George W. Bush\n{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" style="margin-left:1em"\n|+ George W. Bush\n|-\n| style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan=2 | \n|-\n! align="left" | Order:\n| 43rd President\n|-\n! align="left" | Term of Office:\n| January 20, 2001-present\n|-\n! align="left" | Predecessor:\n| Bill Clinton\n|-\n! align="left" | Date of Birth:\n| Saturday, July 6, 1946\n|-\n! align="left" | Place of Birth:\n| New Haven, Connecticut\n|-\n! align="left" | First Lady:\n| Laura Bush\n|-\n! align="left" | Profession:\n| businessman\n|-\n! align="left" | Political Party:\n| Republican\n|-\n! align="left" | Vice President:\n| Richard Bruce Cheney\n|}\nGeorge Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States. His four-year term as President began on January 20, 2001. He is currently seeking a second term, which would last until January 20, 2009 (see George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2004).
Before assuming the presidency, Bush was a businessman and served as Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000. He is the son of former President George Herbert Walker Bush and the brother of Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
Afghanistan\n Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf is one of Bush's key allies in the Afghanistan war.]]
On September 11, 2001 two hijacked planes crashed into and destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, DC. The attacks were greatly shocking both for their element of surprise and their subsequent horror. Over 3000 people perished in the destruction. Bush himself, along with Vice President Cheney and House Speaker Dennis Hastert were taken to secure, undisclosed locations for many hours on September 11th, as the extent of the attacks and the ambitions of the attackers remained uncertain for most of the day, and the following weeks. This was part of the plan that Richard Clarke, a White House adviser, had put into place for national emergencies...
A change of focus immediately followed the September 11 attacks. Through debate and discussion with his newly created War Cabinet on the weekend after September 11, Bush's foreign (and to a lesser degree, domestic) policy was subsequently defined, above all, by the War on Terrorism. This was first described in a special "Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People" on September 20, 2001 in which Bush announced that the U.S. was fighting a war on terrorism.
Once the source of the September 11 attacks was traced to Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network operating out of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, Bush gave an ultimatum to the Taliban to deliver Osama bin Laden to the United States as well as other demands. When the Taliban asked to see proof that bin Laden was behind the attacks the United States refused and instead threatened the Taliban with military action. As an attack became imminent, the Taliban offered to extradite bin Laden to Pakistan, where he could be tried under Islamic law. [1] [1] On October 7, the U.S. started the military campaign. Then, on November 13, 2001 with the help of Afghan warlords, U.S. troops seized control of the capital city, Kabul, and overthrew the Taliban government. Exiled President Burhanuddin Rabbani was returned to office, and was soon followed by a special interim government headed by former Afghani territorial governor Hamid Karzai. The government still has no means to control vast regions of the country. UN forces have helped to secure the area around Kabul and some other places. Osama Bin Laden, however, has not yet been found. Diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and the United States resumed, and Karzai became a close ally of Washington in the continued fight against terrorism.
The Bush administration has been criticized for holding several hundred individuals, including an undisclosed number of children, at Camp Delta in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba without trial. The great majority were accused of connections to Al-Qaeda or the Taliban. Several member states of the European Union and the Organization of American States, as well as non-governmental human rights organizations, have argued that the detainees must be treated as prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention and thus protected against indefinite detention as specified in international human rights law. Two federal U.S. appeals courts ruled that the prisoners should have access to lawyers and the U.S. court system. [1]The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the U.S. courts have no jurisdiction over Guantanamo Bay. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the prisoners should have access to lawyers and the U.S. court system and that U.S. authorities did not have the power to detain José Padilla, a U.S. citizen seized on U.S. soil, as an "enemy combatant". The cases are pending review by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2004. [1]
President Bush and his administration label the detainees as "unlawful combatants" deemed to pose a threat to the U.S. or to have information about terrorist structures, plans and tactics. The administration has said that such detainees can be held for "as long as necessary". Critics claim that anyone accused of a crime has a right to a fair trial and question whether people like Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, can be called an "unlawful combatant". In the case of Zaeef they claim he cannot be a "combatant" because he was crippled during the Soviet occupation and that he wasn't "unlawful" because he was ambassador of his country. The Bush Administration and its supporters claim that the war against America by Al-Qaeda is ongoing, that it is unconventional, and that the "battlefield" extends into the U.S. itself. [1] [1] [1]
Although the Bush administration released over 100 detainees and authorized military tribunals for the rest, the legal framework governing them has been slow in the making. According to Human Rights Watch, as of January 2004, "the public still [did] not know who the detainees are, what they [had] allegedly done, and whether and when they will be charged with crimes or released. There [had] been no hearings to determine the legal status of detainees and no judicial review—in short, no legal process at all." [1] In February of 2002 the United States began releasing several dozen detainees to their home countries, including many British and Pakistani nationals. The British detainees were briefly investigated and cleared of any British charges within 24 hours of their arrival. [1]
The domestic political equation changed in the U.S. after the September 11 attacks, bolstering the influence of the neoconservative faction in the administration and throughout Washington. The conflict in Afghanistan, and the events that had launched the war, coincided with a reassessment of foreign policy by the administration, which President Bush articulated in his first State of the Union message on January 29, 2002. Previously, September 11 had underscored the threat of attacks from terrorist groups like al-Qaeda, as opposed to nation-states, and U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan targeted the ruling Taliban militia for having harbored al-Qaeda sponsor Osama bin Laden. Now speaking of an "axis of evil" comprising Iran, North Korea, and Iraq in his address to Congress, Bush claimed that he was preparing to open a new front in the U.S global "war on terrorism". Bush declared, "Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror." Announcing that he would possibly take action to topple the Iraqi government, he claimed, "The Iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax, and nerve gas, and nuclear weapons for over a decade." (The full text of Bush's 2002 State of the Union address can be read in BBC News Online at [1])
For more details, see U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
Iraq\n State of the Union address, Bush proposes an invasion of Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney and House Speaker Dennis Hastert are visible in the background.]]
Beginning with the Iraq Liberation Act signed into law by President Clinton in 1998, the U.S. government officially called for regime change in Iraq. The Republican Party's campaign platform of 2000 called for "full implementation" of the act and removal of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, with a focus on rebuilding a coalition, tougher sanctions, reinstating inspections, and support for the Iraqi National Congress. In November of 2001, Bush asked Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to begin developing a plan for war. By early 2002 Bush began publicly pressing for regime change, indicating that his government had reason to believe that the Iraqi government had ties to terrorist groups, was developing weapons of mass destruction and did not cooperate sufficiently with United Nations weapons inspectors. In January of 2003, Bush was convinced that diplomacy was not working and started notifying allies such as Saudi Arabia that war was imminent. Although no agreement authorizing force could be found with the United Nations Security Council, the war was ultimately launched in March 2003, after Bush in a speech March 17 effectively had declared war on Iraq, and had declared his objectives as "assuring [the] national security" of the United States, and "no more poison factories, no more executions of dissidents, no more torture chambers and rape rooms." [1]
Saddam Hussein was deposed and went into hiding on April 10 when Baghdad was captured, and was subsequently located and arrested in December. The occupation would ultimately prove difficult, with many Iraqis and foreigners launching attacks on U.S. forces stationed in the country. Eventually, the U.S. death toll in the post-war occupation surpassed that of the actual war itself. Thousands of civilians were killed during the invasion and by terrorists. Nevertheless, Bush remains optimistic, hailing the "victory" and such developments as the signing of the Iraqi Constitution.
Throughout the course of the Iraq war, Bush was often the target of harsh criticism. Both in the U.S. and in the rest of the world there were numerous anti-war protests, particularly before the war's onset. On February 15 2003 there were estimated to be over 10 million protestors in the streets all over the world - the largest protest in world history [1], as of that date. See Popular opposition to war on Iraq, Global protests against war on Iraq (pre-war), and Global protests against war on Iraq. \nCriticism also came from the governments of many countries, notably from many on the United Nations Security Council, who argued that the war broke international law. [1] (Article VI of the U.S. Constitution states that "...all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land..." and that "...all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution...", while Article III states that the judicial power of the US Supreme Court extends to "all ... Treaties made". This makes a violation of international law also a violation of the "supreme Law of The Land" of America, and withholds immunity from government officials, including the president.) See Worldwide government positions on war on Iraq and The UN Security Council and the Iraq war. For its part, the U.S. administration soon presented a list of countries called the coalition of the willing which supported its position. A later aspect of the criticism has been the increasing death toll in Iraq; over 10,000 Iraqi civilians and 906 U.S. soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the war.\nclass="external">[1\nIn 2004, public assertions by Bush's former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill and counter-terrorism expert Richard Clarke raised questions as to the credibility of the Bush administration's pre-war claims. Both presented evidence that questioned how focused the Bush administration was on combating Al-Qaeda (operating out of Afganistan, not Iraq) before September 11. Specifically, O'Neill presented classified and unclassified documents indicating that planning for a war with Iraq and the subsequent occupation began at the first National Security Council meeting and continued with each meeting. Clarke presented testimony and witnesses concerning how Bush and much of his cabinet tried to find excuses to attack Iraq immediately after September 11, such as associating it with September 11, claiming that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, and claiming that Iraq posed an imminent threat, which implied that a war against Iraq would be legal by Article 51 [1] of the U.N. Charter. On February 3, 2004, the CIA admitted that there was no imminent threat from weapons of mass destruction before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Testimony at the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (ongoing during March 2004) has included claims of how much of the Bush administration's immediate post-9/11 emphasis on Iraq was appropriate and proportional to the overall picture of terrorism, especially in light of the administration's subsequent decision to pursue military action in Afghanistan first, the fact that organizations accused of 9/11 are in Afghanistan, not Iraq, and that no links have been found between these organizations and Saddam Hussein. The Commission's report is expected to be released before the Presidential election. On June 16, 2004, the USA's 9/11 Commission filed an initial report on its findings, stating that it found "no credible evidence" of a "collaborative relationship" between pre-invasion Iraq and al Qaeda or of Iraqi involvement in the 9/11 attacks.
 Prime Minister Tony Blair moments after sovereignty was returned to Iraq on 28 June 2004.]]
The inability of the U.S. to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has led to greater domestic criticism of the administration's Iraq policy. Several of the statements that Bush and his administration made leading up to the war in Iraq, especially those involving claims of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, have been criticized as misleading or inaccurate. Particularly controversial was Bush's claim in the 2003 State of the Union Address that British Intelligence had discovered that Iraq was seeking to buy uranium from Africa. Officials and diplomats disputed the evidence for this claim, especially after a document describing an attempted purchase from Niger, which was presented to the United Nations Security Council by Colin Powell, was found to be a forgery. This led to a public embarrassment for George Tenet, the director of the CIA, as well as the Valerie Plame scandal. Much criticism on these issues has come from political opponents of Bush. The Iraq war was a significant issue in the 2004 Democratic primary, including the campaigns of Howard Dean, John Kerry, Al Sharpton, and Dennis Kucinich.
On March 24, 2004, Bush joked about the weapons of mass destruction issue at the annual White House Correspondent's Dinner. While showing slides of himself searching the Oval Office, he joked, "those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere ... nope, no weapons over there ... maybe under here?" Some found it tasteless of him to be joking about the issue. Others defended the joke as being in line with the self-deprecatory sort of humor that has come to be expected of Presidents when they speak at that event.
The governments of allied countries such as Spain, France and Germany, as well as the U.S.-based organization Human Rights Watch criticized the Bush administration's refusal to sign the treaty for the International Criminal Court, thereby refusing that court's jurisdiction for war crimes prosecutions of U.S. nationals. Under the ICC, several U.S. soldiers photographed abusing Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison might be prosecuted in this manner if the U.S. refused to do so. (cf. Human rights situation in post-Saddam Iraq [1]
For more details see 2003 invasion of Iraq and Support and opposition for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Domestic security\nFollowing the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Bush administration asked Congress to approve a series of laws that it stated were necessary to prosecute the "war on terror". These included a wide variety of surveillance programs, some of which came under heavy fire from civil liberties interest groups that criticized the Bush administration of scaling back civil liberties. On the other hand, the administration has been criticized for refusing to back security measures such as port security, allocating no money for it in 2003 and 2004, and vetoing all US$39 million for the Container Security Initiative. walks with George W. Bush at the White House on Thursday, March 29, 2001]]\nBush security initiatives\n* Through an act of Congress, the creation of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a cabinet-level agency designed to streamline and co-ordinate the various agents of federal government bureaucracy charged with protecting domestic soil from terrorist attacks. (The White House had opposed the creation of this department for several months.)\n*A Total Information Awareness (TIA) program was proposed by the Defense Department. The TIA program did not receive funding from Congress, however, and is not currently operating. (Reports of similar [ARDA] program surfacing)\n*The USA PATRIOT Act which greatly expands the government's powers of surveillance and arrest. The act passed soon after September 11, 2001.\n*Creation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review which will review government acts of domestic spying.\n*"Project Lookout", which distributes "watch lists" of people alleged to be suspicious, or have ties to terrorist groups to a variety of different organizations and institutions. These included specific "No-fly" lists of U.S. residents who should not be allowed to board any aircraft into or out of the United States.\n*"Operation TIPS", which would encouraged people who have access to U.S. homes, like plumbers, to report suspicious activity. This proposal was rejected after an initial outcry.\n*The Worldwide Attack Matrix, an intelligence document describing covert operations abroad to defuse terrorist threats to U.S. interests.\n*"NewRuleSets.project", which provides a strategic framework for intervening in countries to move them into the "functioning core" of world societies and out of the "non-integrating gap" from which national security threats arise. Some accused the Bush administration of using the threat of terrorism as an excuse to clamp down on political dissent; many of Bush's critics were quick to allege that they were being unfairly targeted by the new security measures. Defenders of the president's security policies have said that the continual criticism of his policies in both print and visual media shows there is no such crackdown, and point out that other presidents have used the power of the government to stifle dissent during wartime as well. Others accused the administration of over-reacting to the threat of terrorism, and participating in Big Brother style tactics with little justification. Critics of that view say that the prior administration under-reacted to the World Trade Center bombing on February 26, 1993, treating it as a criminal matter rather than an act of war. Currently, a major controversy in the United States Congress is the debate over whether or not to expand the USA PATRIOT Act into a new Act known as USA PATRIOT Act II (and whether or not to repeal some or all of the PATRIOT Act itself). This proposal would increase government surveillance on people in the United States suspected of terrorist activities and reduce judicial oversight over surveillance; authorize secret trials; and give the Justice Department the authority to revoke U.S. citizenship of anyone who belonged to an organization that the government deemed subversive. [1] Supporters of the law cite the potentials of large-scale terrorism as justification that Americans need to shift their priorities more from civil liberties to security. Additionally, they point out that against earlier predictions, nearly two years have passed without a single terrorist act in the United States. Opponents allege that the new law enforcement powers have resulted in arrests of people who have not been publicly charged with anything, in violation of the U.S. Constitution and basic human rights. In any event, the debate over the proper role of government in people's lives will continue. Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court and lower Federal courts may rule on the constitutionality of the new laws.
Palestinian/Israeli conflict\nBush has maintained a desire to resume the peace process in Israel, and openly proclaimed his desire for a Palestinian state to be created before 2005. He outlined a roadmap for peace in cooperation with Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations, which featured compromises that had to be made by both sides before Palestinian statehood could become a reality. [1] One particular proposal was his insistence on new Palestinian leadership; a stance that saw the appointment of the first ever Palestinian Prime Minister on April 29, 2003. The roadmap for peace stalled within months after more violence and the resignation of the new Palestinian Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas. By the end of 2003, neither side had done what was outlined in the plan. In April 2004 Bush announced that he endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to disengage from the Gaza Strip but retain Jewish settlements in the West Bank. He also announced agreement with Sharon's policy of denying the right of return. This led to condemnation from Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Arab and European governments [1] and was a major departure from previous U.S. foreign policy in the region. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak commented Bush's policies had led to an 'unprecedented hatred' of Arabs for the U.S. [1]Domestic policy\n talk over issues during the G-8 sessions, July 21, 2001.]]\nCivil Rights\nPresident Bush has endorsed an amendment to the United States Constitution that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman, which would ban same-sex marriage, but leaves open the possibility of civil unions. It was struck down by the senate July 14, 2004. Bush has tended to be opposed to forms of affirmative action, but expressed appreciation for the Supreme Court's ruling upholding selecting college applicants for purposes of diversity, a ruling many conservativess balked at. He has been criticized for failing to meet with the NAACP, a longstanding civil rights group, during his term in office; he is the first sitting President not to do so since Herbert Hoover, although he did meet with them during the 2000 campaign. During the 2004 campaign, Bush declined an invitation to speak, at first citing scheduling conflicts; later on, several of Bush's staff also cited hostile political advertisements that the group ran as a reason not to attend.Economy\nPresident Bush has implemented three tax cuts during his term in office: The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), the Job Creation and Workers Assistance Act of 2002 (JCWA), and Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA).\nWhile Bush's supporters claim that the tax cuts increase the pace of economic recovery and job creation, his opponents allege that they favor the wealthy and special interests and that Bush reversed a national surplus into a historic deficit. Of the US$2.4 trillion budget for 2005, about US$450 billion are planned to be spent on defense. Congress approved US$87 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan in November, and had approved an earlier US$79 billion package last spring. Most of those funds were for U.S. military operations in the two countries. [1] and Gov. Gray Davis listen.]]\nBush supports free trade policies and legislation but has resorted to protectionist policies on occasion. Tariffs on imported steel imposed by the White House in March 2002 were lifted after the WTO ruled them illegal. Bush explained that the safeguard measures had "achieved their purpose", and "as a result of changed economic circumstances", it was time to lift them. [1]
Bush is an advocate of the partial privatization of Social Security wherein an individual would be free to invest a portion of his Social Security taxes in personal retirement accounts.
During Bush's presidency, the U.S. population has risen by about three million people per year. The unemployment survey that asks businesses how many workers they employ shows 2.4 million jobs were lost in the last three years. The household survey, asking individuals whether they have a job, shows that the number of jobs has risen by 450,000. The unemployment rate was 5.6% in June, 2004, compared to 4.2% when Bush came into office. [1] [1]
Health Care\nBush signed the Medicare Act of 2003, which added prescription drug coverage to Medicare and provided a financial boost to the companies that sell these drugs. Critics claim that health care plans still are not affordable for those in lower income brackets; Bush states his policies offered more choice and help with the high costs of health care. Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori meets with George W. Bush in the Oval Office (March 2001)]]
Education and Science\nIn January of 2003, Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act, which targets supporting early learning, measures student performance, gives options over failing schools, and ensures more resources for schools. Critics say schools were not given the resources to help meet new standards, and there are different views on whether the act goes too far in imposing federal influence on state rights. Some state governments are refusing to implement provisions of the act as long as they are not adequately funded. [1] Scientists have repeatedly criticized the Bush administration for reducing funding for scientific research, setting restrictions on stem cell research, ignoring scientific consensus on critical issues such as global warming, and hampering cooperation with foreign scientists by employing deterring immigration and visa practices. [1]Environment\nDrilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge\nThe Bush administration's plan to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was rejected twice by the U.S. Senate in 2002 for environmental concerns. [1]The Clear Skies Act of 2003\nBush supports the Clear Skies Act of 2003, which repeals or reduces air pollution controls. This act reduces caps on toxic chemicals in the air and cuts enforcement of the Clean Air Act, and is opposed by environmentalist groups such as Sierra Club. Bush has faced heavy criticism over his advocacy for the act, with Henry A. Waxman, (D-California) describing its title as "clear propaganda." Among other things, the Clear Skies Act:
Criticism from the Union of Concerned Scientists\nThe Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and other groups have routinely denounced Bush for distorting or suppressing scientific findings. In a February 2004 report endorsed by 60 Nobel laureates, the UCS alleged a pattern of manipulation of scientific findings for political goals. One example cited was that when the administration asked the U.S. National Academy of Sciences to review work by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the academy supported the panel's findings that human activity was playing a role in climate change. Nevertheless, the administration — and its EPA appointees — claim its policies are scientifically sound [1].The Kyoto Climate Change Treaty\n President Roh Moo-hyun]]
Cabinet and advisors\n*Secretary of State - Colin Powell\n*Secretary of Defense - Donald Rumsfeld\n*Secretary of the Treasury - Paul O'Neill (2001-2003), John W. Snow (2003- )\n*Attorney General - John Ashcroft\n*Secretary of the Interior - Gale Norton\n*Secretary of Agriculture - Ann Veneman\n*Secretary of Commerce - Donald Evans\n*Secretary of Labor - Elaine Chao\n*Secretary of Health and Human Services - Tommy Thompson\n*Secretary of Housing and Urban Development - Mel Martinez (2001-2003), Alphonso Jackson (2004- )\n*Secretary of Transportation - Norman Mineta\n*Secretary of Energy - Spencer Abraham\n*Secretary of Education - Roderick Paige\n*Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Anthony Principi\n*Secretary of Homeland Security (est. 2003) - Tom Ridge Other appointed administration officials:\n*CIA Director - George Tenet (2001-2004)\n*FBI Director - Robert Mueller\n*National Security Adviser - Condoleezza Rice\n*EPA Administrator - Christine Todd Whitman (2001-2003), Michael O. Leavitt (2003- )\n*UN Ambassador - John Negroponte (2001-2004), John Danforth (2004- )\n*FCC Chairman - Michael Powell\n*OMB Director - Joshua Bolten White House officials:\n*White House Chief of Staff - Andrew Card\n*Senior Advisor - Karl Rove\n*White House counsel - Alberto R. Gonzales\n*Advisor - Karen Hughes (2001-2002)\n*White House Press Secretary - Ari Fleischer (2001-2003), Scott McClellan (2003- ) Among the more criticized appointments have been John Negroponte, Elliott Abrams, Otto Reich, and John Poindexter for their roles in the Iran Contra Scandal and for allegedly covering up human rights abuses in Central and South America. Additionally, some appointments have been accused of being nepotism, including: Michael Powell (son of Secretary of State Colin Powell) as FCC Chairman, 28-year-old J. Strom Thurmond Jr (Sen. Strom Thurmond's son) as South Carolina's U.S. Attorney, Eugene Scalia (Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's son) as Solicitor for the Labor Department, Janet Rehnquist (Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist's daughter) as Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (later fired for firearms charges and inappropriate job terminations), and Elizabeth Cheney (Vice Pres. Dick Cheney's daughter) to the newly-created position Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near-East Affairs. George W. Bush's cabinet is listed in the Guinness Book of Word Records(2004) as the wealthiest cabinet in U.S. presidential history. [1]Legislation\nPartial list:\n*June 7, 2001: Economic Recovery and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001\n*September 18, 2001: Authorization for Use of Military Force\n*September 28, 2001: United States-Jordan Free Trade Area Implementation Act\n*October 26, 2001: USA PATRIOT Act\n*November 28, 2001: Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act\n*January 8, 2002: No Child Left Behind Act\n*March 9, 2002: Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002\n*March 27, 2002: Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002\n*May 13, 2002: Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002\n*July 30, 2002: Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002\n*October 16, 2002: Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq\n*November 25, 2002: Homeland Security Act of 2002\n*March 11, 2003: Do-Not-Call Implementation Act\n*April 30, 2003: PROTECT Act of 2003 (Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act) (see also Age_of_consent#Social_and_legal_attitudes)\n[1]\n*May 27, 2003: United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003\n*May 28, 2003: Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003\n*September 3, 2003: United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act\n*September 3, 2003: United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act\n*November 5, 2003: Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003\n*December 8, 2003: Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003\n*December 16, 2003: Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM)\n*April 1, 2004: Unborn Victims of Violence Act (Laci and Conner's Law)Assessments\nGeorge W. Bush has been the subject of both high praise and stringent criticism, and has been called the "love him or hate him" president. The latter has focused on the clouded election of the President, on his policies (not least his abandonment of the Kyoto Treaty ratification, and particularly as regards his actions towards Iraq); the former on other policies, such as the economy, homeland security, and especially his leadership after the September 11 attacks. One of the most notably controversial critics of Bush and his administration has been Michael Moore, an American author and documentary film maker who stated that his intention in making his documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 was to help prevent Bush's re-election. On the other hand, conservative radio talk-show hosts, such as Sean Hannity and Michael Savage have praised Bush in their respective books for policies such as his controversial tax cuts and handling of homeland security. However, conservative praise for Bush is not uniform on all issues. For example, Savage has assailed Bush for his stance on immigration.Links and references\nReferences\n*Bryce, Robert - Cronies: Oil, The Bushes, and the Rise of Texas, America's Superstate (PublicAffairs, ISBN: 1-58648-188-6).\n*Auletta, K. (2004, January 19). Fortress Bush: how the White House keeps the press under control. The New Yorker, LXXIX, 53.\n*B. Minutaglio, First Son: George W. Bush and the Bush Family Dynasty (1999)\n*M. Ivins and L. Dubose, Shrub: The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush (2000) E. \n*Mitchell, W: Revenge of the Bush Dynasty (2000) \n*H. Gillman, The Votes That Counted: How the Court Decided the 2000 Presidential Election (2001)Related articles\n*2000 Presidential Election\n*2004 Presidential Election\n*Bush Doctrine\n*Patriot Day\n*Bush Family Conspiracy Theory\n*VoteToImpeach\n*Compassionate conservatism\n*Neoconservatism\n*History of the United States (1988-present)\n*Iraq on the Record Report\n*Neofeudalism\n*Bush political familyExternal links\nTranscripts\n*Inaugural Address\n*Remarks by the President After Two Planes Crash Into World Trade Center (September 11, 2001)\n*Remarks by the President Upon Arrival at Barksdale Air Force Base (September 11, 2001)\n*Presidential Address to the Nation (September 11, 2001)\n*Declaration of War on Terrorism\n*Address to the UN General Assembly\n*2002 State of the Union Address\n*2003 State of the Union Address\n*Presidential Address to the Nation Announcing Operation Iraqi Freedom\n*President Announces Major Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended\n*Presidential Address to the Nation on America's Actions in the War on Terrorism\n*Presidential Address to the Nation on the Capture of Saddam Hussein\n*2004 State of the Union Address\n*"Meet the Press with Tim Russert" interview with President George W. Bush (The Oval Office, February 7, 2004)\n*Bush on Irish TV Reiterates Determination to Persevere in Iraq (June 25, 2004)Official and news links\n*Official White House website\n*Official authorized White House biography\n*Re-election website for George W. Bush\n*Governors of Texas - Texas State Library site\n*Yahoo! News coverage of the Bush administration (updated regularly)\n*Bush nomination for Nobel\n*Japan Times: Citizens find Bush guilty of Afghan war crimes\n*Belgium rethinks war crimes law - Belgium to amend a controversial law which some fear could be used in a war crimes lawsuit against U.S. President George W BushInformation sites\n*Extensive list of Bush-related websites\n*George W. Bush Biography\n*Wikiquote - Quotes by George W. Bush {| border="1" align="center"\n|-\n| width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:Bill Clinton\n| width="40%" align="center" | President of the United States 2001-\n| width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by: -\n|-\n| width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by: Ann Richards\n| width="40%" align="center" | Governor of Texas 1995-2000\n| width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by: Rick Perry\n|} Bush, George W\nBush, George W\nBush, George W\nBush, George W\nCategory:US-Iraqi relations \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nsimple:George W. Bush\n\n\nzh-cn:乔治·W·布什\nzh-tw:喬治•W•布希 |
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