George W Bush Opens Up About Veterans, Iraq, And The Healing Power of Art (2017)

Task & Purpose ^ | 2017 | Aaron Gell

[CondoleezzaProtege]

There are no erasures or do-overs when it comes to waging war. Bush often described his role as that of “decider,” and there were no more consequential decisions during his presidency than the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq...

Bush has said that the hardest part of being in office was reading the casualty reports and seeing the brutal consequences of his policy first-hand: placing calls to sobbing widows, looking into the eyes of Gold Star families, visiting injured soldiers at Walter Reade and Bethesda as they practiced using a prosthetic limb or struggled with PTS. (Bush does not use the “D,” pointing out that such psychic wounds represent not a disorder but an injury that can be overcome.)

Task & Purpose spoke to several of the veterans depicted in the portraits — all deeply devoted to the former commander-in-chief — who wondered whether his extraordinary painting project might be a form of art therapy: a way of exorcising his own post-traumatic stress or “moral injury,” a not-uncommon response to the experience of sending service members into combat.

“Based on the paintings that he’s done,” suggested Robert Ferrara, an Army veteran, who was wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq, “it has to be therapeutic for him.” ...

Bush said. “In a sense, it is therapeutic. Not that it unburdens my soul. It’s not the painting that unburdens my soul. It’s the belief in the cause and the people — to the extent that a soul needs to be unburdened. The painting was a joyful experience, and if that’s therapy, that’s therapy.”

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TOPICS: History; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: art; bush; georgewbush; healing; painting; veterans

[CondoleezzaProtege]

I asked him what he thought about the isolationist sentiment that had become a key element of the 2016 Presidential race.

“I warned about isolationism in the State of the Union address,” he said. “We were isolated prior to World War II. I admire Winston Churchill for his leadership, when their strongest ally went tepid in the face of a totalitarian ideology."

[cowboyusa]

Worse President than Obama.

[Leaning Right]

George W. Bush wasted so much of our blood and treasure. He can take his paint brush and shove it…

To avoid a zot I’d better stop there.

[Resolute Conservative]

He and Hunter need to get a Soho loft together.

[lonestar67]

That is a completely ridiculous assertion.

Do you have a Saddam poster up in your home?

I really hope you do.

I loathe all the faux handwringing about Iraq. All the naysayers are the terrorist loving deceivers.

Americans who fight and die against dictators deserve to be thought of as heroes. We face the same rhetorical crossroads at Iran.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

---- "...George W. Bush wasted so much of our blood and treasure. He can take his paint brush and shove it…"

[No name given]

I couldn’t agree more.

[stanne]

Does he mention anything about Texas being invaded?

[lee martell]

Did any of Bush’s guests dare to ask him a question about the current Commander In Chief? I very much doubt it.
that questioner would have either been (im)politely ignored by George Bush, or briskly escorted to the heavy doors leading to the nearest parking lot by Security.

Too bad. This Bush used to have a really good, healthy sense of humor. Remember when he dodged that shoe thrown at him by an Iraqi Journalist? All that easygoing attitude was flushed away after Trump grabbed that brass ring meant for Jeb!

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Bush often described his role as that of “decider,” and there were no more consequential decisions during his presidency than the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Which proves what a complete, utter failure he was.

[cowboyusa]

Iraq was a terrible mistake. I was referring to his globalism, and Liberalism. He was total NWO

[wildcard_redneck]

The Bush (spit) New World Order Bushes are a curse on the American republic. Do you really miss them?

[wildcard_redneck]

Worst president ever. He totally lied to us and status in the back.

[KevinB]

I enthusiastically supported him as president and he was far better than Kerry or Gore would have been, but I certainly don’t think much of him now.

[mund1011]

All that easygoing attitude was flushed away after Trump grabbed that brass ring meant for Jeb!

+++++++++++

The beast would have been prez as she would have disposed of Jeb! in 2016. DJT saved us from the first womyn prez and kept the glass ceiling intact.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

--- "DJT saved us from the first womyn prez and kept the glass ceiling intact."

Twice.

[atomic_dog]

I was watching Rob Schmitt on Newsmax and he predicted the Bushies were going to mount a comeback and try ad retake the Republican Party. Gotta give him props for seeing this coming.

[rdcbn1]

To quote G.W Bush himself - "who cares what you think"

President Bush squandered his Presidency in a Ill conceived and ultimately unsuccessful attempts to protect America from external threats to the American Homeland from foreign enemies.

Unfortunately, in the process , he not only refused to protect America from the enemy withing, he actually enabled them

In retrospect, George W Bush was at least as destructive to our country as Carter or Clinton and he set Barak Obama up for success in his Jihad to fundamentally change America.

in fact, Bush may go down in history as one of the most consequently destructive Presidents in American history as much for what he should have done but didn't as for what he did.

His choices for leadership from the cabinet level down in his second term were a collection of weak, incompetent and unserious sycophantic yes women and girly men who badly let the country down and who were a national embarrassment.

His choice for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Court was one of the most consequential and bad picks in US history. We would have been better off with Bush's original choice of Harriet Meyers (remember her?) which I can't even believe is possible.

Bush took two of the greatest and most historic military victories in world history presented to him on a golden platter by much better men than he and squandered those victories and converted them to epic defeats that drained both our Treasury and our military in ways that may end up causing more damage to out country than a million Osama bin Ladens ever could.

Worst of all, Bush stood by and watched Barack Obama take a wrecking ball to our country and blame the Bush Administration and Bush personally for all the damage that Obama himself was inflicting on America either by design of gross incompetence.

Not only did Bush do or say nothing to oppose Obama, he became the Cuck in Chief with his goofy, groveling and outright weird behavior towards Barak and Michelle Obama in face to face official meetings.

Then, soon after President Trump was elected to his first term, Bush tried to co opt the " Miss Me Now " meme that was so popular under Obama and use it against President Trump who was at the time scrambling to sort out the mess that George Bush had made of our country.

This petty and tone deaf slight perfectly exemplified the Bush Administration and that snide and envious comment alone should consign GW Bush to his rightful place as failed ex President.

[Fledermaus]

BS. Bush sucked. Like his father and brother.

Weak establishment globalists. Zero accomplishments.

[Fledermaus]

👍👍👍👍👍