BUSH, GEORGE H. W.

(1924- )

   George Bush was the president of the United States during the Gulf War in 1991. After the defeat of Iraq, Bush called upon the Kurds and Shiites to rise up. When they did, however, the United States did nothing to prevent Saddam Hussein's still relatively formidable forces from crushing them. The resulting Kurdish refugee exodus to the mountains caused Bush to reconsider his opposition to helping the Kurds. The United States established Operation Provide Comfort (OPC) to provide a safe haven and no-fly zone to protect the Kurds' return and establishment of a de facto state of Kurdistan. Subsequently Bush gave only very lukewarm support to the Iraqi opposition to Saddam Hussein. Bush left office in January 1993 after he was defeated for reelection by Bill Clinton. His son, George W. Bush, was later elected president of the United States and assumed the office in 2001. The elder Bush's decision not to occupy Iraq after the war in 1991 seemed better in later years given the serious problems the younger Bush experienced after he did conquer the country in 2003.