Wars of the Bushes: A Father and Son as Military Leaders

Editorial Reviews. Review an informed, sophisticated and subtle book, rich in anecdote and laced with a veteran military historian's sardonic doubts of the.
Table of contents

A Father and Son as Military Leaders, military historian Stephen Tanner describes the four major military conflicts launched by the presidents Bush. After a brief description of America's military experience from Vietnam to the end of the Cold War, he begins his in-depth examinations with the invasion of Panama and the Gulf War, which were launched by Bush the elder. Both were characterized by decisive, overwhelming force, matching military capability to geopolitical goals with decisive results.

Having positioned America as the moral, as well as military, leader of the world, Bush the elder also cushioned the collapse of the Soviet Union with diplomacy rather than warfare, an achievement that may have been his greatest triumph. In Bush the son, Tanner has found it difficult to recognize the father, though acknowledging that while the former was greeted by the fall of the Berlin Wall in the first autumn of his presidency, the latter was greeted by the fall of New York's Twin Towers, an altogether more frightening event.

But while the father built upon his opportunities to position America at the head of a global alliance, the son has adopted novel doctrines such as pre-emption and pre-eminence, which have left the United States shorn of world support.


  • .
  • Study Guide for Come Into My Trading Room: A Complete Guide to Trading (Wiley Trading);
  • European Integration and Global Corporate Strategies (Routledge Studies in International Business an.
  • The Secret Logs of Mistress Janeway Volume 1;
  • Jamaica: A Taste of the Island.
  • .

Standing apart from other analysts, Tanner criticizes the American war in Afghanistan as a timid failure, in which Bush the younger claimed a hollow victory while allowing the leadership of the Taliban, and most importantly, Al Qaeda to escape. The great WMD scare of is described in all its propagandistic intensity, as well as Americ'as ensuing invasion and occupation. In Iraq, according to Tanner, the United States has undertaken its first war in which it creates more enemies than it can destroy.

See a Problem?

The Wars of the Bushes provides a juxtaposition between the father's vision of America's role in the world and the son's. On the one hand stood the world's sole remaining superpower as an admired nation on the cusp of a Pax Americana, and on the other, now in the 21st century, we stand as the mistrusted head of a disparate Coalition of the Willing.

Soldiers Coming Home to Their Kids [TNT Channel]

Between the two Bush presidencies, the Clinton years are also examined in these pages, for all their fascination. As the American armed forces currently fight their longest, bloodiest war since Vietnam--unwisely, as then, attempting to subdue an older, foreign culture--this book provides a valuable perspective by comparing the presidencies of two men related by blood but not by experience and character, or in a shared view of America's unique qualities. In The Wars of the Bushes, Tanner posits that the United States has recently taken a detour along its path to true greatness.

Famous father-son pairs in military history

John McCain , the senator from Arizona. Strictly speaking, the second and sixth presidents' only official military service was as commander in chief. But both men were important figures during the American Revolution and later conflicts. John Adams , the second president, was a semi-participant in some battles, played a leading role in pushing America toward the necessary war with Britain, and built up the U. Army and Navy powerfully during his presidency. But he also negotiated the peace treaties with both Britain and France.

The Wars of the Bushes: A Father and Son as Military Leaders by Stephen Tanner

His son, John Quincy Adams , was an 18th-century type of "military brat" who spent his youth accompanying his legendary father overseas. He acquired the discipline, adaptability and flexibility of mind that later served him as president. He was also a non-participant on the scene of battles, and was a "hawk" who, centuries before the phrase was coined, believed in speaking softly and carrying a big stick. However, he was a fierce patriot who is also acclaimed as one of America's greatest diplomats.


  1. The wars of the Bushes :a father and son as military leaders /by Stephen Tanner. – National Library!
  2. Hollywood & God (Phoenix Poets)!
  3. The Tao of the Universe.
  4. George H. W. Bush?

    5. Theodore Roosevelt first achieved fame not as a politician, but as a military icon leading the Rough Riders. Clark was the U. Clark's "extraordinary heroism" in Korea included rallying an inexperienced, disorganized force through "his self-confident manner and personal example of fearlessness. Davis was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for his service during this period.

    The Wars of the Bushes: A Father and Son as Military Leaders

    There are plusses and minuses to raising a son or daughter in a military environment. These American fathers accepted the challenges associated, and accepted the opportunity for greatness, for both them and for their sons. Jackie Fender on June 12th, The Yakima Cherry Man. By Margaret Bicker on September 6th, Betsy Ross Hall provides a home for women veterans.

    Navigation menu

    By Gary Lott on September 6th, Free transportation for veterans getting to medical appointments. By Missy Bouchat on August 30th, By Allegra Antwine on August 24th, Building a stronger veteran community through golf. By Missy Bouchat on August 24th, Activities for kids on Armed Forces Day. By Jeff Clarke on May 19th, Jesus was an airborne Ranger. By Jeff Clarke on July 2nd, By Jeff Clarke on May 13th,