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Because U.S. leaders knew that Americans
would not stand for large numbers of U.S. war casualties, they had to
restrain their military impulse. They kept on bombing other countries,
but for almost two decades they did not send large numbers of U.S.
soldiers to fight on foreign soil.
Until 1991 ...
Then when George H.W. Bush did send hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops
to the Persian Gulf, people were very apprehensive. The majority did not
want to go to war. A powerful anti-war movement grew more quickly than
ever before in U.S. history.
Soon the streets were filled with demonstrations.
Immediately after the war began, hundreds of thousands of people marched
in San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
George the Elder knew he had to finish the war quickly and with few U.S.
casualties or the people would turn against it. When Iraq chose to
withdraw rather than fight and the war ended with a one-sided slaughter,
Bush was euphoric.
"By God, we've kicked the Vietnam Syndrome once and for all!"
AMERICA IS NO. 1 -- AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT! [159]
After 9-11, George W. Bush set out to test his father's proposition. He
promised us a long and bloody "War on Terrorism." [160]
"So long as anybody's terrorizing established governments, there needs
to be a war." -- George W. Bush, October 17, 2001
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