- The Chilean Embassy in Washington was the scene of yet another break-in on May
13-14, 1972.
Naturally, Bush's authorized biography and campaign autobiography say nothing about
any of these interesting events. Fitzhugh Green describes the "gracious, professional
teamwork" of Barbara and George at diplomatic receptions, with Bush's personal
assistant Rudolph "Foxy" Carter fingering diplomats and wives to be buttonholed by Mrs.
Bush and then taken over to meet George. It was also during these UN years that Bush
consolidated his habit of writing large quantities of short personal longhand notes and
cards to friends and acquantainces. Bush's habit was to personally sit though the long
speeches of diplomats representing US allies and others whom Bush wished to propitiate.
But in order to use the time, Foxy Carter would make sure that he had a sufficient supply
of small note cards to be able to turn out a continuous flow of bread and butter notes,
greetings, and working communications, some of which could be delivered to diplomats
present in the room where Bush was sitting. In this way, Bush succeeded in ingratiating
himself with many delegates. This practice foreshadows his later "speed-dialing mode" of
contacts with world leaders during crises such as the Gulf adventure. [fn 32]
Bush spent just less than two years at the UN. His tenure coincided with some of the most
monstruous crimes against humanity of the Nixon- Kissinger duo, for whom Bush
functioned as an international spokesman to whom no Kissinger policy was too odious to
be enthusiatically proclaimed before the international community and world public
opinion. Through this doggedly loyal service, Bush forged a link with Nixon that would
be ephemeral but vital for his career while it lasted, and a link with Kissinger that would
be decisive in shaping Bush's own administration in 1988-89. The way in which Bush set
about organizing the anti-Iraq coalition of 1990-91 was decisively shaped by his United
Nations experience. His initial approach to the Security Council, the types of resolutions
that were put forward by the US, and the alternation of military escalation with
consultations among the five permanent members of the Security Council- all this
harkened back to the experience Bush acquired as Kissinger's envoy to the world body.
Towards the close of Bush's posting to the UN, his father, Prescott Bush, died at the
Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City. It was October 8, 1972. Prescott Bush had
been diagnosed as suffering from lung cancer.
NOTES:
- In 1970, Bush's portfolio included 29 companies in which he had an interest of more than $4000. He had
10,000 shares of American general Insurance Co., 5,500 shares of American Standard, 200 shares of
AT&T, 832 shares of CBS, and 581 shares of Industries Exchange Fund. He also held stock in the Kroger
Compny, Simplex Wire and Cale Co. (25,000 shares), IBM, and Allied Chemical. In addition, he had
created a trust fund for his children. - James Reston, Jr., The Lone Star: The Life of John Connally (New York, 1989), p. 380.
3 Safire, Before the Fall, p. 646.