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Bush was unsuccessful in his bid for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination, but served two terms (1981–89) as President Reagan's Vice President. In 1988, he won the Republican nomination for President. Bush and his running mate, Dan Quayle, easily defeated the Democratic ticket of Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen.
Foreign Policy
Bush benefited from the unraveling of Eastern European Communism, a rapid series of events that began with the collapse of East Germany late in 1989 and culminated in the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. To many in the United States these events were a confirmation and a consequence of the anti-Soviet military buildup under Reagan and Bush. In 1991, 1992, and 1993, Bush signed nuclear disarmament agreements with the Soviet Uat called for substantial cuts in nuclear arms. In Central America the United States achieved long-standing policy objectives. In Dec., 1989, U.S. forces invaded Panama and removed Gen. Manuel Noriega to stand trial in the United States for drug trafficking and other alleged crimes. Then, in Feb., 1990, the Sandinistas were defeated in elections in Nicaragua. Canada, Mexico, and the United States created a free-trade zone when the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed in 1992.
In the Middle East, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990, provided the occasion for the most striking foreign policy achievement of the Bush administration (see Persian Gulf War). Bush saw the expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait by an American-led international coalition as a test of U.S. resolve to uphold and enforce what he termed the "new world order." The success of Bush's military policy led to unprecedented popularity at home, but the U.S. triumph in the Persian Gulf War was not complete; Saddam Hussein retained power in Iraq. In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, under prodding from Bush and Secretary of State James A. Baker, comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace talks began in late 1991.
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