George H. W. Bush: Address to Congress on the Persian Gulf Crisis

Questions for Further Study

• 1. In recent years, the United States has been deeply involved in Middle Eastern affairs. To what extent was the United States engaged in the Middle East prior to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait? Provide examples of this earlier U.S. involvement. Did earlier American involvement in that region reflect economic, strategic, cultural, humanitarian, or military concerns? Do you think that the Persian Gulf War was a turning point in U.S. involvement in the Middle East?
• 2. In his speech, Bush said that a new world order was “struggling to be born.” What did he mean by a new world order? Why do you think he believed it was possible in the early 1990s for such a change in international affairs to take place? Did a new world order emerge while Bush was in the White House? How do you account for the changes in international order, or lack of them, that occurred during the Persian Gulf War and its aftermath?
• 3. Bush declared in his speech, “Our ability to function effectively as a great power abroad depends on how we conduct ourselves at home.” Explain what you think he meant by that statement. Do you think that he was right? Can you provide examples from recent years when the ways that Americans conducted themselves at home either strengthened or harmed U.S. leadership abroad?
• 4. The United States fought a second war with Iraq beginning in 2003 during the presidency of George W. Bush. Compare and contrast the origins of the Persian Gulf War with the origins of the second war with Iraq. Did the first war and the way it ended contribute to the coming of the second war? Which of the two presidents Bush was more effective in securing international support for the war he fought? How do you account for any differences in the success of each president in using diplomacy to build an international coalition?