George W. Bush Quotes


I’m not going to cut and run like we did in 1991.


Context

In 1991 Bush’s father, and his military and security advisors, after winning an overwhelming victory and accomplishing the war aims stated of rolling back the Iraqi aggression, decided that it was not worth the loss of American and Iraqi lives to try and occupy Bagdad and change the regime. America and its large coalition withdrew in victory having restored the pre-aggression status quo. The son and some of the right wing and neo conservatives always saw that strategy as a mistake and this quotation is often cited as showing this psychological animus to that decision of his father. His use of the term “cut and run” which implies defeat and some lack of courage is surprising to some as America and the coalition did anything but run as they had killed and destroyed far more or the Iraqi military power than the son’s later war did. It was a withdrawal and there were critics at the time, but no one accused the elder Bush of “cut and run” except that is the way the son obviously saw it.


Citations

George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States, Son of President George W. Bush, Statement about the Iraq War, Quoted on PBS, The Charlie Rose Show, January 18, 2008

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

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George W. Bush
George W. Bush
  • Born: July 6, 1946
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Former President of the U.S., Former Governor of Texas, Politician, Attorney

George Walker Bush is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush previously served as the 46th governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000. He was born into the Bush family; his father, George H. W. Bush, was the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993.