Bush told the UK’s envoy in the US he knew little about foreign policy, in a candid admission, unsealed documents reveal
In 1998, George W. Bush spoke with then-ambassador of the United Kingdom and admitted that he did not know anything about international issues. According to National Archives documents.
Bush was the Governor of Texas during the meeting with Sir Christopher Meyer. He was said to have accepted that his worldview wasn’t what it was. “largely limited to the Texan and Mexican horizons.”
“Bush admitted that, apart from Mexico, he did not know much about international affairs and that he would do well to broaden his experience,”Sir Christopher wrote the documents.
The American diplomat invited Bush to visit Britain during the meeting. However, Bush refused the invitation as he was worried about what it might look like ahead of the Texas gubernatorial election.
“The Texas electorate would not forgive him if he appeared to be taking his eye off the business of governing Texas,” Sir Christopher noted.
Despite the admission that Bush lacked foreign-policy experience, the UK’s envoy stated after their 40-minute encounter that, if the Republican ran for president, he was considered “by far the front runner”His party.
Sir Christopher’s remarks were revealed in documents just unsealed by the National Archives, the UK’s official archive of government and other important documents dating back over 1,000 years.
Foreign-policy matters dominated Bush’s presidency following the September 11 terrorist attacks, with the US invading Afghanistan and fighting against the Taliban. Later, alongside the UK, Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime, over concerns he possessed weapons of mass destruction.
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