path in light of the events of 9/11, the book provides a solid foundation for such discussion. For anyone unaccustomed to reading about current events in anything more than a newspaper, "The Wars of the Bushes" is very entertaining and definitely informative. Stephen Tanner does not praise anyone and present facts without neat solutions. This book gives the reader a balanced understanding of events that occurred over the last fifteen years. One of the books on the "must read" list for those interested in th

The Wars of the Bushes

Tanner offers a comprehensive review of events leading up to both Gulf Wars and an incisive assessment of the motivation of George W. Bush, as well as an informative contrast of father and son. The departure of the George W. from the policies and alliances that shaped much of the post World War II era have been broadly commented on during this election season, but the author's crisp description of the events leading the US to its present position is an excellent summary of this substantial shift in US policy and the changes in its relationships with friends and adversaries alike. While idealogues may agree or disagree about the wisdom of this new path in light of the events of 9/11, the book provides a solid foundation for such discussion. One of the books on the "must read" list for those interested in the policies and behavior of the present administration.

A MUST READ

This book is essential for anyone interested in the current political situation. It gives a detailed and enticing historical description of recent and critical military events up to this point, relating their impact back to the current political situation. In addition, it analyzes the Bushes, father and son, in an insightful and unique perspective, portraying both conservative and liberal arguments. Tanner's writing is almost poetic in his descriptions, creating a perfect mix of information and speculation. I highly recommend this book, it is extremely informative and very interesting.

A very good read on the subject

Overall I found this to be a very good read. Although cast in the light of a comparison of the two Bush Presidencies the book provides a thorough presentation of the history of the middle east as well as US foreign policy history. The book details the differences in approach to the issues facing both of the Bushes as Presidents. The conclusions reached at the end of this work may provoke disagreement from those with different idiological alignments but I recommend this book highly.