CLOSE-UP
President Bush
voiced "major
regret" that Saddam
Hussein remains in
power.
At right:
The Kurdish tragedy
has prompted
second-guessing
about American
success in the
Persian Gulf War.
30
ery Middle East country — including
some with whom we've had lousy rela-
tions — like Syria.
Our relations are much stronger with
Syria today because of what we did in the
Gulf. It is historic.
The fact that the world came together,
desperate countries, and gunned down
aggression, went back and punished an
aggressor.
That in itself says something about a
new world order, and all countries — in-
cluding the United States — should learn
from that.
FELDMAN: Upon reflection, what are
your regrets about the outcome of the Gulf
War?
BUSH: We fulfilled every United Na-
tions-stated goal under the resolutions,
and we still have some to fulfill, like repa-
rations.
But we fulfilled the repelling of aggres-
sion. Now, we're being second-guessed.
Some say we ought to have gone into
Baghdad, and taken out Saddam Hus-
sein. If we did, we'd probably be bogged
down in horrible urban guerrilla warfare.
Having said that, I'd clearly like to see
Saddam out of power, but that was not an
objective.
Instant democracy in Kuwait was not
an objective, changing of lifestyle in the
region was not an objective, pushing Is-
rael into something it doesn't want to do
was not an objective. The objectives were
clear and they were spelled out.
And now we have a lot of revisionists
FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 1991
because of the brutality to the Kurds and
for other reasons, like brutality to the
Shiites in the south.
They are saying we should have done
something different. Many of them are
critics who did not want to use force in
the first place.
Now they are doing some revisionist
thinking and saying we should use force
to get Saddam out. I can tell you this
now, though: Relations with Iraq will
never be normal as long as Saddam is in
power.
And I will not release sanctions — from
the U.S. standpoint — as long as he is in
power.
FELDMAN: Is there anything you re-
gret?
BUSH: I regret that Saddam is still
there. That is a major regret, but taking
him out wasn't an objective.
I regret the loss of life, but our troops
performed brilliantly.
The fact that we now have a lot of second-
guessing doesn't bother me a bit. The Amer
ican people understand something good,
something patriotic when they see it. ❑
Trude B. Feldman is a White House
correspondent who specializes in Mideast
topics. She has interviewed every Israeli
prime minister and U.S. president since
Truman on this subject.
Copyright 1991 Trude B. Feldman.