The Family, by Kitty Kelley: on Foreign Policy
George Bush Sr.:
Became UN Ambassador after campaigning against UN
After losing his second run for Senate, George's public life looked as though it was over. Nixon planned to dust off his obligation to George by appointing him head of the SBA or giving him a White House staff position with no specific duties. Some Nixon
aides came up with the UN as the best way to keep George politically alive.Nixon said, "I told him our plan, which didn't go down too well at first. 'We hated the UN in Texas,' Barbara said. She reminded me that George had campaigned against the UN.
George had said the UN 'has largely been a failure in preserving freedom.' I explained to George that there was no better way for him to stay in public life than to become US Ambassador to the UN."
After the President offered him some insignificant
position, George said he'd rather have the UN because he felt that he could make friends for Nixon in a way that no one else could. And his unswerving loyalty would enable him to represent US foreign policy the way Nixon wanted it represented.
Source: The Family, by Kitty Kelley, p.284-285
Sep 14, 2004
George Bush Sr.:
1971: Argued for dual UN representation for China & Taiwan
In Oct. 1971, the UN voted to recognize Red China and give the People's Republic of China the seat occupied by Taiwan, or Nationalist China. George vowed in his Senate campaigns if that were to happen, he would advocate US withdrawal from the UN. Now, as
Nixon's Ambassador, he had to argue for "dual representation" and plead for 2 seats: one in the Security Council for Communist China, and one in the General Assembly for Taiwan. He had lobbied hard among the 129 missions for support and had thought he
had enough delegates committed to the US policy. But on the final count, he lost 59-55, with 15 countries abstaining. He took the defeat as a personal rebuke and said he was disgusted by the anti-American sentiments. "For some delegates--who literally
danced in the aisles when the vote was announced--Taiwan wasn't really the issue," George said. "Kicking Uncle Sam was."When the Taiwanese Ambassador walked out of the hall for the last time, George caught him & apologized for what had happened.
Source: The Family, by Kitty Kelley, p.289-290
Sep 14, 2004
George Bush Sr.:
US gives Israel $1,000 for every Israeli citizen
Neil Bush got a rush of Arab investors after traveling to Saudi Arabia and delivering a speech in which he said that the Arabs' problem in the US is that their lobby and public-relations machine is not as strong as the Israelis'. In saying that, he fed
directly into an article of faith held in the Arab world and by anti-Semites the world over--that America's Middle East policy is driven by the Jewish lobby rather than national interest. Neil simply had repeated the sentiments of his father who was
never perceived as pro-Israel. As President, Bush had complained in a White House press conference about the strength of the Jewish lobby on Capitol Hill. He reminded his critics that the US gave "Israel the equivalent of $1,000 for every Israeli
citizen," a remark that detractors saw as an allusion to the stereotype of Jews as greedy and money-grubbing. Echoing the President's comments was his Secretary of State James Baker, who said, "F--- the Jews. They don't vote for us anyway."
Source: The Family, by Kitty Kelley, p.421
Sep 14, 2004
George Bush Sr.:
1987: Visited concentration camps in Poland
In 1986 President Reagan decided to visit the cemetery in Bitburg, West Germany, that held the graves of 49 Nazi storm troopers. His decision angered Jewish groups in the US & Europe, all of whom held public demonstrations. Ronald Reagan would not
budge. He had given his word. Former President Nixon backed him in his resolve, as did Vice President Bush, who sent him a secret note, which Reagan later published in his autobiography: "Mr. President, I was very proud of your stand. If
I can help absorb some heat, send me into battle--It's not easy, but you are right!!!"
The outcry over Bitburg had convinced the Bush hardnoses that he needed to demonstrate his own sensitivity to the Holocaust. They scheduled a 4-day trip to Poland in
Sept. 1987 with stops at the concentration camps of Birkenau and Auschwitz, where 4 million people had been exterminated. The trip was so blatantly political that the Polish press accused Bush of using their country to launch his presidential campaign.
Source: The Family, by Kitty Kelley, p.439
Sep 14, 2004
George Bush Sr.:
1980s: Secretly assisted airlifting Ethiopian Jews to Israel
In the 1980's the Israelis launched a secret effort known as Operation Moses to rescue Ethiopian Jews. Once the news of the rescue operation broke, the effort had to be shut down, leaving hundreds of Jews stranded. The VP went directly to the
CIA and secretly arranged a rescue mission that saved those Ethiopians. The mission was never made public until George's campaign. A flyer mailed to Jewish voters was titled "The one candidate who has proven his commitment to the Jewish people."
Source: The Family, by Kitty Kelley, p.441
Sep 14, 2004
Gerald Ford:
1986: Iran-Contra covert operation deserves condemnation
On November 25, 1986 the Iran-Contra scandal hit the front pages. Both the Republicans and Democrats assailed the White House. Former Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter were stupefied."We've paid ransom, in effect, to the kidnappers
of our hostages," said President Carter. President Ford said, "Whoever initiated this covert operation and carried it out deserves some condemnation by certain people in Congress, by people on the outside."
Source: The Family, by Kitty Kelley, p.442-443
Sep 14, 2004
Jeb Bush:
1990: Defended anti-Castro terrorist as patriot in exile
Jeb petitioned the Justice Department in 1990 on behalf of Orlando Bosch, who was in prison for having entered the US illegally. The anti-Castro terrorist, who was implicated in a car-bombing assassination and was notorious for having masterminded the
bombing of a Cubana Airlines Flight in Oct. 1976, which killed all 73 on board.At the time George H. W. Bush was CIA director. The US sanctioned terrorism against Cuba and routinely trained commandos to infiltrate the island. Jeb, who planned to run
for governor of Florida, represented a rabid anti-Castro constituency, a voting bloc that held his father's anti-Castro actions at the CIA in the highest esteem. Jeb's public support for paroling Bosch further enhanced his standing in the Cuban
community, which considered Bosch a patriot in exile and honored him for his murderous bombings around the globe. At this son's behest, George Bush intervened to obtain the release of the Cuban terrorist from prison and later granted Bosch US residency.
Source: The Family, by Kitty Kelley, p.407-408
Sep 14, 2004
Jimmy Carter:
1986 Iran-Contra paid ransom for kidnapped hostages
On Nov. 25, 1986 the Iran-Contra scandal hit the front pages. Former President Jimmy Carter was stupefied: "We've paid ransom, in effect, to the kidnappers of our hostages," said President Carter. "The fact is that every terrorist in the world
who reads a newspaper or listens to radio shows that they've taken American hostages and we've paid them to get the hostages back. This is a very serious mistake in how to handle a kidnapping or hostage-taking."
Source: The Family, by Kitty Kelley, p.442-443
Sep 14, 2004
Ronald Reagan:
Nicaraguan Contras: moral equal of our Founding Fathers
Iran-Contra was a shorthand term for illegalities involved in financing the civil war raging in Nicaragua. Pres. Reagan had pleaded with Congress to aid the contras, whom he referred to as "the moral equal of our Founding Fathers." Congress denied his
plea and passed the Boland Amendment, making it illegal to provide funding to overthrow Nicaragua's duly elected Communist government.[Then] 17 Americans were kidnapped in Beirut by terrorists. In a misguided effort to free the hostages and finance
Reagan's war against the Sandinistas, Lt. Col. Oliver North of the National Security Council devised a complex scheme, which he and others later tried to cover up: secretly aiding the contras, selling arms to Iran, and diverting proceeds from the
Iran arms sales to the contras. The deception by North and others led to joint congressional hearings, a presidential commission, an investigation, court trials, and 3 convictions. In the end, 6 participants received presidential pardons.
Source: The Family, by Kitty Kelley, p.393-394
Sep 14, 2004
Ronald Reagan:
1986: Angered Jewish groups by visiting Nazi cemetery
In 1986 the Reagan administration had been accused of insensitivity to the Holocaust when the President decided to visit the little cemetery in Bitburg, West Germany, that held the graves of 49 Nazi storm troopers. His decision angered Jewish groups
in the US, Europe, and the Soviet Union, all of whom held public demonstrations. Elie Wiesel, who grew up in the death camps and lost his parents in Auschwitz, pleaded with the President on national television not to lend his presence to a
German military cemetery. This provoked further outrage, including two resolutions in the House of Representatives beseeching Reagan not to visit Bitburg, coupled with a similar resolution signed by half the Senate. The editorial opposition to Bitburg
was overwhelming as newspapers throughout the country pleaded with the President to change his mind. Even his wife begged him, but Ronald Reagan would not budge. He had given his word, and he said that if he reneged, he would look weak and indecisive.
Source: The Family, by Kitty Kelley, p.439
Sep 14, 2004
Page last updated: Jan 01, 2013