George W. Bush Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Presidency (2001–2009) == {{Main|Presidency of George W. Bush}} {{for timeline|Timeline of the George W. Bush presidency}} {{See also|List of George W. Bush legislation and programs}} [[File:Bush 2001 inauguration.jpg|thumb|right|Bush on January 20, 2001, in [[Washington D.C.]], the day of his [[First inauguration of George W. Bush|first inauguration]] as President of the United States]] Bush had originally outlined an ambitious domestic agenda, but his priorities were significantly altered following the [[September 11 attacks]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54556-2004Sep1.html |title=From His 'Great Goals' of 2000, President's Achievements Mixed |access-date=June 19, 2009 |date=September 2, 2004 |newspaper=The Washington Post |last=Milbank |first=Dana |archive-date=February 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190208014904/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54556-2004Sep1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Wars were begun in Afghanistan and Iraq, and there were significant domestic debates regarding immigration, healthcare, Social Security, economic policy, and treatment of terrorist detainees. Over an eight-year period, Bush's once-high approval ratings<ref name="gallup high">{{cite web |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/4924/Bush-Job-Approval-Highest-Gallup-History.aspx |title=Bush Job Approval Highest in Gallup History |date=September 24, 2001 |publisher=Gallup Poll |access-date=October 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060515081611/http://www.gallup.com/poll/4924/Bush-Job-Approval-Highest-Gallup-History.aspx |archive-date=May 15, 2006 }}</ref> steadily declined, while his disapproval numbers increased significantly.<ref name="wapo ratings">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/custom/2006/02/02/CU2006020201345.html |title=President Bush's Approval Ratings |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=June 23, 2009 |archive-date=October 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081009023451/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/custom/2006/02/02/CU2006020201345.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2007, the United States entered the longest post-[[World War II]] recession.<ref name="longest1">{{cite news |last=Krasny |first=Ron |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4BM49M20081223 |title=SF Fed Economics see longest recession since WW2 |access-date=April 24, 2009 |date=April 24, 2009 |work=Reuters |archive-date=June 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606130405/http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4BM49M20081223 }}</ref> === Domestic policy === {{Main|Domestic policy of the George W. Bush administration}} ==== Economic policy ==== {{Main|Economic policy of the George W. Bush administration}} Bush took office during a period of economic recession in the wake of the bursting of the [[dot-com bubble]].<ref>Roger Lowenstein (2004), ''Origins of the Crash: The Great Bubble and Its Undoing'', Penguin Books, {{ISBN|978-1-59420-003-8}} pp. 114–115</ref> The September 11 terrorist attacks also [[Economic effects of the September 11 attacks|impacted the economy]]. His administration increased federal [[government spending]] from $1.789{{nbs}}trillion to $2.983{{nbs}}trillion (60 percent), while revenues increased from $2.025{{nbs}}trillion to $2.524{{nbs}}trillion (from 2000 to 2008). Individual income tax revenues increased by 14 percent, corporate tax revenues by 50 percent, and customs and duties by 40 percent. Discretionary defense spending was increased by 107 percent, discretionary domestic spending by 62 percent, Medicare spending by 131 percent, social security by 51 percent, and income security spending by 130 percent. Cyclically adjusted, revenues rose by 35 percent and spending by 65 percent.<ref>[http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10871/appendixf.shtml Historical Budget Data] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205054450/http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10871/AppendixF.shtml |date=February 5, 2012 }}, Congressional Budget Office, Tables F-1, F-3, F-7, F-9, and F-12.</ref> The increase in spending was more than under any predecessor since [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].<ref>[http://mercatus.org/uploadedFiles/Mercatus/WP0904_GAP_Spending%20Under%20President%20George%20W%20Bush.pdf Spending Under President George W. Bush] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425034211/http://mercatus.org/uploadedFiles/Mercatus/WP0904_GAP_Spending%20Under%20President%20George%20W%20Bush.pdf |date=April 25, 2012 }}, Veronique de Rugy, [[Mercatus Center]], George Mason University, Mar 2009, Table 2</ref> The number of [[economic regulation]] governmental workers increased by 91,196.<ref name="bushregulation">{{cite web |title=Bush's Regulatory Kiss-Off – Obama's assertions to the contrary, the 43rd president was the biggest regulator since Nixon |url=http://www.reason.com/news/show/130328.html |work=Reason |date=January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090902085717/http://www.reason.com/news/show/130328.html |archive-date=September 2, 2009 |access-date=May 13, 2012 }}</ref> The surplus in fiscal year 2000 was $237{{nbs}}billion{{snd}}the third consecutive surplus and the largest surplus ever.<ref name=omb>Office of Management! and Budget; National Economic Council, September 27, 2000</ref> In 2001, Bush's budget estimated that there would be a $5.6{{nbs}}trillion surplus over the next ten years.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy02/pdf/blueprnt.pdf|title=A Blueprint for New Beginnings: A Responsible Budget for America's Priorities|last=Bush|first=George W.|publisher=Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President |year=2001 |isbn=0-16-050683-2 |location=Washington |oclc=46346977|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041018020541/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy02/pdf/blueprnt.pdf|archive-date=October 18, 2004}}</ref> Facing congressional opposition, Bush held town hall-style meetings across the U.S. to increase public support for his plan for a $1.35{{nbs}}trillion [[Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001|tax cut program]], one of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history.<ref name=msn /> Bush argued that unspent government funds should be returned to taxpayers, saying "the surplus is not the government's money. The surplus is the people's money."<ref name=msn /> Federal Reserve chairman [[Alan Greenspan]] warned of a recession and Bush stated that a tax cut would stimulate the economy and create jobs.<ref>{{cite news |first=Kelly |last=Wallace |title=$1.35 trillion tax cut becomes law |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/06/07/bush.taxes/ |publisher=CNN |date=June 7, 2001 |access-date=June 30, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060515081611/http://edition.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/06/07/bush.taxes/ |archive-date=May 15, 2006}}</ref> Treasury Secretary [[Paul H. O'Neill]], opposed some of the tax cuts on the basis that they would contribute to budget deficits and undermine [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]].<ref>{{cite news |title=CBS Interviews Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill |url=http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5510.htm |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=May 15, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060515081611/http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5510.htm }}</ref> O'Neill disputes the claim, made in Bush's book ''Decision Points'', that he never openly disagreed with him on planned tax cuts.<ref>{{cite news |title=O'Neill Says He 'Clearly' Disagreed With Bush Tax Cuts |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2010/12/06/VI2010120604011.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 6, 2010 |access-date=December 12, 2010 |archive-date=January 31, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131185030/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2010/12/06/VI2010120604011.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By 2003, the economy showed signs of improvement, though job growth remained stagnant.<ref name=msn /> [[Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003|Another tax cut]] was passed that year.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6621 | title=Tax Policy Under President Bush | publisher=Cato Institute | access-date=July 7, 2023 | archive-date=May 30, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530003442/http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6621 | url-status=live }}</ref> Between 2001 and 2008, GDP grew at an average annual rate of 2.125 percent,<ref>{{cite web |title=Gross Domestic Product |url=https://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTableHtml.cfm?reqid=9&step=3&isuri=1&910=X&911=0&903=1&904=2001&905=2008&906=A |publisher=Bureau of Economic Analysis |date=July 31, 2013 |access-date=August 1, 2013 |archive-date=November 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105050641/http://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTableHtml.cfm?reqid=9&step=3&isuri=1&910=X&911=0&903=1&904=2001&905=2008&906=A |url-status=live }}</ref> less than for past business cycles.<ref name="Price & Ratner">{{cite web |url=http://www.epi.org/economic_snapshots/entry/webfeatures_snapshots_20051026/ |last1=Price |first1=L. |last2=Ratner |first2=D. |date=October 26, 2005 |title=Economy pays price for Bush's tax cuts |access-date=June 23, 2009 |archive-date=May 15, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060515081611/http://www.epi.org/economic_snapshots/entry/webfeatures_snapshots_20051026/ }}</ref> Bush entered office with the [[Dow Jones Industrial Average]] at 10,587, and the average peaked in October 2007 at over 14,000. When Bush left office, the average was at 7,949, one of the lowest levels of his presidency.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=%5EDJI |title=Historical Prices for Dow Jones Industrial Average |publisher=[[Yahoo! Finance]] |archive-date=October 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005212821/https://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=%5EDJI |url-status=live }}</ref> Only four other U.S. presidents have left office with the stock market lower than when they began.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://money.com/money/5140978/a-100-year-curse-on-gop-presidents-might-explain-why-stocks-are-tumbling/|title=A 100-Year Curse on GOP Presidents Might Explain Why Stocks Are Tumbling|last=Lim|first=Paul J.|date=February 9, 2018|work=Money|access-date=November 23, 2019|archive-date=December 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202131125/http://money.com/money/5140978/a-100-year-curse-on-gop-presidents-might-explain-why-stocks-are-tumbling/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[File:Deficits vs. Debt Increases - 2009.png|thumb|upright=1.35|[[United States federal budget|Deficit]] and [[United States public debt|debt]] increases from 2001 to 2009. Gross debt increased over $500{{nbs}}billion each year after the 2003 fiscal year.]] Unemployment originally rose from 4.2 percent in January 2001 to 6.3 percent in June 2003, but subsequently dropped to 4.5 percent in July 2007.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=September 1, 2008 |url=http://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cpsatab1.htm |title=Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey |publisher=[[United States Department of Labor]] |archive-date=October 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005212821/http://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cpsatab1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Adjusted for inflation, [[median household income]] dropped by $1,175 between 2000 and 2007,<ref>{{cite news |title=Middle class: 'On the edge' |url=https://money.cnn.com/2008/07/23/news/economy/middle_class/index.htm |publisher=CNN |first=Tami |last=Luhby |date=July 24, 2008 |access-date=July 24, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914045319/http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/23/news/economy/middle_class/index.htm |archive-date=September 14, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> while Professor Ken Homa of [[Georgetown University]] has noted that "Median real after-tax household income went up two percent".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kenhoma.wordpress.com/2008/08/28/from-clinton-to-bush-after-tax-household-income-is-up/ |title=From Clinton to Bush, after-tax household income is up! |publisher=The Homa Files |first=Ken |last=Homa |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130919071931/http://kenhoma.wordpress.com/2008/08/28/from-clinton-to-bush-after-tax-household-income-is-up/ |url-status=live |archive-date=September 19, 2013 |date=August 28, 2008 }}</ref> The poverty rate increased from 11.3 percent in 2000 to 12.3 percent in 2006 after peaking at 12.7 percent in 2004.<ref>{{cite web |title=Historical Poverty Timeline |url=https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/historical/people.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103080222/http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/histpov/hstpov2.html |archive-date=January 3, 2007 |publisher=[[United States Census]] |access-date=December 31, 2006 }}</ref> By October 2008, due to increases in spending,<ref name="greenburg">{{Cite book|title=Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the United States Supreme Court|last=Greenburg|first=Jan C.|publisher=Penguin |year=2007|isbn=978-0-14-311304-1|location=New York|oclc=166382420|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/supremeconflicti00janc}}</ref>{{Rp|273}} the [[National debt of the United States|national debt]] had risen to $11.3{{nbs}}trillion,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sbscpagroup.com/blog/debt-nation-post-two/|title=Debt nation, post two|last=Sylvester|first=Mike|date=October 13, 2008|website=Small Business Services CPA Group|language=en-US|access-date=November 20, 2019|archive-date=January 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114012300/http://www.sbscpagroup.com/blog/debt-nation-post-two/|url-status=dead}}</ref> more than doubling it since 2000.<ref>{{cite web |title=Revenues, Outlays, Surpluses, Deficits, and Debt Held by the Public, 1962 to 2006 |publisher=[[Congressional Budget Office]] |access-date=September 1, 2008 |url=http://www.cbo.gov/budget/historical.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070628072448/http://www.cbo.gov/budget/historical.pdf |archive-date=June 28, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/sep/02/spending-and-the-national-debt/ |title=Spending and the National Debt |access-date=September 1, 2008 |date=September 2, 2007 |work=The Washington Times |archive-date=October 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005212821/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/sep/02/spending-and-the-national-debt }}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=May 2020}} Most debt was accumulated as a result of what became known as the "[[Bush tax cuts]]" and increased national security spending.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=909 |last1=Fiedler |first2=R. |last2=Kogan |date=December 13, 2006 |title=From Surplus to Deficit: Legislation Enacted Over the Last Six Years Has Raised the Debt by $2.3 Trillion |access-date=November 10, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005212821/http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=909 |archive-date=October 5, 2013 }}</ref> In March 2006, then-Senator [[Barack Obama]] said when he voted against raising the [[United States debt ceiling|debt ceiling]]: "The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2011/04/saying-no-to-raising-the-debt-ceiling.html|title=Saying 'no' to raising the debt ceiling|last=Zorn|first=Eric|date=April 11, 2011|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=November 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005212821/http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2011/04/saying-no-to-raising-the-debt-ceiling.html|archive-date=October 5, 2013|issn=2165-171X}}</ref> By the end of Bush's presidency, unemployment climbed to 7.2 percent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_01092009.htm|title=The Employment Situation: December 2008|date=January 9, 2009|website=Bureau of Labor Statistics|publisher=[[United States Department of Labor]]|access-date=November 23, 2019|archive-date=December 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202132741/https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_01092009.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> ==== 2008 financial crisis ==== In December 2007, the United States entered the longest post–[[World War II]] recession,<ref name=longest1 /> [[Causes of the Great Recession|caused]] by a [[United States housing market correction|housing market correction]], a [[subprime mortgage crisis]], [[2000s energy crisis|soaring oil prices]], and other factors. In February 2008, 63,000 jobs were lost, a five-year record,<ref>Aversa, Jeannine, [https://www.nbcnews.com/id/23518599 Employers Slash 63,000 Jobs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200403222700/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23518599 |date=April 3, 2020 }}, "Employers slash jobs by most in{{nbs}}5 years", Associated Press, March 7, 2008. Retrieved July 11, 2008.</ref> and in November, over 500,000 jobs were lost, which marked the largest loss of jobs in the United States in 34 years.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P146055.asp|title=The numbers behind the lies|last=Fleckenstein|first=Bill|date=March 6, 2006|work=[[MSN Money]]|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228031542/http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P146055.asp|archive-date=December 28, 2007}}</ref> The [[Bureau of Labor Statistics]] reported that in the last four months of 2008, 1.9 million jobs were lost.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf|title=The Employment Situation|date=January 9, 2009|website=Bureau of Labor Statistics|publisher=Department of Labor|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006034714/http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf|archive-date=October 6, 2013}}</ref> By the end of 2008, the U.S. had lost 2.6 million jobs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2009/01/09/news/economy/jobs_december/index.htm|title=Worst year for jobs since '45|last=Goldman|first=David|date=January 9, 2009|access-date=June 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006034714/http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/09/news/economy/jobs_december/index.htm|archive-date=October 6, 2013|publisher=CNN}}</ref> To aid with the situation, Bush signed a $170{{nbs}}billion economic stimulus package which was intended to improve the economic situation by sending tax rebate checks to many Americans and providing tax breaks for struggling businesses. The Bush administration pushed for significantly increased regulation of [[Fannie Mae]] and [[Freddie Mac]] in 2003,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/business/new-agency-proposed-to-oversee-freddie-mac-and-fannie-mae.html |title=New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae |access-date=June 23, 2009 |date=September 11, 2003 |first=Stephen |last=Labaton |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005212821/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/business/new-agency-proposed-to-oversee-freddie-mac-and-fannie-mae.html |archive-date=October 5, 2013 }}</ref> and after two years, the regulations passed the House but died in the Senate. Many Republican senators, as well as influential members of the Bush Administration, feared that the agency created by these regulations would merely be mimicking the private sector's risky practices.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/business/21admin.html|title=The Reckoning – Bush's Philosophy Stoked the Mortgage Bonfire|last1=Becker|first1=Jo|date=December 20, 2008|work=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213173917/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/business/21admin.html|archive-date=December 13, 2013|last2=Stolberg|first2=Sheryl G.|page=4 of 6|last3=Labaton|first3=Stephen}}</ref><ref name="admin crisis">{{cite web |url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-1461 |title=H.R. 1461 (109th): Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2005 |date=May 25, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305114601/http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-1461 |url-status=live |archive-date=March 5, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/business/worldbusiness/20iht-prexy.4.16321064.html|title=Bush can share the blame for financial crisis|last1=Stolberg|first1=Sheryl G.|date=September 20, 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 9, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414140254/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/20/business/worldbusiness/20iht-prexy.4.16321064.html|archive-date=April 14, 2014|last2=Landler|first2=Mark}}</ref> In September 2008, [[Financial crisis of 2007–08|the crisis became much more serious]] beginning with the government takeover of [[Federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac|Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac]] followed by the collapse of [[Lehman Brothers]] and a federal bailout of [[American International Group]] for $85{{nbs}}billion.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000rose|url-access=registration|title=The Concise Encyclopedia of The Great Recession 2007–2012|last=Rosenberg|first=Jerry M.|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-8108-8340-6|location=Lanham|page=[https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000rose/page/244 244]|oclc=806034394}}</ref> Many economists and world governments determined that the situation had become the worst financial crisis since the [[Great Depression]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/mar/18/creditcrunch.marketturmoil1 |title=A financial crisis unmatched since the Great Depression |last=Elliott |first=Larry |date=March 18, 2008 |access-date=June 23, 2009 |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111023001/http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/mar/18/creditcrunch.marketturmoil1 |archive-date=November 11, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/09/18/worst-financial-crisis-since-30s-with-no-end-yet-in-sight/|title=Worst Financial Crisis Since '30s, With No End Yet in Sight|last1=Hilsenrath|first1=Jon|date=September 18, 2008|publisher=Fox News|access-date=June 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111115843/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/09/18/worst-financial-crisis-since-30s-with-no-end-yet-in-sight/|archive-date=November 11, 2013|last2=Ng|first2=Serena|last3=Paletta|first3=Damian}}</ref> Additional regulation over the housing market would have been beneficial, according to former Federal Reserve chairman [[Alan Greenspan]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/23/AR2008102300193.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=December 9, 2008 |date=October 24, 2008 |title=Greenspan Says He Was Wrong On Regulation |author1=Irwin, Neil |author2=Amit R. Paley |archive-date=August 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110821213911/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/23/AR2008102300193.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Bush, meanwhile, proposed a [[Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008|financial rescue plan]] to buy back a large portion of the U.S. mortgage market.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7625727.stm |title=Bush hails financial rescue plan |access-date=September 22, 2008 |work=BBC News |date=September 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005212821/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7625727.stm |archive-date=October 5, 2013 }}</ref> Vince Reinhardt, a former Federal Reserve economist now at the [[American Enterprise Institute]], said "it would have helped for the Bush administration to empower the folks at Treasury and the Federal Reserve and the comptroller of the currency and the [[Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation|FDIC]] to look at these issues more closely", and additionally, that it would have helped "for Congress to have held hearings".<ref name="admin crisis" /> ==== Education and public health ==== Bush undertook many educational agendas, such as increasing the funding for the [[National Science Foundation]] and [[National Institutes of Health]] in his first years of office and creating education programs to strengthen the grounding in science and mathematics for American high school students. Funding for the NIH was cut in 2006, the first such cut in 36 years, due to rising inflation.<ref>{{cite news |title=President Bush and House Republicans Undermine Life-Saving Health Research |publisher=United States House of Representatives |date=September 12, 2006}}</ref> [[File:No Child Left Behind Act.jpg|thumb|President Bush signing the [[No Child Left Behind Act]] into law, January 8, 2002]] One of the administration's early major initiatives was the [[No Child Left Behind Act]], which aimed to measure and close the gap between rich and poor student performance, provide options to parents with students in low-performing schools, and target more federal funding to low-income schools. This landmark education initiative passed with broad bipartisan support, including that of Senator [[Ted Kennedy]] of Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/n/no_child_left_behind_act/index.html |date=March 16, 2010 |access-date=September 26, 2010 |first=Sam |last=Dillon |title=No Child Left Behind Act |archive-date=October 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006034714/http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/n/no_child_left_behind_act/index.html }}</ref> It was signed into law by Bush in early 2002.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020108-1.html |title=President Signs Landmark No Child Left Behind Education Bill |date=January 8, 2002 |access-date=May 5, 2008 |archive-date=October 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006034714/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020108-1.html |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] }}</ref> Many contend that the initiative has been successful, as cited by the fact that students in the U.S. have performed significantly better on state reading and math tests since Bush signed "No Child Left Behind" into law.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/05/AR2007060502684.html|title=Scores Up Since 'No Child' Was Signed|last=Paley|first=Amit R.|date=June 6, 2007|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=May 30, 2008|archive-date=October 16, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016224329/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/05/AR2007060502684.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Critics{{who|date=February 2021}} argue that it is underfunded<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/leaving-no-child-left-behind/|title=Leaving No Child Left Behind|last=Antle III|first=W. James|date=August 1, 2005|work=[[The American Conservative]]|access-date=September 1, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921072049/http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/leaving-no-child-left-behind/|archive-date=September 21, 2012}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=February 2021|reason=primary source for one minor view}} and that NCLBA's focus on "high-stakes testing" and quantitative outcomes is counterproductive.<ref>{{cite news |author=Harvard Graduate School of Education |url=http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/features/pierce07012002.html |title=No Child Left Behind? |work=HGSE News |date=June 1, 2002 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006034714/http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/features/pierce07012002.html |archive-date=October 6, 2013 |author-link=Harvard Graduate School of Education }}; {{cite book |title=Raising Standards or Raising Barriers? |editor=Gary Orfield |author=Mindy L. Kornhaber |publisher=The Century Foundation Press |date=May 1, 2001}}</ref> On November 1, 2005, Bush announced a ''National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza'' to prepare the United States for a [[flu pandemic]], which culminated in an implementation plan published by the Homeland Security Council in May 2006.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mosk|first=Matthew|date=April 5, 2020|title=George W. Bush in 2005: 'If we wait for a pandemic to appear, it will be too late to prepare'|language=en|website=ABC News|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/george-bush-2005-wait-pandemic-late-prepare/story?id=69979013|access-date=April 6, 2020|archive-date=December 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227200945/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/george-bush-2005-wait-pandemic-late-prepare/story?id=69979013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pandemic-influenza-implementation.pdf|title=National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza – Implementation Plan|last=Homeland Security Council|date=May 2006|access-date=April 6, 2020|archive-date=April 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423232518/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pandemic-influenza-implementation.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> After being re-elected, Bush signed into law a [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]] drug benefit program that, according to [[Jan Crawford]], resulted in "the greatest expansion in America's [[welfare state]] in forty years" – the bill's costs approached $7{{nbs}}trillion.<ref name="greenburg" />{{Rp|274}} In 2007, Bush opposed and vetoed [[State Children's Health Insurance Program]] (SCHIP) legislation, which was added by the Democrats onto a war funding bill and passed by Congress. The SCHIP legislation would have significantly expanded federally funded healthcare benefits and plans to children of some low-income families. It was to be funded by an increase in the cigarette tax.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Michael Abramowitz |author2=Jonathan Weisman |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/03/AR2007100300116_pf.html |title=Bush Vetoes Health Measure |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 4, 2007 |access-date=October 9, 2007 |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102202603/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/03/AR2007100300116_pf.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Bush viewed the legislation as a move toward [[socialized health care]], and asserted that the program could benefit families making as much as $83,000 per year who did not need the help.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 4, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/washington/04bush.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016064819/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/04/washington/04bush.html |archive-date=October 16, 2007 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=Bush Vetoes Child Health Bill Privately |work=The New York Times |access-date=September 1, 2008}}</ref> On May 21, 2008, Bush signed into law the [[Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act]], aimed to protect Americans against health insurance and employment discrimination based on a person's genetic information. The issue had been debated for 13 years before it finally became law. The measure is designed to protect citizens without hindering genetic research.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.genome.gov/24519851|title=Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008|access-date=July 15, 2013|publisher=Genome.gov|archive-date=July 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724085916/http://www.genome.gov/24519851|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/publicat/GINAMay2008.pdf|title=PUBLIC LAW 110–233 – MAY 21, 2008|publisher=[[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]]|access-date=February 2, 2014|archive-date=May 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513220407/http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/publicat/GINAMay2008.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> ==== Social services and Social Security ==== Following Republican efforts to pass the [[Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act|Medicare Act of 2003]], Bush signed the bill, which included major changes to the [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]] program by providing beneficiaries with some assistance in paying for prescription drugs, while relying on private insurance for the delivery of benefits.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ncpssm.org/pdf/PL108summary.pdf |title=Summary of Medicare Act of 2003 |access-date=August 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724191249/http://www.ncpssm.org/pdf/PL108summary.pdf |archive-date=July 24, 2008 }}</ref> The retired persons lobby group [[AARP]] worked with the Bush Administration on the program and gave their endorsement. Bush said the law, estimated to cost $400{{nbs}}billion over the first ten years, would give the elderly "better choices and more control over their health care".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/12/20031208-2.html |title=President Signs Medicare Legislation |date=December 8, 2003 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006034714/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/12/20031208-2.html |archive-date=October 6, 2013 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] }}</ref> Bush began his second term by outlining a major initiative to [[Social Security debate in the United States|reform]] Social Security,<ref name="ss-msnbc">{{cite news |last=Wolk |first=Martin |publisher=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/6903273 |title=Bush pushes his Social Security overhaul |access-date=August 20, 2008 |date=February 16, 2005 |archive-date=November 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104140339/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6903273/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which was facing record deficit projections beginning in 2005. Bush made it the centerpiece of his domestic agenda despite opposition from some in the U.S. Congress.<ref name="ss-msnbc" /> In his [[2005 State of the Union Address]], Bush discussed the potential impending bankruptcy of the program and outlined his new program, which included partial privatization of the system, personal Social Security accounts, and options to permit Americans to divert a portion of their Social Security tax ([[Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax|FICA]]) into secured investments.<ref name="ss-msnbc" /> Democrats opposed the proposal to partially privatize the system.<ref name="ss-msnbc" /> Bush embarked on a 60-day national tour, campaigning for his initiative in media events known as "Conversations on Social Security" in an attempt to gain public support.<ref>{{cite news |access-date=September 1, 2008 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28120-2005Mar11.html |title=Social Security: On With the Show |author1=Jim VandeHei |author2=Peter Baker |date=February 12, 2005 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=July 24, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724154327/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28120-2005Mar11.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Nevertheless, public support for the proposal declined,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/f944a850-b830-11d9-bc7c-00000e2511c8,_i_rssPage=80fdaff6-cbe5-11d7-81c6-0820abe49a01.html|title=Bush shifts approach on Social Security reform|last1=Alden|first1=Edward|date=April 28, 2005|newspaper=Financial Times|access-date=September 9, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706122117/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/f944a850-b830-11d9-bc7c-00000e2511c8,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Ff944a850-b830-11d9-bc7c-00000e2511c8.html&_i_referer=|archive-date=July 6, 2008|last2=Yeager|first2=Holly|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}}</ref> and the House Republican leadership decided not to put Social Security reform on the priority list for the remainder of their 2005 legislative agenda.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/060105/social.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051205090810/http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/060105/social.html |archive-date=December 5, 2005 |title=Social Security in Limbo |work=The Hill |date=June 1, 2005 |first=Patrick |last=O'Connor }}</ref> The proposal's legislative prospects were further diminished by autumn 2005 due to political fallout from the response to [[Hurricane Katrina]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.ft.com/cms/s/00d6ee20-2b9f-11da-995a-00000e2511c8.html|title=Hurricane dims Bush's hopes on Social Security|last=Yeager|first=Holly|date=September 22, 2005|work=Financial Times|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050923024100/http://news.ft.com/cms/s/00d6ee20-2b9f-11da-995a-00000e2511c8.html|archive-date=September 23, 2005|access-date=September 9, 2007}}</ref> ==== Environmental policies ==== {{Main|Domestic policy of the George W. Bush administration#Environment}} Upon taking office in 2001, Bush stated his opposition to the [[Kyoto Protocol]], an amendment to the [[United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change]] which seeks to impose mandatory targets for reducing [[greenhouse gas emissions]], citing that the treaty exempted 80 percent of the world's population<ref>{{cite web |date=March 13, 2001 |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/03/20010314.html |title=Letter from the President to Senators Hagel, Helms, Craig, and Roberts |publisher=Office of the Press Secretary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507053351/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/03/20010314.html |archive-date=May 7, 2013 }}</ref> and would have cost tens of billions of dollars per year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/kyoto/economic.htm |title=Summary of the Kyoto Report – Assessment of Economic Impacts |publisher=Energy Information Administration |date=July 16, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523060852/http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/kyoto/economic.htm |archive-date=May 23, 2011 }}</ref> He also cited that the Senate had voted 95–0 in 1997 on a resolution expressing its disapproval of the protocol. In May 2001, Bush signed an [[executive order]] to create an interagency task force to streamline energy projects,<ref name=eo13212>Bush, George W. [http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/oeprod/DocumentsandMedia/Executive_Order_13212.pdf Executive Order 13212 – Actions To Expedite Energy-Related Projects] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626055924/http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/oeprod/DocumentsandMedia/Executive_Order_13212.pdf |date=June 26, 2012 }} ''[[United States Department of Energy]]'', May 18, 2001. [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=61397 Amendment] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229023734/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=61397 |date=December 29, 2011 }}. Retrieved September 24, 2011.</ref> and later signed two other executive orders to tackle environmental issues.<ref name="sovaWater">{{cite web |author1=Benjamin K. Sovacool |author2=Kelly K. Sovacool |title=Preventing National Electricity-Water Crisis Areas in the United States |url=http://www.columbiaenvironmentallaw.org/assets/pdfs/34.2/6._Sovacool_34.2.pdf |publisher=[[Columbia Journal of Environmental Law]] |access-date=September 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208084904/http://www.columbiaenvironmentallaw.org/assets/pdfs/34.2/6._Sovacool_34.2.pdf |archive-date=December 8, 2013 |page=389 |date=July 20, 2009|author1-link=Benjamin K. Sovacool }}</ref> In 2002, Bush proposed the [[Clear Skies Act of 2003]],<ref name="EXsummary">{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/02/clearskies.html |title=Executive Summary – The Clear Skies Initiative |date=February 14, 2002 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=May 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505065602/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/02/clearskies.html |url-status=live }}</ref> which aimed at amending the [[Clean Air Act (United States)|Clean Air Act]] to reduce air pollution through the use of [[emissions trading]] programs. Many experts argued that this legislation would have weakened the original legislation by allowing higher emission rates of pollutants than were previously legal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sierraclub.org/cleanair/clear_skies.asp |publisher=The [[Sierra Club]] |title=Clear Skies Proposal Weakens the Clean Air Act |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917224422/http://www.sierraclub.org/cleanair/clear_skies.asp |archive-date=September 17, 2008 }}</ref> The initiative was introduced to Congress, but failed to make it out of committee.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} Later in 2006, Bush declared the [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]] a national monument, creating the largest [[marine reserve]] to date. The [[Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument]] comprises 84 million acres (340,000{{nbs}}km<sup>2</sup>) and is home to 7,000 species of fish, birds, and other marine animals, many of which are specific to only those islands.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/13300363|title=Bush creates world's biggest ocean preserve|last=Llanos|first=Miguel|date=June 16, 2006|access-date=November 19, 2019|publisher=NBC News|agency=Associated Press|archive-date=December 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202142001/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13300363|url-status=live}}</ref> The move was hailed by conservationists for "its foresight and leadership in protecting this incredible area".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nature.org/initiatives/marine/press/press2489.html |title=The Nature Conservancy Applauds President Bush for Creating World's Largest Marine Conservation Area in Hawaii |date=June 16, 2006 |publisher=[[The Nature Conservancy]] |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=November 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081128101124/http://www.nature.org/initiatives/marine/press/press2489.html }}</ref> Bush has said he believes that [[global warming]] is real<ref>{{cite news |title=Interview with President Bush |work=White House Transcript |date=May 13, 2008 |access-date=May 14, 2008 |quote=Q. Mr. President, for the record, is global warming real? A. Yes, it is real, sure is. |url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10316_Page3.html |archive-date=May 17, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517115554/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10316_Page3.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and has noted that it is a serious problem, but he asserted there is a "debate over whether it's man-made or naturally caused".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060626-2.html |title=Press Conference |date=June 26, 2006 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502232627/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060626-2.html |archive-date=May 2, 2013 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] }}</ref> The Bush Administration's stance on global warming remained controversial in the scientific and environmental communities. Critics have alleged that the administration<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/6341451|title=NASA Scientist Rips Bush on Global Warming|date=October 27, 2004|access-date=September 1, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507053351/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6341451|archive-date=May 7, 2013|publisher=NBC News|agency=Associated Press}}; {{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/17/60minutes/main1415985_page2.shtml|title=60 Minutes: Rewriting the Science|date=March 19, 2006|access-date=September 1, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502232627/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/17/60minutes/main1415985_page2.shtml|archive-date=May 2, 2013|publisher=CBS News}}</ref> misinformed the public and did not do enough to reduce [[greenhouse gas#Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities|carbon emissions]] and deter global warming.<ref>{{cite book |title=Hell or High Water |first=Joe |last=Romm |publisher=William Morrow |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-06-117212-0 |oclc=77537768 |url=https://archive.org/details/hellhighwaterglo00romm_0 }}; Romm calls Bush's "don't rush to judgment" and "we need to ask more questions" stance a classic delay tactic. Part 2.</ref> ==== Energy policies ==== In his [[2006 State of the Union Address]], Bush declared, "America is addicted to oil" and announced his Advanced Energy Initiative to increase [[energy development]] research.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 31, 2006 |access-date=October 1, 2006 |url=http://legacy.c-span.org/Transcripts/SOTU-2006.aspx |title=President George W. Bush's address before a joint session of the Congress on the State of the Union |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131222703/http://legacy.c-span.org/Transcripts/SOTU-2006.aspx |archive-date=January 31, 2011 |publisher=[[C-SPAN]]}}</ref> [[File:20080618 Bush Kempthorne oil exploration speech.jpg|thumb|President Bush delivering a statement on energy, urging Congress to end [[Offshore oil and gas in the United States|offshore oil drill]] ban, June 18, 2008]] In his [[2007 State of the Union Address]], Bush renewed his pledge to work toward diminished reliance on foreign oil by reducing [[fossil fuel]] consumption and increasing [[alternative fuel]] production.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070123-2.html |title=President Bush Delivers State of the Union Address |date=January 23, 2007 |access-date=June 23, 2009 |archive-date=May 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502232627/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070123-2.html |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] }}</ref> Amid high gasoline prices in 2008, Bush lifted a ban on [[offshore drilling]].<ref name="drilling-cnn">{{cite news |access-date=August 3, 2008 |date=July 14, 2008 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/14/bush.offshore/ |title=Bush lifts executive ban on offshore oil drilling |publisher=CNN |archive-date=June 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628134931/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/14/bush.offshore/ }}</ref> However, the move was largely symbolic because there was still a federal law banning offshore drilling. Bush said, "This means that the only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil reserves is action from the U.S. Congress."<ref name="drilling-cnn" /> Bush had said in June 2008, "In the long run, the solution is to reduce demand for oil by promoting alternative energy technologies. My administration has worked with Congress to invest in gas-saving technologies like advanced batteries and hydrogen [[fuel cell]]s{{nbs}}... In the short run, the American economy will continue to rely largely on oil. And that means we need to increase supply, especially here at home. So my administration has repeatedly called on Congress to expand domestic oil production."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080618.html |title=President Bush Discusses Energy |date=June 18, 2008 |access-date=August 3, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502232627/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080618.html |archive-date=May 2, 2013 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] }}</ref> In his [[2008 State of the Union Address]], Bush announced that the U.S. would commit $2{{nbs}}billion over the next three years to a new international fund to promote clean energy technologies and fight climate change, saying, "Along with contributions from other countries, this fund will increase and accelerate the deployment of all forms of cleaner, more efficient technologies in developing nations like India and China, and help leverage substantial private-sector capital by making clean energy projects more financially attractive." He also announced plans to reaffirm the United States' commitment to work with major economies, and, through the UN, to complete an international agreement that will slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases; he stated, "This agreement will be effective only if it includes commitments by every major economy and gives none a free ride."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/stateoftheunion2008.htm |title=George W. Bush: 2008 State of the Union Address |author=American Rhetoric |date=January 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502232627/http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/stateoftheunion2008.htm |archive-date=May 2, 2013 }}</ref> ==== Stem cell research and first veto ==== Federal funding for medical research involving the creation or destruction of human embryos through the [[Department of Health and Human Services]] and the [[National Institutes of Health]] has been forbidden by law since the passage of the [[Dickey–Wicker Amendment]] in 1995.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=September 1, 2008 |url=http://www.aaas.org/spp/cstc/briefs/stemcells/index.shtml |title=AAAS Policy Brief: Stem Cell Research |publisher=[[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081005102130/http://www.aaas.org/spp/cstc/briefs/stemcells/index.shtml |archive-date=October 5, 2008 }}</ref> Bush has said he supports adult [[stem cell]] research and has supported federal legislation that finances adult stem cell research. However, Bush did not support [[embryonic stem cell]] research.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010809-2.html |title=President Discusses Stem Cell Research |publisher=Office of the President |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506144005/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/08/20010809-2.html |url-status=live |archive-date=May 6, 2013 }}</ref> On August 9, 2001, Bush signed an executive order lifting the ban on federal funding for the 71 existing "lines" of stem cells,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stemcells.nih.gov/policy/NIHFedPolicy.asp |title=NIH's Role in Federal Policy Stem Cell Research |publisher=[[National Institutes of Health]] |access-date=June 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617221306/http://stemcells.nih.gov/policy/NIHFedPolicy.asp |archive-date=June 17, 2009}}</ref> but the ability of these existing lines to provide an adequate medium for testing has been questioned. Testing can be done on only 12 of the original lines, and all approved lines have been cultured in contact with mouse cells, which creates safety issues that complicate development and approval of therapies from these lines.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Time |date=August 11, 2003 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,472876,00.html |title=Stem Cells in Limbo |first=Michael D. |last=Lemonick |archive-date=May 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502232627/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C472876%2C00.html }}</ref> On July 19, 2006, Bush used his veto power for the first time in his presidency to veto the [[Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act]]. The bill would have repealed the Dickey–Wicker Amendment, thereby permitting federal money to be used for research where stem cells are derived from the destruction of an embryo.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/19/stemcells.veto/ |title=Bush Vetoes Embryonic Stem Cell Bill |publisher=CNN |date=September 25, 2006 |access-date=June 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502232627/http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/19/stemcells.veto/ |archive-date=May 2, 2013 }}</ref> ==== Immigration ==== [[File:Bush delivers statement at Mexican border.jpg|thumb|President Bush discussing border security with Secretary of Homeland Security [[Michael Chertoff]] near [[El Paso, Texas|El Paso]], November 2005]] Nearly eight million immigrants came to the United States from 2000 to 2005, more than in any other five-year period in the nation's history.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-12-immigration_x.htm|title=Study: Immigration grows, reaching record numbers|last1=El Nasser|first1=Haya|date=December 12, 2005|newspaper=USA Today|access-date=November 19, 2019|last2=Kiely|first2=Kathy|archive-date=March 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314123156/https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-12-immigration_x.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Almost half entered illegally.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/dec/12/20051212-110459-2662r |title=Immigration surge called 'highest ever{{'"}} |newspaper=The Washington Times |date=December 12, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502232627/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/dec/12/20051212-110459-2662r |archive-date=May 2, 2013 }}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=May 2020}} In 2006, Bush urged Congress to allow more than twelve million [[illegal immigration|illegal immigrants]] to work in the United States with the creation of a "temporary guest-worker program". Bush also urged Congress to provide additional funds for border security and committed to deploying 6,000 [[National Guard of the United States|National Guard]] troops to the [[Mexico–United States border]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/11/29/bush.immigration/ |title=Bush takes tough talk on immigration to Texas |access-date=September 9, 2006 |publisher=CNN |date=November 29, 2005 |archive-date=June 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628192710/http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/11/29/bush.immigration/ }}</ref> From May to June 2007, Bush strongly supported the [[Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007]], which was written by a bipartisan group of Senators with the active participation of the Bush administration.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Fact Sheet: Border Security and Immigration Reform |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070517-7.html |date=May 17, 2007 |publisher=[[Executive Office of the President of the United States|The White House]] |access-date=February 3, 2012 |archive-date=May 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502232627/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070517-7.html }}</ref> The bill envisioned a legalization program for illegal immigrants, with an eventual path to citizenship; establishing a guest worker program; a series of border and worksite enforcement measures; a reform of the [[Permanent residence (United States)|green card]] application process and the introduction of a point-based "merit" system for green cards; elimination of "[[chain migration]]" and of the [[Diversity Immigrant Visa]]; and other measures. Bush argued that the lack of legal status denies the protections of U.S. laws to millions of people who face dangers of poverty and exploitation, and penalizes employers despite a demand for immigrant labor.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/06/20070608-10.html |title=Best of the Immigration Fact Check: Top 10 Common Myths |date=June 8, 2007 |publisher=[[Executive Office of the President of the United States|The White House]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070612191009/http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/06/20070608-10.html |archive-date=June 12, 2007 |access-date=February 3, 2012 }}</ref> Bush contended that the proposed bill did not amount to amnesty.<ref>{{cite news |publisher=Fox News |date=June 26, 2008 |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286705,00.html |access-date=May 30, 2008 |title=Senate Votes to Continue Work on Immigration Reform Compromise |author1=Garrett, Major |author2=Trish Turner |archive-date=October 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017113444/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C286705%2C00.html }}</ref> A heated public debate followed, which resulted in a substantial rift within the Republican Party, most conservatives opposed it because of its legalization or amnesty provisions.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0807/5449.html|title=Talk radio helped sink immigration reform|last=Allen|first=Mike|date=August 20, 2007|access-date=November 27, 2019|work=Politico|archive-date=February 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225004138/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0807/5449.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The bill was eventually defeated in the Senate on June 28, 2007, when a [[cloture]] motion failed on a 46–53 vote.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/immigration-bill-goes-down-in-defeat-2007-06-28.html|title=46–53, immigration bill goes down in defeat|last=Marre|first=Klaus|date=June 28, 2007|work=The Hill|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104162605/http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/immigration-bill-goes-down-in-defeat-2007-06-28.html|archive-date=January 4, 2009}}</ref> Bush expressed disappointment upon the defeat of one of his signature domestic initiatives.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/28/immigration.congress/index.html |title=Senate immigration bill suffers crushing defeat |publisher=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502232627/http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/28/immigration.congress/index.html |archive-date=May 2, 2013 }}; {{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/06/20070628-7.html |title=President Bush Disappointed by Congress's Failure to Act on Comprehensive Immigration Reform |date=June 28, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130503024157/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/06/20070628-7.html |url-status=live |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] |archive-date=May 3, 2013 }}</ref> The Bush administration later proposed a series of immigration enforcement measures that do not require a change in law.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070810.html |title=The White House Fact Sheet: Improving Border Security and Immigration Within Existing Law |date=August 10, 2007 |archive-date=May 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502232627/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070810.html |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] |url-status=live }}</ref> On September 19, 2010, former Israeli Prime Minister [[Ehud Olmert]] said that Bush offered to accept 100,000 Palestinian refugees as American citizens if a permanent settlement had been reached between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ravid |first=Barak |newspaper=[[Haaretz]] |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/olmert-bush-offered-to-absorb-100-000-palestinian-refugees-if-peace-deal-reached-1.314644?localLinksEnabled=false |title=Olmert: Bush offered to absorb 100,000 Palestinian refugees if peace deal reached |location=Israel |access-date=October 27, 2010 |date=September 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/olmert-bush-offered-to-absorb-100-000-palestinian-refugees-if-peace-deal-reached-1.314644?localLinksEnabled=false |archive-date=February 25, 2008 }}</ref> ==== Hurricane Katrina ==== {{Main|Political effects of Hurricane Katrina}} [[File:President Bush Biloxi after Katrina.jpg|thumb|left|President Bush with hurricane victims in [[Biloxi]], September 2, 2005]] [[Hurricane Katrina]] struck early in Bush's second term and was one of the most damaging natural disasters in U.S. history. Katrina formed in late August during the 2005 [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] hurricane season and devastated much of the north-central [[Gulf Coast of the United States]], particularly New Orleans.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Knabb, Richard D |author2=Rhome, Jamie R. |author3=Brown, Daniel P |date=December 20, 2005 |title=Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Katrina: August 23–30, 2005 |publisher=National Hurricane Center}}</ref> Bush declared a state of emergency in [[Louisiana]] on August 27<ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html |title=Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana |date=August 27, 2005 |archive-date=May 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507075732/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] |url-status=live }}</ref> and in [[Mississippi]] and [[Alabama]] the following day.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050828.html |title=Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Mississippi |date=August 28, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507035330/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050828.html |url-status=live |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] |archive-date=May 7, 2013 }}; {{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050828-3.html |title=Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Alabama |date=August 28, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507105626/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050828-3.html |url-status=live |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] |archive-date=May 7, 2013 }}</ref> The eye of the hurricane made landfall on August 29, and New Orleans began to flood due to [[levee]] breaches; later that day, Bush declared a major disaster in Louisiana,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050829-2.html |title=Statement on Federal Disaster Assistance for Louisiana |date=August 29, 2005 |archive-date=May 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507075411/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050829-2.html |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] |url-status=live }}</ref> officially authorizing FEMA to start using federal funds to assist in the recovery effort. On August 30, DHS Secretary [[Michael Chertoff]] declared it "an incident of national significance",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050831-2.html |title=Press Gaggle with Scott McClellan |date=August 31, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050831-2.html |archive-date=February 25, 2008 |access-date=February 14, 2008 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] }}</ref> triggering the first use of the newly created [[National Response Plan]]. Three days later, on September 2, National Guard troops first entered the city of New Orleans.<ref name="tpm">{{cite web|url=http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/katrina-timeline.php|title=TPM Hurricane Katrina Timeline|date=September 20, 2005|website=Talking Points Memo|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/katrina-timeline.php|archive-date=February 25, 2008|access-date=June 23, 2009}}</ref> The same day, Bush toured parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and declared that the success of the recovery effort up to that point was "not enough".<ref name="USAToday-Katrina">{{cite news |title=National Guard descends on New Orleans, giving evacuees hope |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-09-02-katrina_x.htm |newspaper=USA Today |date=September 3, 2005 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=April 30, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430033232/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-09-02-katrina_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> As the disaster in New Orleans intensified, Bush received [[Criticism of the government response to Hurricane Katrina|widespread criticism]] for downplaying his administration's role in the inadequate response. Leaders attacked Bush for having appointed incompetent leaders to positions of power at FEMA, notably [[Michael D. Brown]];<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hsu |first1=Spencer S. |author2=Susan B. Glasser |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/05/AR2005090501590.html |title=FEMA Director Singled Out by Response Critics |date=September 6, 2005 |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=August 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806034739/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/05/AR2005090501590.html |url-status=live }}</ref> federal resources to respond were also limited as a result of being allocated to the [[Iraq War]],<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Ismael|last1=Hossein-zadeh|title=Social vs. Military Spending: How the Escalating Pentagon Budget Crowds out Public Infrastructure and Aggravates Natural Disasters – the Case of Hurricane Katrina|journal=Review of Social Economy|date=June 1, 2009|issn=0034-6764|pages=149–173|volume=67|issue=2|doi=10.1080/00346760801932718|s2cid=153747265}}</ref> and Bush himself did not act upon warnings of floods.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/katrinatranscript-0828.pdf|title=Transcript, Presidential Videoconference Briefing|date=August 28, 2005|newspaper=USA Today|access-date=May 3, 2010|pages=5–6|archive-date=June 24, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624111057/http://www.usatoday.com/news/katrinatranscript-0828.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees." George W. Bush to [[Diane Sawyer]], ''[[Good Morning America]]'', September 1, 2005.</ref> Bush responded to mounting criticism by claiming to accept full responsibility for the federal government's failures in its handling of the emergency.<ref name=tpm /> It has been argued that with Katrina, Bush passed a political tipping point from which he would not recover.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/12/31/katrina_called_bushs_biggest_blunder/|title=Katrina called Bush's biggest blunder|date=May 31, 2012|newspaper=The Boston Globe|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104091649/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/12/31/katrina_called_bushs_biggest_blunder/|archive-date=November 4, 2012|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> ==== Midterm dismissal of U.S. attorneys ==== {{Main|Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy}} [[File:George W Bush and Alberto Gonzales.jpg|thumb|President Bush announcing his nomination of Alberto Gonzales as the next U.S. Attorney General, November 10, 2004]] During Bush's second term, a controversy arose over the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department's]] midterm dismissal of seven [[United States Attorney]]s.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 22, 2007 |publisher=[[About.com]] |url=http://uspolitics.about.com/od/electionissues/i/attorney_firing.htm |title=The Firing Of US Attorneys – Nefarious Or Business As Usual? |access-date=September 1, 2008 |last=Gill |first=Kathy |archive-date=December 19, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219225126/http://uspolitics.about.com/od/electionissues/i/attorney_firing.htm }}</ref> The White House maintained that they were fired for poor performance.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070307/oppose07.art.htm|title=They lost my confidence|last=Gonzales|first=Alberto R.|date=March 7, 2007|work=USA Today|access-date=September 1, 2008|archive-date=May 22, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080522080308/http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070307/oppose07.art.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Attorney General [[Alberto Gonzales]] later resigned over the issue, along with other senior members of the Justice Department.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Eggen |first1=Dan |author2=Michael Fletcher |title=Embattled Gonzales Resigns |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/27/AR2007082700372.html |access-date=September 1, 2008 |date=August 28, 2007 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=August 30, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830073910/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/27/AR2007082700372.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Gonzales' Resignation Letter |author=Alberto Gonzales |date=August 26, 2007 |publisher=United States Department of Justice |quote=Please accept my resignation as Attorney General of the United States, effective September 17, 2007 |title-link=s:Gonzales' Resignation Letter |author-link=Alberto Gonzales}}</ref> The [[United States House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]] issued subpoenas for advisers [[Harriet Miers]] and [[Joshua Bolten|Josh Bolten]] to testify regarding this matter, but Bush directed Miers and Bolten to not comply with those subpoenas, invoking his right of [[executive privilege]]. Bush maintained that all his advisers were covered under a broad executive privilege protection to receive candid advice. The Justice Department determined that the President's order was legal.<ref>{{cite news |work=Reuters |date=March 1, 2008 |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-32236820080301 |title=Mukasey won't pursue contempt probe of Bush aides |archive-date=February 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-32236820080301 }}</ref> Although Congressional investigations focused on whether the Justice Department and the White House were using the U.S. Attorney positions for political advantage, no official findings have been released. On March 10, 2008, the Congress filed a federal lawsuit to enforce their issued subpoenas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/03/house-judiciary-panel-files-civil.php |title=House judiciary panel files civil lawsuit to enforce Miers, Bolten subpoenas |access-date=May 30, 2008 |date=March 10, 2008 |last=Porter |first=Patrick |publisher=[[JURIST|Jurist Legal News and Research]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080311204421/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/03/house-judiciary-panel-files-civil.php |archive-date=March 11, 2008 }}</ref> On July 31, 2008, a [[United States district court]] judge ruled that Bush's top advisers were not immune from Congressional subpoenas.<ref>{{cite news |last=Apuzzo |first=Matt |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2008-07-31-2444639400_x.htm |title=Federal judge rules Bush's aides can be subpoenaed |work=USA Today |date=July 31, 2008 |access-date=April 20, 2010 |archive-date=April 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423203149/http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2008-07-31-2444639400_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In all, twelve Justice Department officials resigned rather than testify under oath before Congress. They included Attorney General [[Alberto Gonzales]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Jordan |first=Lara Jakes |agency=Associated Press |date=September 15, 2007 |title=Attorney general bids farewell to Justice: Praises work of department |url=https://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/09/15/attorney_general_bids_farewell_to_justice/ |newspaper=The Boston Globe |access-date=September 19, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620225904/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/09/15/attorney_general_bids_farewell_to_justice/ |archive-date=June 20, 2010 }}</ref> and his chief of staff [[Kyle Sampson]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Bush's Law: The Remaking of American Justice After 9/11 |author=Lichtblau |year=2008 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bushslawremaking00lich/page/293 293] |publisher=Pantheon Books |isbn=978-0-375-42492-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/bushslawremaking00lich/page/293 }}</ref> Gonzales' liaison to the White House [[Monica Goodling]],<ref>{{cite news |date=April 6, 2007 |title=Gonzales aide Goodling resigns |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/17986525/ns/politics/t/gonzales-aide-firings-controversy-resigns/ |agency=Associated Press |first=Lara Jakes |last=Jordan |access-date=April 7, 2007 |publisher=[[NBC News]] |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203144946/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/17986525/ns/politics/t/gonzales-aide-firings-controversy-resigns/ }}</ref> aide to the president [[Karl Rove]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/08/13/bush-adviser-karl-rove-to-resign-at-end-month/|title=Bush Advisor Karl Rove to Resign at End of Month|last=Emanuel|first=Mike|date=August 13, 2007|access-date=July 31, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002095204/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/08/13/bush-adviser-karl-rove-to-resign-at-end-month/|archive-date=October 2, 2013|publisher=Fox News|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> and his senior aide [[Sara Taylor]].<ref name="washingtonpost2007">{{cite news |first=Michael A. |last=Fletcher |date=May 28, 2007 |title=Another Top Bush Aide Makes an Exit |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/27/AR2007052700896.html |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=October 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026144835/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/27/AR2007052700896.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, legal counsel to the president [[Harriet Miers]]<ref name="twssffwe">{{cite news |title=Panel Holds Two Bush Aides in Contempt |newspaper=The New York Times |quote=The House Judiciary Committee voted today to seek contempt of Congress citations against a top aide to President Bush and a former presidential aide over their refusal to cooperate in an inquiry about the firing of federal prosecutors{{nbs}}... president's chief of staff, and Harriet E. Miers |date=July 25, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/washington/25cnd-contempt.html |access-date=September 22, 2010 |first=David |last=Stout |archive-date=April 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417111153/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/washington/25cnd-contempt.html }}</ref> and deputy chief of staff to the president [[Joshua Bolten]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Stout |first=David |title=Panel Holds Two Bush Aides in Contempt |work=The New York Times |date=July 25, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/washington/25cnd-contempt.html |access-date=July 26, 2007 |archive-date=April 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417111153/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/washington/25cnd-contempt.html |url-status=live }}</ref> were both found in [[contempt of Congress]].<ref name=washingtonpost2007 /> In 2010, the Justice Department investigator concluded that though political considerations did play a part in as many as four of the attorney firings,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/george-bush-adviser-karl-rove-role-firing-u-s-attorney-detailed-newly-released-transcripts-article-1.400512|title=George Bush adviser Karl Rove's role in firing U.S. attorney detailed in newly released transcripts|date=August 12, 2009|work=Daily News|access-date=April 12, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/george-bush-adviser-karl-rove-role-firing-u-s-attorney-detailed-newly-released-transcripts-article-1.400512|archive-date=February 25, 2008|agency=Associated Press|location=New York|page=2}}</ref> the firings were "inappropriately political" but not criminal. According to the prosecutors, there was insufficient evidence to pursue prosecution for any criminal offense.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2010/07/21/doj_prosecutor_firing_was_politics_not_crime/|title=DOJ: Prosecutor firing was politics, not crime|last1=Apuzzo|first1=Matt|date=July 21, 2010|newspaper=The Boston Globe|access-date=July 31, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723130805/http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2010/07/21/doj_prosecutor_firing_was_politics_not_crime/|archive-date=July 23, 2010|agency=Associated Press|last2=Yost|first2=Pete}}</ref> === Foreign policy === {{Main|Foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration}} [[File:George W Bush Overseas Visits.svg|thumb|Countries visited by President George W. Bush during his time in office]] During his presidential campaign, Bush's [[Foreign policy of the United States|foreign policy]] platform included support for stronger economic and political relationships with Latin America, especially Mexico, and a reduction of involvement in "[[nation-building]]" and other small-scale military engagements. The administration pursued a [[national missile defense]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://fas.org/nuke/control/abmt/news/010501bush.html |title=President Bush Speech on Missile Defense |publisher=[[Federation of American Scientists]] |date=May 1, 2001 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=March 13, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080313022704/http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/abmt/news/010501bush.html }}</ref> Bush was an advocate of China's entry into the [[World Trade Organization]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/04/05/china.WTO/ |title=Bush backs China's WTO entry despite standoff |publisher=CNN |date=April 6, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515133508/http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/04/05/china.WTO/ |archive-date=May 15, 2011 }}</ref> Bush began his second term with an emphasis on improving strained relations with European nations. He appointed long-time adviser [[Karen Hughes]] to oversee a global public relations campaign. Bush lauded the pro-democracy struggles in Georgia and Ukraine.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/freedomagenda/|publisher=[[White House]]|title=Freedom Agenda|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|access-date=November 22, 2016|archive-date=November 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123053955/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/freedomagenda/|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2006, Bush reversed decades of U.S. policy when he visited India in a trip focused particularly on areas of [[Nuclear power|nuclear energy]], counter-terrorism co-operation, and discussions that would eventually lead to the [[India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-03-02-nuclear-pact_x.htm |title=Nuclear deal announced as Bush visits India |newspaper=USA Today |date=March 2, 2006 |access-date=March 16, 2010 |archive-date=December 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091216211123/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-03-02-nuclear-pact_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/03/20060302-5.html |title=U.S.–India Joint Statement |date=March 2, 2006 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611161845/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/03/20060302-5.html |archive-date=June 11, 2009 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] }}</ref> This was in stark contrast to the stance taken by his predecessor, Bill Clinton, whose approach and response to India after the 1998 nuclear tests has been characterized as "sanctions and hectoring".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29825.html |title=Roemer key to U.S.–India relationship – Daniel Libit and Laura Rozen |work=Politico |date=November 23, 2009 |access-date=March 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091126182109/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29825.html |archive-date=November 26, 2009 }}</ref> Midway through Bush's second term, questions arose whether Bush was retreating from his freedom and democracy agenda, which was highlighted in policy changes toward some oil-rich former Soviet republics in central Asia.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/23/AR2006042301017.html |title=Retreat From the Freedom Agenda |access-date=September 1, 2008 |last=Diehl |first=Jackson |date=April 24, 2005 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=June 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190612133517/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/23/AR2006042301017.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[File:Vladimir Putin at APEC Summit in China 19-21 October 2001-13.jpg|thumb|President Bush with Russian president [[Vladimir Putin]] in Shanghai, October 21, 2001. Russia had cooperated with the U.S. in the war on terror.]] Bush signed the [[Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty]] with Russia. He withdrew U.S. support for several international agreements, including, in 2002, the [[Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty]] (ABM) with Russia.<ref>Margot Light, "Russian-American Relations under George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin". ''Irish Studies in International Affairs'' (2008): 25–32.</ref> This marked the first time in post-World War II history that the United States had withdrawn from a major international arms treaty.<ref name=acaabm>{{cite web|title=U.S. Withdrawal From the ABM Treaty: President Bush's Remarks and U.S. Diplomatic Notes|url=http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2002_01-02/docjanfeb02|publisher=Arms Control Association|access-date=June 5, 2022|archive-date=May 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520171252/https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2002_01-02/docjanfeb02|url-status=live}}</ref> Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] stated that American withdrawal from the ABM Treaty was a mistake.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|title=Bush Pulls Out of ABM Treaty; Putin Calls Move a Mistake|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/13/international/bush-pulls-out-of-abm-treaty-putin-calls-move-a-mistake.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 13, 2001|access-date=June 5, 2022|archive-date=June 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605171349/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/13/international/bush-pulls-out-of-abm-treaty-putin-calls-move-a-mistake.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Bush emphasized a careful approach to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians; he denounced [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] leader [[Yasser Arafat]] for his support of violence, but sponsored dialogues between Prime Minister [[Ariel Sharon]] and Palestinian National Authority President [[Mahmoud Abbas]]. Bush supported Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, and lauded the democratic elections held in Palestine after Arafat's death. Bush also expressed U.S. support for the defense of Taiwan following the stand-off in April 2001 with China over the [[Hainan Island incident]], when an [[Lockheed EP-3|EP-3E Aries II]] surveillance aircraft collided with a [[People's Liberation Army Air Force]] jet, leading to the detention of U.S. personnel. From 2003 to 2004, Bush authorized U.S. military intervention in Haiti and Liberia to protect U.S. interests. Bush condemned the [[War in Darfur|militia attacks Darfur]] and denounced the killings in Sudan as genocide.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jim |last=VandeHei |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/01/AR2005060101725.html |title=In Break With UN, Bush Calls Sudan Killings Genocide |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 2, 2005 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=October 17, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017060259/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/01/AR2005060101725.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Bush said an international peacekeeping presence was critical in Darfur, but he opposed referring the situation to the [[International Criminal Court]]. On June 10, 2007, Bush met with [[Albanian Prime Minister]] [[Sali Berisha]] and became the first president to visit Albania.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/world/europe/10cnd-prexy.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613054655/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/world/europe/10cnd-prexy.html |archive-date=June 13, 2007 |url-access=limited |url-status=live |title=Bush is Greeted Warmly in Albania |first=Sheryl Gay|last=Stolberg |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 10, 2007 }}</ref> He later voiced his support for the [[2008 Kosovo declaration of independence|independence of Kosovo]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.america.gov/st/peacesec-english/2008/February/20080219131902idybeekcm0.4052851.html |title=Bush Hails Kosovo Independence |date=February 19, 2008 |publisher=america.gov |access-date=September 19, 2008 |archive-date=August 21, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821091013/http://www.america.gov/st/peacesec-english/2008/February/20080219131902idybeekcm0.4052851.html }}</ref> In early 2008, Bush vowed full support for admitting [[Ukraine]] and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] into [[NATO]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Bush stirs controversy over NATO membership |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/01/ukraine.analysis/ |publisher=CNN |date=April 1, 2008 |access-date=February 7, 2022 |archive-date=September 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210913044706/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/01/ukraine.analysis/ |url-status=live }}</ref> despite Russia's opposition to the further [[enlargement of NATO]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Bush-Putin row grows as pact pushes east |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/02/nato.georgia |work=The Guardian |date=April 2, 2008 |access-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208091130/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/02/nato.georgia |url-status=live }}</ref> During the [[2008 Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis]], Bush condemned Russia for recognizing the separatist government of [[South Ossetia]].<ref>{{cite news |date=August 26, 2008 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/26/russia.vote.georgia/ |title=Russia condemned for recognizing rebel regions |publisher=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830194251/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/08/26/russia.vote.georgia/ |archive-date=August 30, 2008 }}</ref> When Russian troops invaded Georgia later that summer, Bush said: "Bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century."<ref>{{cite news |date=August 15, 2008 |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-08-15-bush-georgia_N.htm |title=Bush hits Russia on 'bullying and intimidation' |newspaper=USA Today |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022031242/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-08-15-bush-georgia_N.htm |archive-date=October 22, 2012 }}</ref> ==== September 11, 2001, attacks ==== {{Main|September 11 attacks}} [[File:FEMA - 3905 - Photograph by SFC Thomas R. Roberts taken on 09-14-2001 in New York.jpg|thumb|left|President Bush, beside firefighter [[Bob Beckwith]], addressing rescue workers at the [[World Trade Center site]]]] The September 11 terrorist attacks were a major turning point in Bush's presidency. That evening, he addressed the nation from the [[Oval Office]], promising a strong response to the attacks. He also emphasized the need for the nation to come together and comfort the families of the victims. Three days after the attacks, Bush visited [[World Trade Center site|Ground Zero]] and met with Mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]], firefighters, police officers, and volunteers. Bush addressed the gathering via a megaphone while standing on rubble: "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010914-9.html |date=September 14, 2001 |title=President Bush Salutes Heroes in New York |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420061531/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010914-9.html |archive-date=April 20, 2010 |access-date=June 23, 2009 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] }}</ref> {{listen | filename = Bush Addresses Congress 9-20-01.ogg | title = President Bush declares "freedom at war with fear", September 20, 2001 | type = speech }} In a September 20 speech, Bush condemned [[Osama bin Laden]] and his organization [[al-Qaeda]], and issued an ultimatum to the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, where bin Laden was operating, to "hand over the terrorists, or{{nbs}}... share in their fate".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html |date=September 20, 2001 |title=Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People |access-date=June 23, 2009 |archive-date=May 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527194111/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] }}</ref> The Taliban's leader, [[Mullah Omar]], refused to hand over bin Laden.<ref name="Peter Bergen">{{cite news |author=Peter Bergen |date=August 21, 2015 |title=The man who wouldn't hand over bin Laden to the U.S. |publisher=CNN |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/29/opinions/bergen-mullah-omar/ |access-date=September 12, 2016 |archive-date=December 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214082005/http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/29/opinions/bergen-mullah-omar |url-status=live }}</ref> The continued presence of U.S. troops in [[Saudi Arabia]] after the 1991 [[Gulf War]] was one of the stated motivations behind the September 11 attacks. In 2003, [[Operation Southern Watch|the U.S. withdrew]] most of its troops from Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{cite news|date=April 29, 2003|title=US pulls out of Saudi Arabia|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2984547.stm|work=BBC News|access-date=February 7, 2022|archive-date=May 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521195120/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2984547.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> {{clear}} ==== War on terror ==== {{Main|War on terror}} [[File:Major military operations of the War on Terror.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Countries with major military operations throughout the war on terror launched by Bush, including those launched after his presidency]] In Bush's September 20 speech, he declared that "our war on terror begins with Al Qaeda, but it does not end there."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/09/20/gen.bush.transcript/ |date=September 20, 2001 |title=Transcript of President Bush's address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday night, September 20, 2001 |access-date=June 23, 2009 |publisher=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/09/20/gen.bush.transcript/ |archive-date=February 25, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Malkasian|first=Carter|author-link=Carter Malkasian|date=2021|title=The American War in Afghanistan: A History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k8owEAAAQBAJ|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-755077-9|page=56|access-date=July 24, 2023|archive-date=March 12, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312005345/https://books.google.com/books?id=k8owEAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> In his January 29, [[2002 State of the Union Address]], he asserted that an "[[axis of evil]]" consisting of [[North Korea]], [[Iran]], and [[Ba'athist Iraq]] was "arming to threaten the peace of the world" and "pose[d] a grave and growing danger".<ref name="sotu2002">{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html |date=January 29, 2002 |title=President Delivers State of the Union Address |access-date=June 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502151928/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] |archive-date=May 2, 2009 }}</ref> The Bush Administration asserted both a right and the intention to wage [[preemptive war]], or [[preventive war]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/nsc/ |title=National Security Council |publisher=The White House |access-date=June 23, 2009 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090701203207/http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/nsc/ |archive-date=July 1, 2009 }}</ref> This became the basis for the [[Bush Doctrine]] which weakened the unprecedented levels of international and domestic support for the United States which had followed the September 11 attacks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob1.htm |title=President Bush: Job Ratings |publisher=Polling Report |access-date=June 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob1.htm |archive-date=February 25, 2008 }}</ref> Dissent and criticism of Bush's leadership in the War on Terror increased as the war in Iraq continued.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cumings |first1=Bruce |author2=Ervand Abrahamian, Moshe Ma'oz |title=Inventing the Axis of Evil: The Truth About North Korea, Iran, and Syria |publisher=New Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-59558-038-2 |oclc=62225812 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/inventingaxisofe00bruc }}</ref><ref>Lopez, George E., "Perils of Bush's Pre-emptive War Doctrine", ''[[The Indianapolis Star]]'', October 3, 2003.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/nsc/nss5.html |title=Prevent Our Enemies from Threatening Us, Our Allies, and Our Friends with Weapons of Mass Destruction |access-date=April 20, 2010 |archive-date=May 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521184234/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/nsc/nss5.html |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] |url-status=live }}</ref> The Iraq war sparked many protests and riots in different parts of the world.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2002-09-28 |title=Protesters stage anti-war rally |language=en-GB |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2285861.stm |access-date=2023-10-27 |archive-date=October 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027155137/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2285861.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2006, a [[National Intelligence Estimate]] concluded that the Iraq War had become the "[[cause célèbre]] for [[jihad]]ists".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/26/nie.iraq/index.html|title=NIE: Al Qaeda 'Damaged' Becoming More Scattered|last1=Koppel|first1=Andrea|date=September 26, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/26/nie.iraq/index.html|archive-date=February 25, 2008|publisher=CNN|last2=Barrett|first2=Ted}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/23/AR2006092301130.html |title=Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Hurting U.S. Terror Fight |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=September 24, 2006 |first=Karen |last=DeYoung |access-date=August 22, 2017 |archive-date=September 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910054726/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/23/AR2006092301130.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ==== Afghanistan invasion ==== {{Main|War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)}} [[File:GW Bush and Hamid Karzai in Kabul 2006-03-01.jpg|thumb|left|President Bush and President [[Hamid Karzai]] of Afghanistan in Kabul, March 1, 2006]] On October 7, 2001, U.S. and British forces initiated bombing campaigns that led to the arrival of [[Northern Alliance]] troops in [[Kabul]] on November 13. The main goals of the war were to defeat the [[Taliban]], drive [[al-Qaeda]] out of Afghanistan, and capture key al-Qaeda leaders. In December 2001, the Pentagon reported that the Taliban had been defeated,<ref name="taliband">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/11/world/nation-challenged-military-campaign-taliban-defeated-pentagon-asserts-but-war.html |access-date=June 23, 2009 |date=December 11, 2001 |author1=Shanker, Tom |author2=Eric Schmitt |newspaper=The New York Times |title=A Nation Challenged; Military Campaign; Taliban Defeated, Pentagon Asserts, but War Goes On |archive-date=February 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/11/world/nation-challenged-military-campaign-taliban-defeated-pentagon-asserts-but-war.html }}</ref> but cautioned that the war would go on to continue weakening Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders.<ref name=taliband /> Later that month the UN had installed the [[Afghan Transitional Administration]] chaired by [[Hamid Karzai]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/isaf.cfm |title=Fact Sheet: International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan |publisher=[[Center for Defense Information]] |date=February 14, 2002 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=February 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/isaf.cfm }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4673026.stm |title=More Dutch troops for Afghanistan |work=BBC News |date=February 3, 2006 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4673026.stm |archive-date=February 25, 2008}}</ref> Efforts to kill or capture al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden failed as he escaped [[Battle of Tora Bora|a battle in December 2001]] in the mountainous region of [[Tora Bora]], which the Bush Administration later acknowledged to have resulted from a failure to commit enough U.S. ground troops.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/12/AR2006061200843.html |title=U.S. Concludes bin Laden Escaped at Tora Bora Fight |access-date=September 6, 2015 |date=April 17, 2002 |newspaper=The Washington Post |first1=Barton |last1=Gellman |first2=Thomas E. |last2=Ricks |archive-date=May 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508213656/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/12/AR2006061200843.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It was not until May 2011, two years after Bush left office, that bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces under the Obama administration. Despite the initial success in driving the Taliban from power in Kabul, by early 2003 the Taliban was regrouping, amassing new funds and recruits.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0508/p01s02-wosc.html?related |title=Taliban Appears To Be Regrouped and Well-Funded |access-date=September 1, 2008 |date=May 8, 2003 |work=The Christian Science Monitor |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0508/p01s02-wosc.html?related |archive-date=February 25, 2008 }}</ref> The 2005 failure of [[Operation Red Wings]] showed that the Taliban had returned.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-01-09/gates-bombs-away-in-memoir-and-how-the-green-lantern-drove-a-decision/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109153516/http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2014-01-09/gates-bombs-away-in-memoir-and-how-the-green-lantern-drove-a-decision/ |archive-date=January 9, 2014 |title=Gates: Bombs Away in Memoir – How Green Lantern Drove a Decision |last1=Capaccio |first1=Tony |date=January 9, 2014 |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |access-date=January 9, 2014}}</ref> In 2006, the [[Taliban insurgency]] appeared larger, fiercer and better organized than expected, with large-scale allied offensives such as [[Operation Mountain Thrust]] attaining limited success.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=285|title=World Cannot Give Up on Afghanistan, Coalition Officials Say|last=Garamone|first=Jim|date=June 28, 2006|publisher=[[United States Department of Defense]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060802215853/http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=285|archive-date=August 2, 2006|access-date=September 1, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5107816.stm |title=Frustrated Karzai toughens stance |access-date=September 1, 2008 |date=July 22, 2006 |work=BBC News |first=Alastair |last=Leithead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5107816.stm |archive-date=February 25, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-06-19-taliban-afghanistan-cover_x.htm |title=Revived Taliban waging 'full-blown insurgency' |access-date=September 1, 2008 |date=July 22, 2006 |newspaper=USA Today |first=Paul |last=Wiseman |archive-date=July 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726025741/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-06-19-taliban-afghanistan-cover_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result, Bush commissioned 3,500 additional troops to the country in March 2007.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/10/AR2007031001397.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 31, 2008 |last=Baker |first=Peter |date=March 11, 2007 |page=A11 |title=Additional Troop Increase Approved |archive-date=August 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817093442/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/10/AR2007031001397.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ==== Iraq invasion ==== {{Main|Iraq War}} [[File:George W. Bush walks with Ryan Phillips to Navy One.jpg|thumb|upright|President Bush, with [[Naval Flight Officer]] Lieutenant Ryan Philips, after landing on the USS ''Abraham Lincoln'' prior to his [[Mission Accomplished speech]], May 1, 2003]] Beginning with his January 29, 2002 [[State of the Union]] address, Bush began publicly focusing attention on Iraq, which he labeled as part of an "[[axis of evil]]" allied with terrorists and posing "a grave and growing danger" to U.S. interests through possession of [[weapons of mass destruction]].<ref name=sotu2002 /><ref>{{cite web |title=Iraq: The War Card |url=http://www.iwatchnews.org/accountability/iraq-war-card |publisher=The Center for Public Integrity |access-date=November 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://www.iwatchnews.org/accountability/iraq-war-card |archive-date=February 25, 2008 }}</ref> In the latter half of 2002, CIA [[National Intelligence Estimate|reports]] contained assertions of [[Saddam Hussein]]'s intent of reconstituting nuclear weapons programs, not properly accounting for Iraqi [[Biological warfare|biological]] and [[Chemical warfare|chemical weapons]], and that some Iraqi missiles had a range greater than allowed by the UN sanctions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/general-reports-1/iraq_wmd/Iraq_Oct_2002.htm |title=Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs |date=October 2002 |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911171932/https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/general-reports-1/iraq_wmd/Iraq_Oct_2002.htm |archive-date=September 11, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB129/index.htm |title=CIA Whites Out Controversial Estimate on Iraq Weapons |publisher=The National Security Archive |date=July 9, 2004 |access-date=June 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090623070452/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB129/index.htm |url-status=live |archive-date=June 23, 2009 }}</ref> Contentions that the Bush Administration manipulated or exaggerated the threat and evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction capabilities would eventually become a major point of criticism for the president.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/67019/the-first-casualty|title=The First Casualty|last1=Ackerman|first1=Spencer|date=June 30, 2003|magazine=The New Republic|access-date=November 17, 2019|last2=Judis|first2=John B.|issn=0028-6583|archive-date=January 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121035818/https://newrepublic.com/article/67019/the-first-casualty|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Hersh, Seymour M., "The Stovepipe", ''[[The New Yorker]]'', October 27, 2003.</ref> In late 2002 and early 2003, Bush urged the United Nations to enforce Iraqi [[disarmament]] mandates, precipitating a [[Iraq disarmament crisis|diplomatic crisis]]. In November 2002, Hans Blix and [[Mohamed ElBaradei]] led UN weapons inspectors in Iraq, but were advised by the U.S. to depart the country four days prior to the U.S. invasion, despite their requests for more time to complete their tasks.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-03-17-inspectors-iraq_x.htm |agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=U.S. advises weapons inspectors to leave Iraq |work=USA Today |date=March 17, 2003 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=August 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825014028/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-03-17-inspectors-iraq_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The U.S. initially sought a [[UN Security Council]] resolution authorizing the use of military force but dropped the bid for UN approval due to vigorous opposition from several countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldpress.org/specials/iraq/chapterVII.htm |title=Enforcement Measures under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter |access-date=September 1, 2008 |date=February 13, 2003 |work=[[United Nations Charter]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://www.worldpress.org/specials/iraq/chapterVII.htm |archive-date=February 25, 2008 }}</ref> The Bush administration's claim that the Iraq War was part of the War on Terror had been [[Criticism of the war on terror|questioned and contested]] by political analysts.<ref>Williams, Shirley. "[https://www.theguardian.com/comment/story/0,3604,1072390,00.html The seeds of Iraq's future terror] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429020623/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/oct/28/iraq.politics |date=April 29, 2021 }}"</ref> More than 20 nations (most notably the United Kingdom) designated the "[[Multi-National Force – Iraq|coalition of the willing]]" joined the United States<ref>{{cite news |first=Steve |last=Schifferes |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2862343.stm |title=US names 'coalition of the willing' |work=BBC News |date=March 18, 2003 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2862343.stm |archive-date=February 25, 2008 }}</ref> in invading Iraq. They launched the invasion on March 20, 2003. The Iraqi military was quickly defeated. The capital, [[Baghdad]], fell on April 9, 2003. On May 1, Bush declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq. The initial success of U.S. operations increased his popularity, but the U.S. and allied forces faced a growing insurgency led by sectarian groups; Bush's "[[Mission Accomplished speech|Mission Accomplished]]" speech was later criticized as premature.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101031006/|title=Mission Not Accomplished|last=Monsivais|first=Pablo M.|date=October 6, 2003|magazine=Time|access-date=June 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101031006/|archive-date=February 25, 2008}}</ref> From 2004 until 2007, the situation in Iraq deteriorated further, with some observers arguing that there was a full-scale [[Sectarian violence in Iraq (2006–07)|civil war in Iraq]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Colin Powell says Iraq in a 'civil war' |url=http://www.truth-out.org/archive/item/67163:colin-powell-says-iraq-in-a-civil-war |publisher=[[Truthout]] |date=November 28, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211072616/http://www.truth-out.org/archive/item/67163%3Acolin-powell-says-iraq-in-a-civil-war |archive-date=February 11, 2007 |access-date=February 17, 2007 }}</ref> Bush's policies met with criticism, including demands domestically to set a timetable to withdraw troops from Iraq. The 2006 report of the bipartisan [[Iraq Study Group]], led by [[James Baker]], concluded that the situation in Iraq was "grave and deteriorating". While Bush admitted there were strategic mistakes made in regard to the stability of Iraq,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article764622.ece |title=Bush: we went to war on faulty intelligence |work=The Times |location=UK |date=December 14, 2005 |access-date=June 23, 2009 |archive-date=February 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211072616/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article764622.ece }}</ref> he maintained he would not change the overall Iraq strategy.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/10/images/20061021_d-0072-515h.html |title=President George W. Bush speaks during a video teleconference with Vice President Dick Cheney, on screen, and military commanders |date=October 21, 2006 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=February 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211072616/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/10/images/20061021_d-0072-515h.html |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Bush Reviews Iraq War Strategy as Violence Mounts (Update3) |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=at9X1Z7oilgY |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |date=October 21, 2006 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211072616/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=at9X1Z7oilgY |archive-date=February 11, 2007}}</ref> According to [[Iraq Body Count]], some 251,000 Iraqis have been killed in the civil war following the U.S.-led invasion, including at least 163,841 civilians.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iraqbodycount.org/ |title=Iraq Body Count |access-date=September 18, 2016 |archive-date=March 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306030957/https://www.iraqbodycount.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In January 2005, elections recognized by the West as free and fair were held in Iraq for the first time in 50 years.<ref name="iraq votes">{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/30/iraq.main/index.html |title=Sporadic violence doesn't deter Iraqi voters |publisher=CNN |date=January 31, 2005 |access-date=May 31, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225062850/http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/30/iraq.main/index.html |archive-date=February 25, 2008 }}</ref> This led to the election of [[Jalal Talabani]] as president and [[Nouri al-Maliki]] as Prime Minister of Iraq. A referendum to approve a constitution in Iraq was held in October 2005, supported by most [[Shiite]]s and many [[Kurds]].<ref>{{cite news |publisher=Fox News |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,173349,00.html |title=Iraq Constitution Passes in Referendum |date=October 25, 2005 |access-date=May 31, 2008 |agency=Associated Press |archive-date=June 14, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614094704/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,173349,00.html }}</ref> On January 10, 2007, Bush announced a [[Iraq War troop surge of 2007|surge of 21,500 more troops for Iraq]], as well as a job program for Iraqis, more reconstruction proposals, and $1.2{{nbs}}billion (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|1.2|2007|r=1}}{{nbs}}billion in {{Inflation-year|US}}) for these programs.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/16558652 |title=Admitting strategy error, Bush adds Iraq troops |publisher=[[NBC News]] |date=January 11, 2007 |access-date=April 16, 2020 |archive-date=August 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804053044/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/16558652 |url-status=live }}</ref> On May 1, 2007, Bush used his second-ever veto to reject a bill setting a deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops,<ref>{{cite news |first1=Sheryl Gay |last1=Stolberg |last2=Zeleny |first2=Jeff |title=Bush Vetoes Bill Tying Iraq Funds to Exit |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 1, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/washington/02policy.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818114650/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/washington/02policy.html |archive-date=August 18, 2006 }}</ref> saying the debate over the conflict was "understandable" but insisting that a continued U.S. presence there was crucial.<ref>{{cite news |publisher=CNN |date=March 19, 2008 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/18/bush.iraq/index.html |title=Bush on anniversary: War in Iraq must go on |access-date=March 19, 2008 |archive-date=August 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817130859/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/18/bush.iraq/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In March 2008, Bush praised the Iraqi government's "bold decision" to launch the [[Battle of Basra (2008)|Battle of Basra]] against the [[Mahdi Army]], calling it "a defining moment in the history of a free Iraq".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/28/iraq.main/index.html |title=Baghdad on lockdown as rockets, bombs fly |publisher=CNN |date=March 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818114650/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/28/iraq.main/index.html |archive-date=August 18, 2006 }}</ref> He said he would carefully weigh recommendations from his commanding General [[David Petraeus]] and Ambassador [[Ryan Crocker]] about how to proceed after the end of the military buildup in the summer of 2008. He also praised the Iraqis' legislative achievements, including a pension law, a revised de-Baathification law, a new budget, an amnesty law, and a provincial powers measure that, he said, set the stage for the [[2009 Iraqi governorate elections|Iraqi elections]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/27/bush.iraq/index.html |title=Bush: Baghdad's move against Shiite militias a 'bold decision' |publisher=CNN |date=March 27, 2008 |archive-date=August 18, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818114650/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/27/bush.iraq/index.html }}</ref> By July 2008, American troop deaths had reached their lowest number since the war began,<ref name="cuts-nyt">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/world/middleeast/01iraq.html |title=Citing Stability in Iraq, Bush Sees Troop Cuts |date=August 1, 2008 |access-date=August 3, 2008 |newspaper=The New York Times |author1=Myers, Steven Lee |author2=Sabrina Tavernise |archive-date=August 18, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818114650/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/world/middleeast/01iraq.html }}</ref> and due to increased stability in Iraq, Bush announced the withdrawal of additional American forces.<ref name="cuts-nyt" /> During Bush's last visit to Iraq in December 2008, Iraqi journalist [[Muntadhar al-Zaidi]] [[Bush shoeing incident|threw both of his shoes at him]] during an official press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister [[Nouri al-Maliki]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7783325.stm Bush shoe-ing worst Arab insult] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530150415/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7783325.stm |date=May 30, 2012 }}, BBC, December 16, 2008.</ref> Al-Zaidi yelled that the shoes were a "farewell kiss" and "for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq".<ref>{{cite news|title = Shoes thrown at Bush on Iraq trip|work = BBC News|date = December 14, 2008|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7782422.stm|access-date = December 15, 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081215055005/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7782422.stm|archive-date = December 15, 2008|url-status = live|df = dmy-all}}</ref> In March 2010, [[Center for Public Integrity]] released a report that President Bush's administration had made more than 900 false pretenses in a two-year period about the alleged threat of Iraq against the United States, as his rationale to engage in war in Iraq.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/22794451 "Study: Bush led U.S. to war on 'false pretenses'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804053112/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/22794451 |date=August 4, 2020 }} . Retrieved March 22, 2010</ref> ==== Surveillance ==== {{See also|Global surveillance disclosures (2013–present)}} Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, Bush issued an executive order that authorized the [[President's Surveillance Program]]. The new directive allowed the [[National Security Agency]] to monitor communications between suspected terrorists outside the U.S. and parties within the U.S. without obtaining a warrant, which previously had been required by the [[Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act]].<ref>{{cite press release |title=Press Briefing by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and General Michael Hayden |date=December 19, 2005 |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051219-1.html |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=August 18, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818114650/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051219-1.html |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] }}</ref> {{as of|2009}}, the other provisions of the program remained highly classified.<ref name="IG">{{cite report |url=https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Reports%20and%20Pubs/report_071309.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928163435/https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Reports%20and%20Pubs/report_071309.pdf |archive-date=September 28, 2016 |title=Unclassified Report on the President's Surveillance Program |author=Inspectors General of the DoD DOJ CIA NSA and ODN |date=July 10, 2009 |access-date=July 11, 2009 |quote=The specific intelligence activities that were permitted by the Presidential Authorizations remain highly classified, except that beginning in December 2005 the President and other Administration officials acknowledged that these activities included the interception without a court order of certain international communications where there is 'a reasonable basis to conclude that one party to the communication is a member of al-Qa'ida, affiliated with al-Qa'ida, or a member of an organization affiliated with al-Qa'ida'. }}</ref> Once the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] [[Office of Legal Counsel]] questioned its original legal opinion that FISA did not apply in a time of war, the program was subsequently re-authorized by the President on the basis that the warrant requirements of FISA were implicitly superseded by the subsequent passage of the [[Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists]].<ref>U.S. Department of Justice White Paper on NSA Legal Authorities. {{cite web |url=http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/nsa/dojnsa11906wp.pdf |title=Legal Authorities Supporting the Activities of the National Security Agency Described by the President |date=January 19, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113171414/http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/nsa/dojnsa11906wp.pdf |archive-date=January 13, 2013 }}</ref> The program proved to be [[NSA warrantless surveillance (2001–07)|controversial]]; critics of the administration and organizations such as the [[American Bar Association]] argued that it was illegal.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gonzales defends wiretaps amid protest |publisher=CNN |access-date=September 2, 2007 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/24/nsa.strategy/index.html |date=January 26, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902055948/http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/24/nsa.strategy/index.html |archive-date=September 2, 2006 }}; {{cite news |title=Lawyers Group Criticizes Surveillance Program |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 14, 2006 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/13/AR2006021302006.html |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=December 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203142901/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/13/AR2006021302006.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In August 2006, a U.S. district court judge ruled that the [[NSA electronic surveillance program]] was unconstitutional,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/01/AR2006090101410.html |title=Judge Asked to Suspend Ruling Against Wiretaps |access-date=September 1, 2008 |date=February 9, 2006 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=August 29, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829170504/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/01/AR2006090101410.html |url-status=live }}</ref> but on July 6, 2007, that ruling was [[Vacated judgment|vacated]] by the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit]] on the grounds that the plaintiffs lacked [[standing (law)|standing]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Andrea |last=Hopkins |title=Court dismisses lawsuit on spying program |work=Reuters |date=July 6, 2007 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0642400020070706 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818114650/https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0642400020070706 |archive-date=August 18, 2006 }}</ref> On January 17, 2007, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales informed U.S. Senate leaders that the program would not be reauthorized by the President, but would be subjected to judicial oversight.<ref>{{Cite wikisource|title=AG letter to Senate leaders regarding FISC decision and conclusion of Terrorist Surveillance Program|date=January 17, 2007|first=Alberto|last=Gonzales|location=Washington, D.C.|scan=Index:AG letter to Senate leaders regarding FISC decision and conclusion of Terrorist Surveillance Program.djvu}}</ref> Later in 2007, the NSA launched a replacement for the program, referred to as [[PRISM (surveillance program)|PRISM]], which was subject to the oversight of the [[United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court]].<ref name="WaPo1">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/us-intelligence-mining-data-from-nine-us-internet-companies-in-broad-secret-program/2013/06/06/3a0c0da8-cebf-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html |title=U.S. intelligence mining data from nine U.S. Internet companies in broad secret program |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 6, 2013 |access-date=June 6, 2013 |first1=Barton |last1=Gellman |first2=Laura |last2=Poitras |archive-date=June 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623010047/http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/us-intelligence-mining-data-from-nine-us-internet-companies-in-broad-secret-program/2013/06/06/3a0c0da8-cebf-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This program was not publicly revealed until reports by ''[[The Washington Post]]''<ref name="WaPo1" /> and ''[[The Guardian]]''<ref name="Greenwald1">{{cite news |last=Greenwald |first=Glenn |title=NSA taps in to internet giants' systems to mine user data, secret files reveal |work=The Guardian |date=June 6, 2013 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/06/us-tech-giants-nsa-data |access-date=June 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818114650/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/06/us-tech-giants-nsa-data |archive-date=August 18, 2006 |location=London }}</ref> emerged in June 2013.<ref name="WaPo1" /> ==== Interrogation policies ==== {{See also|Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture|Torture Memos}} Bush authorized the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] to use [[waterboarding]] and several other "[[enhanced interrogation techniques]]" that several critics, including Barack Obama, would label as torture.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Talev |first1=Margaret |author2=Marisa Taylor |date=April 23, 2009 |access-date=June 23, 2009 |title=Bush-era interrogations: From waterboarding to forced nudity |newspaper=McClatchyDC |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article24534550.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208212311/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article24534550.html |archive-date=December 8, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author-link=Mark Mazzetti |first=Mark |last=Mazzetti |url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/secret-interrogation-memos-to-be-released/ |title=Obama Releases Interrogation Memos, Says C.I.A. Operatives Won't Be Prosecuted |work=The New York Times |date=April 16, 2009 |access-date=June 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417194704/http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/secret-interrogation-memos-to-be-released/ |archive-date=April 17, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-torture7feb07,1,3156438.story |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=May 30, 2008 |last=Miller |first=Greg |title=Waterboarding is legal, White House says |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212181334/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-torture7feb07%2C1%2C3156438.story |archive-date=February 12, 2008 |date=February 7, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/politics/cia-documents-torture/index.html |title=New documents shine light on CIA torture methods |first=Ryan |last=Browne |publisher=CNN |access-date=December 12, 2021 |date=June 15, 2016 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212223125/https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/politics/cia-documents-torture/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Between 2002 and 2003, the CIA considered certain enhanced interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding, to be legal based on secret Justice Department legal opinions arguing that terror detainees were not protected by the [[Geneva Conventions]]' ban on torture, which was described as "an unconstitutional infringement of the President's authority to conduct war".<ref name="cbs-waterboard">{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cheney-defends-us-use-of-waterboarding/ |title=Cheney Defends U.S. Use Of Waterboarding |access-date=May 1, 2008 |date=February 8, 2008 |publisher=CBS News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211123715/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/08/national/main3807334.shtml |archive-date=February 11, 2008 |url-status=live |agency=CBS/AP }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/cheney-rumsfeld-bush-officials-claim-credit-nabbing-bin-laden-talk-waterboarding-article-1.143079|title=Cheney, Rumsfeld, other Bush officials claim credit for nabbing Bin Laden, talk up waterboarding|last=Kennedy|first=Helen|date=May 8, 2011|newspaper=Daily News|access-date=April 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818114650/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/cheney-rumsfeld-bush-officials-claim-credit-nabbing-bin-laden-talk-waterboarding-article-1.143079|archive-date=August 18, 2006|location=New York}}</ref> The CIA had exercised the technique on certain key terrorist suspects under authority given to it in the [[Bybee Memo]] from the Attorney General, though that memo was later withdrawn.<ref name="certain_olc">{{cite web |url=http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/documents/memostatusolcopinions01152009.pdf |title=Memorandum for the Files: Re: Status of Certain OLC Opinions Issued in the Aftermath of the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001 |first=Steven G. |last=Bradbury |author-link=Steven G. Bradbury |access-date=May 12, 2009 |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]] |date=January 15, 2009 |archive-date=May 8, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508100811/http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/documents/memostatusolcopinions01152009.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> While not permitted by the [[U.S. Army Field Manuals]] which assert "that harsh interrogation tactics elicit unreliable information",<ref name="cbs-waterboard" /> the Bush administration believed these enhanced interrogations "provided critical information" to preserve American lives.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/feb/05/india.terrorism |title=CIA admit 'waterboarding' al-Qaida suspects |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=February 21, 2008 |last=Tran |first=Mark |location=London |date=February 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818114650/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/05/india.terrorism |archive-date=August 18, 2006 }}</ref> Critics, such as former CIA officer [[Bob Baer]], have stated that information was suspect, "you can get anyone to confess to anything if the torture's bad enough."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Investigation/story?id=1322866 |access-date=July 26, 2009 |title=CIA's Harsh Interrogation Techniques Described |first1=Brian |last1=Ross |first2=Richard |last2=Esposito |date=November 18, 2005 |work=ABC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818114650/http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Investigation/story?id=1322866 |archive-date=August 18, 2006 }}</ref> On October 17, 2006, Bush signed the [[Military Commissions Act of 2006]] into law.<ref name="detainee">{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-09-28-congress-terrorism_x.htm |title=Bush's detainee interrogation and prosecution plan approved by Senate |access-date=September 1, 2008 |agency=Associated Press |date=September 28, 2005 |work=USA Today |archive-date=October 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007104328/http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-09-28-congress-terrorism_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The new rule was enacted in the wake of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court's]] decision in ''[[Hamdan v. Rumsfeld]]'', {{ussc|548|557|2006}},<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/28/opinion/28thu1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307071657/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/28/opinion/28thu1.html |archive-date=March 7, 2008 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=Rushing Off a Cliff|date=September 28, 2006|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 17, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> which allowed the U.S. government to prosecute [[unlawful combatant|unlawful enemy combatants]] by military commission rather than a standard trial. The law also denied the detainees access to ''[[habeas corpus]]'' and barred the torture of prisoners. The provision of the law allowed the president to determine what constitutes "torture".<ref name="detainee" /> On March 8, 2008, Bush vetoed H.R. 2082,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.2082.ENR: |title=Bill Text: 110th Congress (2007–2008): H.R.2082.ENR |work=THOMAS |publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=October 27, 2010 |archive-date=December 9, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209034910/http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.2082.ENR: }}</ref> a bill that would have expanded congressional oversight over the intelligence community and banned the use of waterboarding as well as other forms of interrogation not permitted under the [[FM 34-52 Intelligence Interrogation|United States Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations]], saying that "the bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the War on Terror".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna23526436 |title=Bush vetoes bill banning waterboarding |agency=Associated Press |publisher=NBC News |date=March 8, 2008 |access-date=July 29, 2012 }}</ref> In April 2009, the ACLU sued and won release of the secret memos that had authorized the Bush administration's interrogation tactics.<ref name="Ass'tAtt'yGen'lBybeeMemo">{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/24/cia.torture/|title=Previously secret torture memo released|date=July 24, 2008|access-date=July 29, 2012|publisher=CNN}}</ref> One memo detailed specific interrogation tactics including a footnote that described waterboarding as torture as well as that the form of waterboarding used by the CIA was far more intense than authorized by the Justice Department.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/16/bush-memo-footnotes-defin_n_188008.html |title=Bush memo footnotes define waterboarding as torture |newspaper=HuffPost |access-date=July 26, 2009 |first=Sam |last=Stein |date=April 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818114650/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/16/bush-memo-footnotes-defin_n_188008.html |archive-date=August 18, 2006 }}</ref> ==== North Korea condemnation ==== {{Main|North Korea–United States relations}} Bush publicly condemned [[Kim Jong-il]] of North Korea and identified North Korea as one of three states in an "[[axis of evil]]". He said that "the United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons."<ref name=sotu2002 /> Within months, "both countries had walked away from their respective commitments under the U.S.–DPRK [[Agreed Framework]] of October 1994."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nwc.navy.mil/press/Review/2003/Summer/art1-su3.htm|title=The United States, North Korea, and the End of the Agreed Framework|last=Pollack|first=Jonathan D.|publisher=Naval War College Review|date=Summer 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818114650/http://www.nwc.navy.mil/press/Review/2003/Summer/art1-su3.htm|archive-date=August 18, 2006|volume=LV I|issue=3}}</ref> North Korea's October 9, 2006, [[2006 North Korean nuclear test|detonation]] of a nuclear device further complicated Bush's foreign policy, which centered for both terms of his presidency on "[preventing] the terrorists and regimes who seek chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons from threatening the United States and the world".<ref name=sotu2002 /> Bush condemned North Korea's position, reaffirmed his commitment to "a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula", and said that "transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to states or non-state entities would be considered a grave threat to the United States", for which North Korea would be held accountable.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061009.html |title=President Bush's Statement on North Korea Nuclear Test |date=October 9, 2006 |access-date=June 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080822122622/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061009.html |archive-date=August 22, 2008 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |publisher=[[White House]] }}</ref> On May 7, 2007, North Korea agreed to shut down its nuclear reactors immediately pending the release of frozen funds held in a foreign bank account. This was a result of a series of three-way talks initiated by the United States and including China.<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270397,00.html |title=North Korea Ready to Shut Down Reactor 'Immediately' |publisher=Fox News |date=May 7, 2007 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509020138/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C270397%2C00.html |archive-date=May 9, 2007 }}</ref> On September 2, 2007, North Korea agreed to disclose and dismantle all its nuclear programs by the end of 2007.<ref>{{cite news |title=U.S.: North Korea agrees to shut down nuke facilities |agency=Associated Press |publisher=CNN |date=September 2, 2007 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/09/02/koreas.nuclear.ap/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070917103449/http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/09/02/koreas.nuclear.ap/index.html |archive-date=September 17, 2007 }}</ref> By May 2009, North Korea had restarted its nuclear program and threatened to attack South Korea.<ref>{{cite news |last=McCurry |first=Justin |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/27/north-korea-threat-attack-south |work=The Guardian |location=UK |title=North Korea restarts nuclear reactor and threatens to attack south |date=May 27, 2009 |access-date=June 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090528094725/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/27/north-korea-threat-attack-south |archive-date=May 28, 2009 }}</ref> On June 22, 2010, "While South Korea prospers, the people of North Korea have suffered profoundly," he said, adding that communism had resulted in dire poverty, mass starvation, and brutal suppression. "In recent years," he went on to say, "the suffering has been compounded by the leader who wasted North Korea's precious few resources on personal luxuries and nuclear weapons programs."<ref>{{cite news |last=Park |first=Joseph |url=http://continentalnews.net/2010/06/24/george-w-bush-delivers-message-at-korean-war-prayer-meeting-in-seoul-892.html |work=Continental News |location=France |title=George W. Bush Delivers Message At Korean War Prayer Meeting In Seoul |date=June 22, 2010 |access-date=June 24, 2010 |archive-date=August 22, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080822122622/http://continentalnews.net/2010/06/24/george-w-bush-delivers-message-at-korean-war-prayer-meeting-in-seoul-892.html }}</ref> ==== Syria sanctions ==== Bush expanded economic sanctions on Syria.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bush expands sanctions on Syria |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7244088.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=February 16, 2008 |date=February 14, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080822122622/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7244088.stm |archive-date=August 22, 2008 }}</ref> In 2003, Bush signed the [[Syria Accountability Act]], which expanded sanctions on Syria. In early 2007, the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Treasury Department]], acting on a June 2005 [[executive order]], froze American bank accounts of Syria's Higher Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Electronics Institute, and National Standards and Calibration Laboratory. Bush's order prohibits Americans from doing business with these institutions suspected of helping spread [[weapon of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-29109026_ITM|title=U.S. Treasury moves to clamp down on Syrian entities accused of spreading weapons|date=January 4, 2007|url-access=registration|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515002136/http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-29109026_ITM|archive-date=May 15, 2011}}</ref> and being supportive of terrorism.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 30, 2003 |access-date=May 31, 2008 |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rm/2003/25778.htm |title=Syria and Terrorism |publisher=U.S. Department of State }}</ref> Under separate executive orders signed by Bush in 2004 and later 2007, the Treasury Department froze the assets of two Lebanese and two Syrians, accusing them of activities to "undermine the legitimate political process in Lebanon" in November 2007. Those designated included: Assaad Halim Hardan, a member of Lebanon's parliament and current leader of the Syrian Socialist National Party; Wi'am Wahhab, a former member of Lebanon's government (Minister of the Environment) under Prime Minister Omar Karami (2004–2005); Hafiz Makhluf, a colonel and senior official in the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate and a cousin of Syrian President [[Bashar al-Assad]]; and Muhammad Nasif Khayrbik, identified as a close adviser to Assad.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/world/20071105-1349-terroreconomy.html |title=Administration announces sanctions to combat Syrian influence on Lebanon |newspaper=[[U-T San Diego]] |agency=Associated Press |date=November 6, 2007 |access-date=September 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709231554/http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/world/20071105-1349-terroreconomy.html |archive-date=July 9, 2014 }}</ref> ==== PEPFAR ==== In the State of the Union address in January 2003, Bush outlined a five-year strategy for global emergency AIDS relief, the [[President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief]] (PEPFAR). Bush announced $15{{nbs}}billion for this effort<ref>{{cite news|url=http://today.duke.edu/2009/01/mersontip.html|title=News Tip: AIDS Relief in Africa is One of Bush's Most Visible Legacies, Says Duke Expert|date=January 14, 2009|work=Duke Today|access-date=January 30, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811161128/http://today.duke.edu/2009/01/mersontip.html|archive-date=August 11, 2011|publisher=[[Duke University]]|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> which directly supported life-saving antiretroviral treatment for more than 3.2 million men, women and children worldwide.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pepfar.gov/results/index.htm|title=Latest Results|access-date=July 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211102755/http://www.pepfar.gov/results/index.htm|archive-date=February 11, 2011|publisher=U.S. Government}}</ref> The U.S. government had spent some $44{{nbs}}billion on the project since 2003 (a figure that includes $7{{nbs}}billion contributed to the [[The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria|Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria]], a multilateral organization),<ref>{{cite news |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/11/201195.htm |title=The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Blueprint: Creating an AIDS-free Generation |publisher=U.S. Department of State |date=November 29, 2012}}</ref> which saved an estimated five million lives by 2013.<ref name="Foreign Policy">{{cite news |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/02/14/what_george_w_bush_did_right?page=0,0 |last=Caryl |first=Christian |title=What George W. Bush Did Right |work=Foreign Policy |date=February 14, 2013 |archive-date=May 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528181334/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/02/14/what_george_w_bush_did_right?page=0%2C0 }}</ref> ''The New York Times'' correspondent [[Peter Baker (author)|Peter Baker]] wrote in 2013 that "Bush did more to stop AIDS and more to help Africa than any president before or since."<ref name="Foreign Policy" /> By 2023, PEPFAR was estimated to have saved over 25 million lives, alleviating the severity of the [[Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS|HIV/AIDS epidemic]] especially in [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], and was called "George W. Bush's greatest accomplishment" by [[Vox (website)|Vox]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-03-02 |title=PEPFAR - HIV.gov |url=https://www.hiv.gov/federal-response/pepfar-global-aids/pepfar/ |access-date=2023-07-02}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Beauchamp |first=Zack |date=2023-07-28 |title=Republicans are threatening to sabotage George W. Bush's greatest accomplishment |url=https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2023/7/28/23809119/republicans-hiv-aids-pepfar-george-w-bush |access-date=2023-07-29 |website=Vox |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Fauci |first1=Anthony S. |last2=Eisinger |first2=Robert W. |date=2018-01-25 |title=PEPFAR — 15 Years and Counting the Lives Saved |journal=New England Journal of Medicine |volume=378 |issue=4 |pages=314–316 |doi=10.1056/NEJMp1714773 |issn=0028-4793 |pmid=29365298 |doi-access=free}}</ref> === Security incidents === {{Main|Security incidents involving George W. Bush}} ==== 2001 White House shooting ==== On February 7, 2001, while Bush was in the residence area of the White House, Robert Pickett, standing outside the perimeter fence, discharged a number of shots from a Taurus .38 Special revolver "in the general direction" of the White House. Pickett was shot in the knee by a [[U.S. Secret Service]] agent and arrested. Furthermore, he was initially charged with discharging a firearm during a crime, carrying a 10-year mandatory sentence, but following a plea agreement, Pickett instead entered a guilty plea to a firearms violation and an [[Alford plea]] to assaulting a federal officer. He was sentenced to three years at the [[Federal Medical Center, Rochester]] followed by three years of probation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://timelines.latimes.com/us-presidential-assassinations-and-attempts/|title=U.S. presidential assassinations and attempts|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=December 3, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=121847|title=Pickett Charged With Assaulting Federal Officer|work=[[ABC News]]|access-date=October 22, 2020|date=January 6, 2006|first=Larry|last=Margasak}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.historyonthenet.com/robert-pickett|title=Robert Pickett: Firing Shots on GW Bush|work=HistoryOnTheNet.com|access-date=October 22, 2020}}</ref> ==== 2005 Tbilisi grenade attack ==== On May 10, 2005, while President Bush was giving a speech in [[Freedom Square, Tbilisi|Freedom Square]], [[Vladimir Arutyunian]], a native [[Georgians|Georgian]] who was born to a family of ethnic [[Armenians]], threw a live Soviet-made RGD-5 hand grenade toward the podium. It landed in the crowd about {{convert|65|ft|m|0}} from the podium after hitting a girl, but it did not detonate because a red tartan handkerchief was wrapped tightly around it, preventing the safety lever from detaching.<ref>[https://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan06/grenadeattack011106.htm US FBI report into the attack and investigation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070411035739/http://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan06/grenadeattack011106.htm|date=April 11, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite report |url=http://archive.org/details/12009191 |title=FBI records of the attempted assassination of George W. Bush in Tbilisi, Georgia. |last=Federal Bureau of Investigation |year=2005}}</ref> Georgian President [[Mikheil Saakashvili]] was seated nearby. After escaping that day, Arutyunian was arrested in July 2005. During his arrest, he killed an Interior Ministry agent. He was convicted in January 2006 and given a [[life sentence]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/01/11/georgia.grenade/index.html|title=Bush grenade attacker gets life|date=January 11, 2006|publisher=CNN|access-date=May 6, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan06/grenadeattack011106.htm|title=The case of the failed hand grenade attack|date=January 11, 2006|publisher=[[FBI]] Press Room|access-date=May 6, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070411035739/http://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan06/grenadeattack011106.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date=April 11, 2007}}</ref> ==== 2008 Baghdad shoeing ==== {{Main|George W. Bush shoeing incident}} [[File:POTUS George W. Bush with Prime Minister of Iraq, Part 2.webm|left|thumb|start=03:30|thumbtime=03:38|Shoeing incident in Baghdad, Iraq, December 2008]] On December 14, 2008, [[Muntadhar al-Zaidi]], an Iraqi journalist, threw both of his shoes at Bush during a press conference in Baghdad. Bush was not injured, having ducked the pair of shoes.<ref name="Karadsheh">{{cite news|last=Karadsheh|first=Jomana|author2=Cal Perry|title=Bush 'shoe thrower' to be freed from Iraqi jail|publisher=CNN|date=September 14, 2009|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/09/14/iraq.shoe.thrower/index.html|access-date=October 20, 2021}}</ref> However, White House press secretary [[Dana Perino]] received a bruise on her face after being hit by a microphone boom knocked over by security.<ref>{{cite news|last=Allen|first=Mike|title=Perino bruised in shoe-hurling melee|website=Politico|date=December 14, 2008|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2008/12/perino-bruised-in-shoe-hurling-melee-016568|access-date=October 20, 2021}}</ref> Al-Zaidi received a three-year prison sentence, which was reduced to one year. On September 15, 2009, he was released early for good behavior.<ref name="Karadsheh" /> === Judicial appointments === ==== Supreme Court ==== {{Main|George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates}} {{multiple image | direction = vertical | width = 220 | image1 = Roberts, Bush SCOTUS announcement.jpg | image2 = With President George W. Bush Looking on, Judge Samuel A. Alito Acknowledges his Nomination as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.jpg | footer = Supreme Court Justice nominees John Roberts and Samuel Alito, 2005 }} On July 19, 2005, following the announcement of the retirement of [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Associate Justice]] [[Sandra Day O'Connor]] on July 1, Bush nominated federal appellate judge [[John Roberts]] to be O'Connor's replacement; however, following the death of Chief Justice [[William Rehnquist]] on September 3, that still-pending nomination was withdrawn on September 5, with Bush instead nominating Roberts to be the next [[Chief Justice of the United States]]. He was confirmed by the Senate on September 29, 2005.<ref name=roll_call_roberts>[https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00245 U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes – Nomination of John Roberts], ''senate.gov''.</ref> On October 3, 2005, Bush nominated [[White House Counsel]] [[Harriet Miers]] to succeed O'Connor; however, Miers withdrew her nomination on October 27 after encountering significant opposition from both parties, who found her to be ill-prepared and uninformed on the law,<ref name="greenburg" />{{Rp|278}} once again leaving no nominee to replace O'Connor. Finally, on October 31, Bush nominated federal appellate judge [[Samuel Alito]], who was confirmed by the Senate to replace O'Connor on January 31, 2006.<ref>James L. Gibson, and Gregory A. Caldeira, "Confirmation politics and the legitimacy of the US Supreme Court: Institutional loyalty, positivity bias, and the Alito nomination". ''American Journal of Political Science'' 53.1 (2009): 139–155 [https://pages.wustl.edu/files/pages/imce/jlgibson/ajps2009.pdf online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024235739/https://pages.wustl.edu/files/pages/imce/jlgibson/ajps2009.pdf |date=October 24, 2020 }}</ref> ==== Other courts ==== {{Main|List of federal judges appointed by George W. Bush}} In addition to his two Supreme Court appointments, Bush appointed 61 judges to the [[United States courts of appeals]] and 261 judges to the [[United States district court]]s.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} === Cultural and political image === {{Main|Public image of George W. Bush}} {{See also|Efforts to impeach George W. Bush}} ==== Image ==== Bush's upbringing in [[West Texas]], his accent, his [[United States Presidential vacations|vacations]] on his Texas ranch, and his penchant for country metaphors contribute to his folksy, American cowboy image.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/08/halberstam200708 |title=The History Boys |first=David |last=Halberstam |author-link=David Halberstam |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |date=July 3, 2007 |access-date=January 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111195622/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2968176.stm |archive-date=January 11, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="BBCcowboy">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2968176.stm |title=Bush revels in cowboy speak |work=BBC News |access-date=January 28, 2009 |date=June 6, 2003 |first=Kathryn |last=Westcott |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919045657/http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/08/halberstam200708 |archive-date=September 19, 2008 }}</ref> "I think people look at him and think [[John Wayne]]", said [[Piers Morgan]], editor of the British ''[[Daily Mirror]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/01/30/europe.bush.rodgers.otsc |title={{-'}}John Wayne' president has critics|first=Walter|last=Rodgers|publisher=CNN|access-date=January 28, 2009|date=January 30, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907203320/http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/01/30/europe.bush.rodgers.otsc|archive-date=September 7, 2008}}</ref> Bush has been [[Parody|parodied]] by the media,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/19/AR2006081900568_pf.html |title=Pundits Renounce The President |access-date=September 1, 2008 |last=Baker |first=Peter |date=August 20, 2006 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> comedians, and other politicians.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bush gets bad rap on intelligence |url=http://faculty.csbsju.edu/uspp/Election/bush011401.htm |first=Aubrey |last=Immelman |access-date=September 1, 2008 |date=January 14, 2001 |newspaper=The St. Cloud Times |archive-date=April 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415015600/http://faculty.csbsju.edu/uspp/Election/bush011401.htm }}</ref> Detractors tended to cite linguistic errors made by Bush during his public speeches, which are colloquially referred to as [[Bushism]]s.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Jacob |last1=Weisberg |first2=Bryan |last2=Curtis |url=http://politics.slate.msn.com/Features/bushisms/bushisms.asp |title=The Complete Bushisms |access-date=January 30, 2012 |archive-date=October 24, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011024013713/http://politics.slate.msn.com/Features/bushisms/bushisms.asp |date=August 24, 2001 |work=Slate }}</ref> In contrast to his father, who was perceived as having troubles with an overarching unifying theme, Bush embraced larger visions and was seen as a man of larger ideas and associated huge risks.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/12/politics/12LETT.html |title=Bush Gets 'Vision Thing' and Embraces Big Risks |access-date=October 9, 2009 |work=The New York Times |first=Elisabeth |last=Bumiller |date=January 12, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513191210/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/12/politics/12LETT.html |archive-date=May 13, 2011 }}</ref> [[Tony Blair]] wrote in 2010 that the caricature of Bush as being dumb is "ludicrous" and that Bush is "very smart".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Blair |first=Tony |author-link=Tony Blair |date=September 2, 2010 |access-date=October 27, 2010 |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2015409-2,00.html |title=Tony Blair on Clinton, Bush and the American Character Time September 2, 2010 |magazine=Time|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100905172447/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2015409-2,00.html |archive-date=September 5, 2010 }}</ref> In an interview with ''[[Playboy]]'', ''The New York Times'' columnist [[David Brooks (journalist)|David Brooks]] said Bush "was 60 IQ points smarter in private than he was in public. He doesn't want anybody to think he's smarter than they are, so puts on a Texas act."<ref name="rogers2012">{{cite news |last1=Rogers |first1=Jenny |title=David Brooks praises Bush, dings Maher in Playboy interview |url=http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/david-brooks-praises-bush-dings-maher-in-playboy-interview/article/509826 |access-date=May 8, 2015 |work=Washington Examiner |date=April 19, 2012}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=May 2020}} ==== Job approval ==== [[File:George W Bush approval ratings.svg|thumb|{{legend|#4A7EBB|approve}}{{legend|#BE4B48|disapprove}}{{legend|#98B954|unsure}}[[Gallup poll|Gallup]]/''[[USA Today]]'' Bush public opinion polling from February 2001 to January 2009]] Bush began his presidency with [[United States presidential approval rating|approval ratings]] near 60 percent.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/116500/Presidential-Approval-Ratings-George-Bush.aspx|title=Presidential Approval Ratings – George W. Bush|date=January 20, 2008|publisher=Gallup|language=en-us|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120173002/https://news.gallup.com/poll/116500/Presidential-Approval-Ratings-George-Bush.aspx|archive-date=November 20, 2020|access-date=November 25, 2019}}</ref> After the [[September 11 attacks]], Bush gained an approval rating of 90 percent,<ref>{{cite news |publisher=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bushs-final-approval-rating-22-percent/ |title=Bush's Final Approval Rating: 22 Percent |date=January 16, 2009 |access-date=January 24, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-date=December 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215024708/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bushs-final-approval-rating-22-percent/ }}</ref> maintaining 80–90 percent approval for four months after the attacks. It remained over 50 percent during most of his first term<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/106426/Bush-Job-Approval-28-Lowest-Administration.aspx|title=Bush Job Approval at 28%, Lowest of His Administration|last=Newport|first=Frank|date=April 11, 2008|publisher=Gallup|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090702202556/http://www.gallup.com/poll/106426/Bush-Job-Approval-28-Lowest-Administration.aspx|archive-date=July 2, 2009|access-date=January 20, 2009}}</ref> and then fell to as low as 19 percent in his second term.<ref name="jobapp19">{{cite news |title=Bush's Popularity: A (Really) New Low? |url=http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/bushs-popularity-a-really-new-low/ |access-date=July 12, 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 21, 2008 |archive-date=December 2, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202034333/http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/bushs-popularity-a-really-new-low/ }}</ref> In 2000 and again in 2004, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine named George W. Bush as its [[Time Person of the Year|Person of the Year]], a title awarded to someone who the editors believe "has done the most to influence the events of the year".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,998831,00.html |title=Person of the Year |first=Nancy |last=Gibbs |access-date=March 19, 2008 |magazine=Time |date=December 25, 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121190312/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,998831,00.html |archive-date=November 21, 2010 }}; {{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/personoftheyear/2004/story.html |title=Person of the Year |author1=Nancy Gibbs |author2=John F. Dickerson |access-date=March 19, 2008 |magazine=Time |date=December 19, 2004 |archive-date=July 27, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080727015149/http://www.time.com/time/personoftheyear/2004/story.html }}</ref> In May 2004, [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] reported that 89 percent of the Republican electorate approved of Bush.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/11872/Deconstructing-Drop-Bushs-Job-Approval-Rating.aspx|title=Deconstructing the Drop in Bush's Job Approval Rating|newspaper=Gallup.com |date=June 1, 2004|publisher=Gallup|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918050434/http://www.gallup.com/poll/11872/Deconstructing-Drop-Bushs-Job-Approval-Rating.aspx|archive-date=September 18, 2008|access-date=August 19, 2008}}</ref> However, the support waned due mostly to a minority of Republicans' frustration with him on issues of spending, illegal immigration, and Middle Eastern affairs.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-02-15-rice-request_x.htm |title=Republicans criticize Rice over Bush Mideast policy |agency=Associated Press |access-date=September 1, 2008 |date=February 15, 2006 |newspaper=USA Today}}</ref> Within the United States armed forces, according to an unscientific survey, the president was strongly supported in the 2004 presidential elections.<ref name="military support">{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-10-03-bush-troops_x.htm |title=Troops in survey back Bush 4-to-1 over Kerry |access-date=May 9, 2008 |last=Moniz |first=Dave |date=October 3, 2004 |work=USA Today}}</ref> While 73 percent of military personnel said they would vote for Bush, 18 percent preferred his Democratic rival, [[John Kerry]].<ref name="military support" /> According to [[Peter Feaver]], a [[Duke University]] political scientist who has studied the political leanings of the U.S. military, members of the armed services supported Bush because they found him more likely than Kerry to complete the War in Iraq.<ref name="military support" /> Bush's approval rating surged to 74 percent at the beginning of the [[Iraq War]], up 19 points from his pre-war rating of 55 percent.<ref>{{cite news |title=Modest Bush Approval Rating Boost at War's End |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2003/04/18/modest-bush-approval-rating-boost-at-wars-end/ |work=[[Pew Research Center]] |date=April 18, 2003}}</ref> Bush's approval rating went below the 50 percent mark in [[Associated Press|AP]]-[[Ipsos]] polling in December 2004.<ref name="Taipei Times">{{cite news |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2007/03/10/2003351719 |title=Bush's job approval rating creeps up in AP-Ipsos poll |newspaper=Taipei Times |date=March 10, 2007 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=June 13, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613223621/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2007/03/10/2003351719 }}</ref> Thereafter, his approval ratings and approval of his handling of domestic and foreign policy issues steadily dropped. After his re-election in 2004, Bush received increasingly heated criticism from across the political spectrum<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=May 5, 2006 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/12643666 |title=Republican right abandoning Bush |publisher=[[NBC News]] |access-date=June 23, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,184608,00.html|title=Illegal Immigration, Unchecked Spending Siphon Conservatives From GOP Base|last=Vlahos|first=Kelley B.|date=February 13, 2006|access-date=May 11, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304202422/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C184608%2C00.html|archive-date=March 4, 2009|publisher=[[Fox News]]}}</ref><ref name="Baker">Baker, Kevin, {{cite news|url=http://www.americanheritage.com/content/second-term-blues|title=Second-Term Blues: Why Have Our Presidents Almost Always Stumbled after Their First Four Years?|date=Aug–Sep 2006|work=[[American Heritage (magazine)|American Heritage]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613010021/http://www.americanheritage.com/content/second-term-blues|archive-date=June 13, 2011}}</ref> for his handling of the [[Iraq War]], his [[Political effects of Hurricane Katrina|response to Hurricane Katrina]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/425822/609550 |title=Katrinagate fury spreads to US media |publisher=[[Television New Zealand|TVNZ]] |date=September 7, 2005 |access-date=March 16, 2010 |archive-date=July 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090717043601/http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/425822/609550 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Mike M. |last=Ahlers |publisher=CNN |date=April 14, 2006 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/14/fema.ig/index.html |title=Report: Criticism of FEMA's Katrina response deserved |access-date=March 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425041656/http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/14/fema.ig/index.html |archive-date=April 25, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/hurricaneprep_05-09-06.html|title=Online NewsHour Update: Amid Widespread Criticism, Government Prepares for Next Hurricane Season|date=May 9, 2006|publisher=[[PBS]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812084219/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/hurricaneprep_05-09-06.html|archive-date=August 12, 2010|access-date=March 16, 2010}}</ref> and to the [[Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse|Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse]], [[NSA warrantless surveillance]], the [[Plame affair]], and [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]] controversies.<ref name="Unchecked and Unbalanced">{{cite news |last=Kakutani |first=Michiko |title=Unchecked and Unbalanced |work=The New York Times |date=July 6, 2007 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/books/06book.html |archive-date=July 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721082028/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/books/06book.html }}</ref> Amid this criticism, the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] regained control of Congress in the [[2006 United States elections|2006 midterm elections]]. Polls conducted in 2006 showed an average of 37 percent approval ratings for Bush,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm |title=President Bush – Overall Job Rating |work=Polling Report |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913124937/http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm |archive-date=September 13, 2008 }}</ref> the lowest for any second-term president at that point in his term since [[Harry S. Truman]] in March 1951 (when Truman's approval rating was 28 percent),<ref name="Taipei Times" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2007/03/bushs_secondter.html |title=Bush's second-term slump |last=Silva |first=Mark |work=The Swamp |date=March 7, 2007 |access-date=April 27, 2007 |archive-date=April 22, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422082820/http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2007/03/bushs_secondter.html }}</ref> which contributed to what Bush called the "thumping" of the Republican Party in the 2006 elections.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 8, 2006 |first=Steve |last=Holland |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-elections-bush-idUSN0747831720061108 |title=Bush admits Republicans took a "thumping" |work=Reuters |archive-date=April 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415020025/https://www.reuters.com/article/2006/11/08/us-usa-elections-bush-idUSN0747831720061108 |url-status=live }}</ref> Throughout most of 2007, Bush's approval rating hovered in the mid-thirties;<ref>{{cite web |title=President Bush Job Approval |access-date=September 1, 2008 |url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls/ |publisher=RealClearPolitics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827165022/http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls/ |archive-date=August 27, 2008 }}</ref> the average for his entire second term was 37 percent, according to Gallup.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/116500/presidential-approval-ratings-george-bush.aspx |title=George W. Bush Presidential Job Approval |access-date=July 12, 2012 |newspaper=Gallup |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402045152/http://www.gallup.com/poll/116500/presidential-approval-ratings-george-bush.aspx |archive-date=April 2, 2009 }}</ref> [[File:Protesters 3, May 23, 2007.jpg|thumb|Protest against the [[Iraq War]] in New London, Connecticut on May 23, 2007]] By the beginning of 2008, his final year in office, Bush's approval rating had dropped to a low of just 19 percent, largely from the loss of support among Republicans.<ref name=jobapp19 /> Commenting on his low poll numbers and accusations of being "the worst president",<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/profile/story/9961300/the_worst_president_in_history |title=The Worst President in History |access-date=September 1, 2008 |year=2006 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080822122622/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/profile/story/9961300/the_worst_president_in_history |archive-date=August 22, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22070368-28737,00.html |title=Defending the home front |access-date=September 1, 2008 |work=The Australian |date=July 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009165841/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0%2C25197%2C22070368-28737%2C00.html |archive-date=October 9, 2007 }}</ref> Bush would say, "I make decisions on what I think is right for the United States based upon principles. I frankly don't give a damn about the polls."<ref name="Fox News">{{cite news |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,330234,00.html |title=Transcript: President Bush on 'FOX News Sunday' |publisher=Fox News |date=February 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090312070532/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C330234%2C00.html |archive-date=March 12, 2009 }}</ref> There were [[Efforts to impeach George W. Bush|calls for Bush's impeachment]], though most polls showed a plurality of Americans would not support such an action.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/third_of_americans_want_bush_impeached/|title=Rasmussen Poll: Third of Americans Want Bush Impeached|last=Joyner|first=James|date=December 12, 2005|access-date=May 29, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919192733/http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/third_of_americans_want_bush_impeached/|archive-date=September 19, 2008|publisher=OutsideTheBeltway.com, OTB Media}}</ref> The arguments offered for impeachment usually centered on the NSA warrantless surveillance controversy,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://writ.corporate.findlaw.com/dean/20051230.html|title=George W. Bush as the New Richard M. Nixon: Both Wiretapped Illegally, and Impeachably|last=Dean|first=John W.|date=December 30, 2005|access-date=September 1, 2008}}</ref> the Bush administration's justification for the war in Iraq, and alleged violations of the [[Geneva Conventions]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/impeachment-george-w-bush/|title=The Impeachment of George W. Bush|journal=The Nation|last=Holtzman|first=Elizabeth|date=January 11, 2006|access-date=October 18, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0027-8378|archive-date=October 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025080101/https://www.thenation.com/article/impeachment-george-w-bush/}}</ref> Representative [[Dennis Kucinich]] (D-[[Ohio|OH]]), who had run against Bush during the 2004 presidential campaign, introduced 35 articles of impeachment on the floor of the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] against Bush on June 9, 2008, but [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker]] [[Nancy Pelosi]] (D-[[California|CA]]) declared that impeachment was "off the table".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/09/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4167427.shtml|title=Kucinich Offers Impeachment Articles Against Bush|last=Bresnahan|first=John|date=June 9, 2008|access-date=June 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080927041533/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/09/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4167427.shtml|archive-date=September 27, 2008|publisher=CBS News}}</ref> In April 2008, Bush's disapproval ratings reached the highest ever recorded for any president in the 70-year history of the [[Gallup poll]], with 69 percent of those polled disapproving of the job Bush was doing as president and 28 percent approving{{snd}}although the majority (66 percent) of Republicans still approved of his job performance.<ref name="USAToday April 21, 2008-bushrating">{{cite news |first=Susan |last=Page |title=Disapproval of Bush breaks record |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-04-21-bushrating_N.htm |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=April 23, 2008 |date=April 22, 2008}}</ref> In polls conducted in the fall, just before the 2008 election, his approval ratings remained at record lows of 19 to 20 percent,<ref name="CBSNYTfinalpolls">{{cite news |last=CBS News |title=Bush's Final Approval Rating: 22% |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500160_162-4728399.html |access-date=July 12, 2012 |publisher=CBS News |date=February 11, 2009}}</ref><ref name="ARGbushpolls">{{cite news |title=Republicans Give George W. Bush's Overall Job Approval Rating a Final Boost |access-date=January 25, 2009 |url=http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125052550/http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy/ |archive-date=January 25, 2009 |newspaper=[[American Research Group]] |date=January 19, 2009 }}</ref> while his disapproval ratings ranged from 67 percent to as high as 75 percent.<ref name=ARGbushpolls /><ref>{{cite web |title=President Bush Overall Job Rating in National Polls |access-date=July 12, 2012 |url=http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm |publisher=PollingReport.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203032408/http://www.pollingreport.com/BushJob.htm |archive-date=February 3, 2009 }}</ref> In polling conducted January 9–11, 2009, his final job approval rating by Gallup was 34 percent, which placed him on par with [[Jimmy Carter]] and [[Harry S. Truman]], the other presidents whose final Gallup ratings measured in the low 30s ([[Richard Nixon]]'s final Gallup approval rating was even lower, at 24 percent).<ref name="saadgall">{{cite news |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/113770/Bush-Presidency-Closes-34-Approval-61-Disapproval.aspx |last=Saad |first=Lydia |title=Bush Presidency Closes With 34% Approval, 61% Disapproval |publisher=Gallup.com |date=January 14, 2009 |access-date=June 23, 2009 |archive-date=January 19, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090119053947/http://www.gallup.com/poll/113770/Bush-Presidency-Closes-34-Approval-61-Disapproval.aspx }}</ref> According to a [[CBS News]]/''New York Times'' poll conducted January 11–15, 2009, Bush's final approval rating in office was 22 percent, the lowest in American history.<ref name=CBSNYTfinalpolls /> ==== Foreign perceptions ==== [[File:US military bases in the world 2007.PNG|thumb|240px|Countries with a [[United States military deployments|U.S. military presence]] in 2007]] Bush was criticized internationally and targeted by the global [[Anti-war movement|anti-war]] and [[Anti-globalization movement|anti-globalization]] movements for his administration's foreign policy.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Die außenpolitischen Positionen der Parteien im Bundestagswahlkampf 2002 |year=2002 |author1=M. Overhaus |author2=S. Schieder |journal=Politik Im Netz |url=http://www.deutsche-aussenpolitik.de/daparchive/dateien/2002/01300.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201035037/http://www.deutsche-aussenpolitik.de/daparchive/dateien/2002/01300.pdf |archive-date=February 1, 2016 |language=de |volume=3}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Gray |url=http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes2006/realitycheck/americans.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826055103/http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes2006/realitycheck/americans.html |archive-date=August 26, 2007 |title=Was the American ambassador meddling in a Canadian election? |publisher=[[CBC News]] |date=December 14, 2005 |access-date=June 23, 2009 }}</ref> Views of him within the international community{{snd}}even in France, a close ally of the United States{{snd}}were more negative than those of most previous American presidents.<ref>{{cite news |last=Walt |first=Vivienne |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2003-02-13-france-usat_x.htm |title=French see Bush as the ugly American |newspaper=USA Today |date=February 13, 2003 |access-date=June 23, 2009}}</ref> Bush was described as having especially close personal relationships with Tony Blair of the United Kingdom and [[Vicente Fox]] of Mexico, although formal relations were sometimes strained.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/02/AR2006030201431.html|title=Keeping the U.S. at Bay, Mexican Presidential Candidate Looks to Move Past Fox's Failures|last=Sanchez|first=Marcela|date=March 3, 2006|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/15/deathpenalty/main518772.shtml|title=Mexico's President Snubs Bush, Vicente Fox Cancels Visit To Bush Ranch To Protest Execution|date=August 15, 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424042549/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/08/15/deathpenalty/main518772.shtml|archive-date=April 24, 2008|publisher=CBS News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/nov/11/uk.usa|title=Row over Bush security as Blair defends visit|author1=Ewen MacAskill|date=November 11, 2003|newspaper=The Guardian; London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422065403/http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/nov/11/uk.usa|archive-date=April 22, 2008|author2=Hugh Muir|place=Washington|author3=Julian Borger}}</ref> Other leaders, such as [[Hamid Karzai]] of Afghanistan,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/world/asia/26afghan.html|title=Afghan Leader Criticizes U.S. on Conduct of War|last=Gall|first=Carlotta|date=April 26, 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211222833/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/world/asia/26afghan.html|archive-date=December 11, 2008}}</ref> [[Yoweri Museveni]] of Uganda,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article5951|title=Uganda's president criticizes Bush administration's handling of war in Iraq|last=Wasswa|first=Henry|date=October 14, 2004|work=[[Sudan Tribune]]|access-date=June 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020004237/http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article5951|archive-date=October 20, 2007}}</ref> [[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero]] of Spain,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/16/usa.iraq|title=Spanish leader accuses Bush and Blair|last=Tremlett|first=Giles|date=March 16, 2004|work=The Guardian|access-date=June 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122111325/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/mar/16/usa.iraq|archive-date=January 22, 2009|location=UK}}</ref> and [[Hugo Chávez]] of Venezuela,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/sep/21/usa.venezuela|title=Chávez attacks 'devil' Bush in UN speech|author=Ed Pilkington in New York|date=September 21, 2006|work=The Guardian|access-date=October 20, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827075345/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/sep/21/usa.venezuela|archive-date=August 27, 2009|location=UK}}</ref> openly criticized the president. Later in Bush's presidency, tensions arose between him and [[Vladimir Putin]], which led to a cooling of their relationship.<ref name="LeeryofPutin">{{cite web|url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20060721-9999-1n21usrussia.html|title=Bush, White House now leery of Putin as Russian turns back on democracy|last=Condon|first=George E. Jr.|date=July 21, 2006|work=U-T San Diego|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524084052/http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20060721-9999-1n21usrussia.html|archive-date=May 24, 2008|access-date=September 1, 2008}}</ref> In 2006, most respondents in 18 of 21 countries surveyed around the world were found to hold an unfavorable opinion of Bush. Respondents indicated that they judged his administration as negative for world security.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globescan.com/news_archives/bbcpoll.html|title=In 18 of 21 Countries Polled, Most See Bush's Reelection as Negative for World Security|year=2004|publisher=[[BBC World Service]] and [[Program on International Policy Attitudes]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609001048/http://www.globescan.com/news_archives/bbcpoll.html|archive-date=June 9, 2008|access-date=September 1, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/04/world/main604135.shtml|title=Polls: World Not Pleased With Bush|date=March 4, 2004|access-date=September 1, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123235709/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/04/world/main604135.shtml|archive-date=January 23, 2009|publisher=CBS News|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> In 2007, the [[Pew Global Attitudes Project]] reported that during the Bush presidency, attitudes towards the United States, and towards Americans, became less favorable around the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pewglobal.org/commentary/display.php?AnalysisID=1019|title=America's Image in the World: Findings from the Pew Global Attitudes Project|date=March 14, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228094109/http://pewglobal.org/commentary/display.php?AnalysisID=1019|archive-date=December 28, 2008|access-date=June 23, 2009}}</ref> The [[Pew Research Center]]'s 2007 Global Attitudes poll found that in only nine countries of 47 did most respondents express "a lot of confidence" or "some confidence" in Bush: Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Israel, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda.<ref name="pew research">{{cite web|url=http://pewglobal.org/reports/pdf/256topline.pdf|title=Pew Global Attitudes Project: Spring 2007, Survey of 47 Publics, Final 2007 Comparative Topline|date=June 27, 2007|publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091214131220/http://pewglobal.org/reports/pdf/256topline.pdf|archive-date=December 14, 2009|access-date=September 1, 2008}}</ref> A March 2007 survey of Arab opinion conducted by Zogby International and the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]] found that Bush was the most disliked leader in the Arab world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/594/middle-east-opinion-iran-fears-arent-hitting-the-arab-street|title=Middle East Opinion: Iran Fears Aren't Hitting the Arab Street|last=Kiernan|first=Peter|date=March 1, 2007|publisher=World Politics Review Exclusive|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512092948/http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/594/middle-east-opinion-iran-fears-arent-hitting-the-arab-street|archive-date=May 12, 2013}}</ref> During a June 2007 visit to the predominantly Muslim<ref>{{cite web |access-date=October 30, 2010 |url=http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1370/mapping-size-distribution-worlds-muslim-population |title=Mapping the Global Muslim Population – A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010144905/http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1370/mapping-size-distribution-worlds-muslim-population |archive-date=October 10, 2009 |date=October 7, 2009 }}</ref> [[Albania]], Bush was greeted enthusiastically. Albania has a population of 2.8 million,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://census.al/Resources/Data/Census2011/Instat_print%20.pdf |title=Albania: Preliminary results of the Population and Housing Census 2011 |access-date=February 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112022139/http://census.al/Resources/Data/Census2011/Instat_print%20.pdf |archive-date=January 12, 2012}}</ref> has troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and the country's government is highly supportive of American foreign policy.<ref name="albania">{{cite news |date=June 10, 2007 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6738055.stm |title=Bush greeted as hero in Albania |publisher=BBC |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205001355/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6738055.stm |archive-date=February 5, 2009 }}</ref> A huge image of the President was hung in the middle of the capital city of [[Tirana]] flanked by Albanian and American flags while a local street was named after him.<ref>{{cite web |date=June 10, 2007 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10919634 |publisher=[[National Public Radio|NPR]] |first=Vicky |last=O'Hara |title=Bush Gets Warm Reception in Albania |archive-date=April 14, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414224656/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10919634 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=June 8, 2007 |access-date=July 6, 2011 |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/albanian-street-named-after-george-w-bush |title=Albanian Street Named After George W. Bush |publisher=[[Balkan Insight]] |archive-date=August 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823061238/http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/albanian-street-named-after-george-w-bush }}</ref> A shirt-sleeved statue of Bush was unveiled in [[Fushë-Krujë]], a few kilometers northwest of Tirana.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 6, 2011 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-albania-statue-bush-idUSTRE7655J520110706 |title=Albanian town thanks George W. Bush with statue |work=Reuters |access-date=July 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709055227/https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/06/us-albania-statue-bush-idUSTRE7655J520110706 |archive-date=July 9, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Bush administration's support for the unilateral [[2008 Kosovo declaration of independence|declaration of independence]] of Albanian-majority [[Kosovo]], while endearing him to the Albanians, troubled U.S. relations with Serbia, leading to the February 2008 torching of the U.S. embassy in [[Belgrade]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/world/europe/24iht-kosovo.1.10332489.html |title=Serbian official blames U.S. for recent violence |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 4, 2008 |first=Dan |last=Bilefsky |access-date=April 9, 2010 |archive-date=May 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513191101/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/world/europe/24iht-kosovo.1.10332489.html }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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