de

del

Eduardo del Buey
Foto: Afp
La Jornada Maya

Martes 4 de diciembre, 2018

One of the highlights of my diplomatic career was attending the Middle East Peace Conference in Madrid in 1991 on behalf of the Canadian government.

This marked the first time that Israeli and Arab leaders sat down at the same table and began a dialogue that continues on, although the situation between Palestinians and Israelis remains intractable to this day.

The Peace Conference was the culmination of a year and a half of careful U.S. diplomacy in the lead up to and the aftermath of the first Gulf War.

The resulting conference was in great part attributed to the highly successful personal diplomacy and leadership of one man – U.S. President George H. W. Bush.

George Bush’s career played a major role in his ability to exercise the American presidency effectively in international affairs. He had served as Congressman, C.I.A. Director, Ambassador to the U.N., and representative to the Peoples’ Republic of China before full diplomatic relations were restored between the countries in 1979. After his eight-year term as Vice President under Ronald Reagan during which he contributed to the formation of U.S. foreign policy, he appointed a group of specialists in international relations that would serve him well during his presidency.

He was arguably the best prepared President of the United States in recent history.

He brought together a network of national and international contacts and melded it with a personal sensitivity for diplomatic affairs that far outshone that of any of his predecessors. He was on the phone constantly, maintaining deep friendships with key allies around the world. He would spend hours cultivating friendships that would transcend the world of diplomacy and become personal connections.

As a Canadian, I welcomed two major accomplishments of his presidency: the signing of a bill to eliminate Acid Rain emanating from the United States that was destroying Canadian flora and fauna, and the negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that set the course for a remarkable twenty-five year period of economic expansion that deepened public and private sector relationships in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, it came as no surprise that Bush was able to put together the most effective international coalition since World War II to remove Iraq from Kuwait and to restore the sovereignty of that nation.

Yet, he had the personal modesty and deep wisdom not to seek to remove Hussein from power, acknowledging that such a move would destroy his coalition and create an unacceptable level of disarray and instability in a key part of the world. This lesson was lost on his son, George W. Bush, with tragic consequences that continue to buffet our world today.

Bush Senior also effectively managed the significant transition in Europe when the USSR collapsed and the Berlin Wall fell. Rather than take a victory lap, his traditional modesty and wisdom allowed him to lead the transformation of the European architecture without creating a sense of defeat among the losing political leaders. He understood that a part of the population had lost all of the values that they had held dearly for half a century, and that this transition required delicate and sensitive handling if it was to be peaceful and orderly.

George H. W. Bush was the last traditional Republican President of the United States.

His foreign policy was bi-partisan, and he was able to form international coalitions to face diplomatic and security challenges and also create a consensus with all U.S. political players. He did not succumb to the siren songs of far right political and religious zealots, refusing to let go of his vision of a “thousand points of light” – his view that positive political leadership was not only possible, but also necessary to face the challenges of the modern world.

If he lacked anything, it was a connection with U.S. voters on domestic priorities. When running against Bill Clinton in 1992, he appeared out of touch with the malaise seeping into the U.S. electorate as a result of economic challenges. Clinton saw this as his wedge for separating Bush from power. Clinton’s motto “it’s the economy, stupid”, helped by the 19 percent of the Republican vote that was siphoned by independent candidate Ross Perot, led to making Bush a one term president.

George Herbert Walker Bush will always be remembered for his humanity, modesty, vision and outlook.

His leadership of the Republican Party reminds one of a time when Republicans could hold their heads high. A time when they stood for fundamental American values and exerted positive leadership in a divided world. He treated his allies with friendship, and his adversaries with respect. He sought to exert power in an inclusive way and create a better world. He believed in the power of community and saw the United States not only as a superpower, but also as a moral compass for a world in transition.

The Madrid Peace Conference may stand as one of his greatest foreign policy achievements, although peace in the Middle East seems further from fruition than ever.

Another of his major foreign policy accomplishments was his resolute support for German reunification in the face of strong opposition on the part of major European allies. The result was a united Germany that today is the leading economic and political power in Europe. Once again, doing the right thing the right way at the right time pointed to a principled foreign policy.

When historians contrast the Bush 41 presidency with Donald Trump’s, nostalgia for Bush’s richer, principled, and more coherent foreign policy will likely lead them to conclude that U.S. influence is waning and that Trump is the polar opposite of this excellent leader and fundamentally decent man.

Bush 41’s legacy will live on and will serve as a beacon to all who seek to manage global diplomacy in an increasingly hostile world. His ability to bring people together will live on as a shining example of what leadership and diplomacy should be.

And a generation of American and global citizens will be left looking for someone who can fill that void.

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