SECTION 4: Foreign Policy After the Cold War
▲ President Bush and his wife, Barbara, visiting troops in Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War
WITNESS HISTORY 
AUDIO
A New World Order
Less than two years after the Berlin Wall fell, the United States found itself involved in another war after Iraq invaded its neighbor Kuwait. President George H.W. Bush spoke about his vision for this war:
“We stand today at a unique and extraordinary moment. The crisis in the Persian Gulf, as grave as it is, also offers a rare opportunity to move toward a historic period of cooperation. Out of these troubled times … a new world order can emerge; a new era—freer from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice; and more secure in the quest of peace, an era in which the nations of the world, East and West, North and South, can prosper and live in harmony.”
—George Herbert Walker Bush, Address to Congress, September 11, 1990
Objectives
- Analyze why George H.W. Bush decided to use force in some foreign disputes and not in others.
- Summarize the Persian Gulf War and its results.
Terms and People
- Manuel Noriega
- Tiananmen Square
- apartheid
- Nelson Mandela
- divest
- Saddam Hussein
- Operation Desert Storm
NoteTaking
Reading Skill: Summarize Use a chart like the one below to summarize Bush’s major foreign-policy decisions.
| America’s new role in the world | Persian Gulf War |
|---|---|
|
|
|
Why It Matters When the Cold War came to an end, many Americans hoped that a new era of peace would dawn. Yet, America’s foreign policy during the Bush years demonstrated that the end of the Cold War would not lead to a new era of peace, but instead to a dangerous era of regional conflicts. Section Focus Question: What actions did the United States take abroad during George H.W. Bush’s presidency?
A New Role in the World
When the Soviet Union collapsed, the United States became the only unopposed superpower poised to take a leading role in world affairs under the leadership of President George H.W. Bush. Few leaders entered the White House with as much foreign policy experience as Bush. A graduate of Yale and a veteran of World War II, Bush had served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, as director of the CIA, and as Ronald Reagan’s Vice President. His experience would be put to the test as America faced a series of difficult international crises during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Latin America and the War on Drugs
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Latin America experienced a wave of democracy. In Central America, a peace plan devised by Costa Rican leader Oscar Arias (AH ree uhs) brought free elections in Nicaragua and the end of a long civil war in El Salvador. In Chile, the notorious military dictator Augusto Pinochet (ah GOO stoh pee noh SHAY) gave up power.
Table of Contents