A Warning About Iraq's Nuclear Ambitions from the First President Bush

To close out this series (and begin a vacation break from posting), I want to go back to Thanksgiving Day, November 1990, when I was a White House correspondent covering the first President Bush. On that day, the elder Mr. Bush was in Saudi Arabia, visiting US troops deployed in the desert adjacent to the Iraqi border prior to the first US military action against Saddam Hussein, triggered by his invasion and seizure of Kuwait. You’ll see Iraq’s nuclear ambitions figured in the President’s concerns, just as they did again in 2003 in his son’s Presidency.

It was an emotional day for President Bush as he spent the American Thanksgiving holiday with US troops in the Persian Gulf -- troops he may one day have to order into battle. I accompanied Mr. Bush from bases in the Saudi desert to an amphibious assault ship in the Gulf and filed this report.

For George Bush, this was no ordinary Thanksgiving -- just as it was no special holiday for the thousands of US military personnel on alert in the Persian Gulf since Iraq invaded Kuwait.

But for the President it was the personal highlight of his latest foreign trip -- the chance to spend time with some of the young men and women deployed in the region since August.

Throughout the day, from dusty camouflaged bases in the desolate Saudi desert to the cluttered flight-deck of a ship anchored in the waters of the Gulf, Mr. Bush brushed aside obvious fatigue and seemed to revel in his one-on-one contacts as he mingled with the troops -- signing autographs, shaking hands, and posing for pictures.

The President reflected on his feelings about the troops during an impromptu news conference after touring a bunker at a spartan, sand-blown Marine base just 80 kilometers from the Kuwaiti border.

"I learned they're just like my kids. Probably wish they were home. It's Thanksgiving Day in the United States. And I learned that they're willing to be apart from their own loved ones because they feel it is their duty and the their obligation and they're strong and they're tough and I am very moved by today, I'll tell you."

For their part, the troops seemed to relish the attention of a Presidential visit. And most seemed moved with genuine enthusiasm when their commander-in-chief reminded them why they are so far from home.

"There are three key reasons why we're here with our UN allies making a stand in defense of peace and freedom. We're here to protect freedom, we're here to protect our future and we're here to protect innocent life.”

Mr. Bush again criticized what he called the brutality inflicted by Iraq on the people of Kuwait and said it could not be rewarded. As he put it, a bully unchecked today is a bully unleashed for tomorrow.

But Mr. Bush had another reason too for confronting the Baghdad government -- stressing for the first time the threat he said is posed by Iraq's nuclear potential.

"And every day that passes brings Saddam Hussein one step closer to realizing his goal of a nuclear weapons arsenal. And that's another reason, frankly, why more and more our mission is marked by a real sense of urgency."

Throughout the day, the President noted the irony of talking about the threat of conflict on Thanksgiving, a day of peace. And the irony of this particular day of peace was evident everywhere -- in the tanks and guns ringing the sites where Mr. Bush talked and ate and laughed with the troops-- and in the protective gas masks slung from the hips, not only of the soldiers facing the threat of an Iraqi chemical weapons attack ,but also carried by White House aides and reporters.

Mr. Bush -- a Second World War veteran -- repeatedly stressed his personal pride in the servicemen and women enduring hardships in the Gulf and emphasized the deep feelings of support for the troops from the American people.

Yet for all the emotion and the personal pain he will surely feel if he must order them into battle, the President said he remains determined to see this mission through to the end. While continuing to emphasize his desire for a peaceful settlement, Mr. Bush warned Saddam Hussein that he will be making what the President called the mistake of his life if he confuses the world community's current restraint with a lack of resolve.