Today former Vice President and former Commander-In-Chief George HW Bush revisits the Gulf War invasion in a commemoration of the event’s 20th anniversary. Bush says he has “no regrets” about his decision to go to war. He adds that he is comfortable that the war is considered the defining moment of his presidency. “I would have liked to see Saddam Hussein do himself in in some way, but that wasn’t our objective,” Bush told the LA Times.
The key players of the foreign policy team will be in attendance, including: James A. Baker III, Bush’s secretary of state; former Vice President Dan Quayle, then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, former Joints Chiefs Chairman Colin Powell; Bush’s national security advisor, Brent Scowcroft; retired Marine Corps General Walter E. Boomer; and emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber al-Sabah. Unfortunately, General Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of the coalition forces, will not be able to attend due to ailing health.
This historic reunion will be held at 5 p.m. at Reed Arena on the Texas A&M University campus, where the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum are also located. It’s estimated that several thousand spectators, including Gulf War veterans and Fort Hood soliders, will attend. The event is expected to attract a crowd of several thousand, including hundreds of Gulf War veterans and a contingent from nearby Fort Hood. There will be a foreign policy round-table discussing the impact of their decision — past, present and future.
“I think any time a president has to commit somebody else’s son or daughter into harm’s way it is a tough decision,” Bush recalls. “You worry about it. But we were convinced … that we had to do this. We had to send a message we were going to enforce the UN resolutions and liberate the country.”
