Trimming the Bushes.

Last night US time (although today here in Australia), America's 41st President, George H. W. Bush, died aged 94. He was the longest-living president in US history, the most recent to serve just one term (1989-1993) and the first to die since Gerald Ford in 2006.

Before his presidency, he served in the US Air Force during World War II, then directed the CIA before becoming Ronald Reagan's VP in 1981. His presidency included the fall of the Berlin Wall, the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Gulf War, but he mishandled the US economy (including the breaking of a 1988 campaign promise, "Read my lips: no new taxes") resulting in his 1992 election loss to Bill Clinton. He was married to Barbara Bush from 1945 until her own death in April this year.

But enough of me summarising his career impartially. It's true that all politicians are only human, and he was unquestionably a better leader than his son was (and, for that matter, than America's current Republican commander-in-chief is). But even so, George H. W. Bush was nonetheless a war criminal and a tyrant. After he oversaw a successful military effort to depose Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega in 1989, Bush's administration hindered a smooth transition to democratic government there. Then following the 1991 invasion of Iraq (which, ironically, came soon after Bush condemned Iraq's invasion of Kuwait), he was accused of adventurism in the Middle East for the sake of maintaining his popularity rather than out of a longing world peace or stability. Furthermore, in 2017 he was a target of the #MeToo movement when several women including actress Heather Lind accused him of sexual misconduct.

I must admit that since I was four years old when he left office, my first knowledge of George H. W. Bush came via my high school history studies. Indeed, I grew up during Dubya's presidency. But everybody now has the resources, at least in developed nations, to learn as much as possible about past world leaders and thus to determine for ourselves whether they've been assessed accurately. Maybe it's just my long-standing liberalism at play here, and I am not celebrating his death, but I hope future generations view George H. W. Bush, and particularly his son, with great scorn. He achieved some good things, but in my book set about achieving them in the worst possible way.