Introduction

Summary

Bush’s long-term vision was one of a world in which unparalleled American power underpinned a global liberal international order based on universal principles of human freedom – or at least on the United States’ interpretation of those principles. It was in part this vision that led the United States to act forcefully in the first crisis of the post–Cold War, triggered by Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990; a crisis that provided the backdrop against which Bush delivered his “new world order” speech. After a moment of initial hesitation, the United States decided to act decisively to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait.