4/15/1991

“Why did Bush ‘leave’ Hussein in power rather than remove him during the first Gulf War?…Dick Cheney, Bush Sr.’s defense secretary, explained the administration’s reasoning in April 1991: ‘Once you’ve got Baghdad, it’s not clear what you do with it. It’s not clear what kind of government you would put in place of the one that’s currently there. …How much credibility is that government going to have if its set up by the U.S. military when its there [sic]? …I think to have American military engaged in a civil war inside Iraq would fit the definition of a quagmire, and we have absolutely no desire to get bogged down in that fashion.’ “ [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]

 – Antonia Juhasz, The Bush Agenda, Pages 173-174