Sending U.S. Troops to Kuwait

Has anyone noticed (in Jean Edward Smith’s just-published book “George Bush’s War” and other sources) that Bush was doing absolutely nothing about the “Baghdad Bully” after the invasion of Kuwait until Margaret Thatcher met with him in Aspen and said, “He must be stopped and his aggression must be punished.” She spoke of Chamberlain’s sellout of Czechoslovakia that had rewarded Hitler’s aggression.

In the bargain, she reminded Bush of the happy political consequences of quick, popular wars (like her own brief and shining hour in the Falklands).

Campaigning for reelection, Bush is asking the American people to “trust me” in foreign affairs. He claims he “is that man” who has “the experience, the seasoning, and the guts to do the right thing.” He proved it by the way he immediately stood up to Saddam. Oh yeah? It looks more like Margaret Thatcher “was that man.”

Regarding Bush as a world statesman, my sense is this: Although his repeated references to Saddam as “Hitler” wrongly diluted the unique horror of Hitler, I do believe that--absent vicarious resolve from such as Margaret Thatcher--Bush himself bears a likeness to Chamberlain, whom Hitler played for a sucker par excellence.

JANE WARDLOW

Brentwood