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The '''Bush family conspiracy theory''' is a [[conspiracy theory]] which attempts to link several generations of the family of [[President]] [[George W. Bush]], including Florida Governor [[Jeb Bush]], their brother [[Neil Bush]], father and ex-President [[George H. W. Bush]], grandfather [[Prescott Bush]], and great-grandfather [[George Herbert Walker]] to [[multinational corporation]]s, [[government]] [[organization]]s, and [[dictator]]s. The theory argues that these connections show that the Bush family practices an [[morality|immoral]] [[philosophy]] and is engaged in [[crime|criminal]] [[behavior]].

This conspiracy theory often refers to the alleged secret organization with one of the pejorative terms: '''Bush League''', '''Bush Buddies''', or '''Texas Taliban'''. The first is a pun on the [[baseball]] term "bush league— minor league amateurs, or an allusion to George W. Bush's experience with the [[Texas Rangers]] baseball team. The others are alliterative.

A variety of allegations have been made, trying to link the Bush family and their associates to various forms of intrigue or alleged wrongdoing. As the Bushs are a politically and economically powerful family, it is natural that they have connections to other political figures, some of whom have unsavory reputations. Many people, from a wide variety of viewpoints that range from pro-Bush, anti-Bush or neutral, consider the particular points cited by these conspiracy theorists to be [[paranoid]] and not linked to each other in a meaningful way. 

Supporters of this theory often link the following:
*Businesses associated with [[Prescott Bush]], such as the [[Union Banking Corporation]], were confiscated just prior to [[World War II]]  under the [[Trading With the Enemy Act]].
*[[George H. W. Bush]] and [[George W. Bush]] were members of the [[Skull and Bones]] [[secret society]] (Bush's membership in the Skull and Bones society was the subject of several ''[[Doonesbury]]'' cartoons). The group is allegedly associated with [[crime]] and [[satanism]]. 
*[[George H. W. Bush]] was head of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] in [[1976]]-[[1977|77]]; among other things, he may have been involved in the 1976 assassination of [[Orlando Letelier]] (Bush remains silent on this and the CIA refuses to release many of the internal documents which could shed some light on it). 
*[[John Hinckley Jr]], the ‘deranged drifter with the hots for [[Jodie Foster]],’ also happened to be the son of one of [[George H. W. Bush]]'s better supporters in his campaign against [[Ronald Reagan]]; the Hinckleys' [[Vanderbilt Energy]] was threatened with a $2-million fine the morning of the assassination attempt; the families are sufficiently close that [[Scott Hinckley]] and [[Neil Bush]] had a dinner appointment for the next day.
*[[George W. Bush]] has [[sealing (documents)|sealed]] the [[presidential record]]s of both himself and his father. 
*[[Ayatollah Khomeini]] dealt with George Bush and/or his operatives to arrange the [[Iran-Contra]] deal and allegedly the [[October Surprise]], on behalf of U.S. Presidential candidate [[Ronald Reagan]].
*[[Saddam Hussein]], was provided with weapons and funding during the [[Iran-Iraq War]] in the 1980s, during the [[Reagan administration]], in which George H. W. Bush was [[Vice President]].  In addition, [[Donald Rumsfeld]], Secretary of Defense under [[George W. Bush]] was the Special Envoy to the Middle East in this period, appointed by President [[Ronald Reagan]] and met personally with [[Saddam Hussein]] during the [[Iran-Iraq war.]]
*[[Osama bin Laden]], then a minor [[Mujahedeen]] leader in [[Afghanistan]], is reputed to have been a CIA agent who made use of CIA resources and US-funds to bolster the morale of [[radical Islamist]]s after the [[Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]].
*[[Dick Cheney]] was G.H.W. Bush's Defense Secretary, and G.W. Bush's Vice-President. Cheney is the former President and CEO of [[Halliburton Company]] which has been given, by George W. Bush, an exclusive (and [[bidding|unbidded]]) [[contract]] in [[war|postwar]] [[Iraq]]. In addition, Halliburton's [[accounting]] [[firm]] was [[Arthur Andersen]]. This latter firm was conviced of [[obstruction of justice]] and, allegedly, commited [[fraud]]. 
*The [[Carlyle Group]] is an [[investment group]] which includes both the [[Bush family]] and [[bin Laden family]] (one of the richest in [[Saudi Arabia]]). Furthermore, [[George W. Bush]] and [[Salem bin Laden]] were coinvestors/business partners in [[Arbusto]].
*George W. Bush's [[Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee|Defense Advisor]] [[Richard Perle]] is said to have a [[nickname]], amongst [[friendship|friends]], as "The Prince of Darkness"
*George W. Bush is strongly associated with the [[Patriot Act]], which opponents argue is a piece of [[legislation]] which "undoes" the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]]. 
*George W. Bush often appears to have a complete disregard for the validity of [[international law]], the [[International Criminal Court]], and the [[United Nations]]. 
*The [[United States Republican Party|Republican Party]] allegedly cheated during the [[U.S. presidential election, 2000|2000 Presidential Election]]; essentially, critics argue that the election was rigged by [[ChoicePoint]] and [[Florida]] [[governor]] [[Jeb Bush]]
*According to the [[Democratic National Committee]], George W. Bush [[lying|lied]] during the [[2003]] [[State of the Union Address]] when he argued that [[Iraq]] had been attempting to purchase [[uranium]] from Nigeria. (The CIA insists it had warned before the speech that the documents on which the uranium claim was based were unreliable.[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A8777-2003Jul17]<!--"Beginning in October, the CIA warned the administration not to use the Niger claim in public. CIA Director George J. Tenet personally persuaded deputy national security adviser Stephen Hadley to omit it from President Bush's Oct. 7 speech in Cincinnati"-->).
*Critics also note Bush's stance on [[capital punishment]] and allege that he "made fun of" various people prior to and after their [[execution]]s. 
*[[George W. Bush]] twice claimed ([[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/12/20011204-17.html WH]], [[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020105-3.html WH]]) to have seen the first [[September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks|September Eleventh]] crash on live television, even though that crash was not in a public broadcast until much later.
*Bush has reportedly expressed "pro-[[totalitarianism]]" viewpoints:
** "I told all four [congressional leaders] that there were going to be some times where we don't agree with each other. But that's OK. If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." [[December 18]], [[2000]], [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec00/trans_12-18.htm] [http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0012/18/nd.01.html]
** Answering a repeated reporter question about the anti-Bush gwbush.com, "But how far should these guys go?", Bush replied "There ought to be limits to freedom.  We're aware of the site, and this guy is just a garbage man, that's all he is. Of course I don't appreciate it. And you wouldn't, either." [[May 21]], [[1999]] [http://www.rtmark.com/more/bushap.html] [http://www.gwbush.com/multimedia.shtml]

Critics of the theory allege that its proponents mispresent events as part of the theory. For example, 
* That G.H. Bush was vice-president during the Reagan Administration does not ''automatically'' link Bush to Saddam's acquisition of weapons and funding during the Iran-Iraq War. Most vice-presidents have little role in the working of an administration and often have little practical influence over policy or decision-taking. 
* G.H. Bush's was head of the CIA from 1976 to 1977. Osama bin Laden's period as an alleged CIA agent occurred a decade later, when Bush was president. Presidents are, because of their workload, not involved in the hiring of CIA agents. Also considering that at any point CIA has thousands of agents acting worldwide, it seems unlikely that USA Presidents are personaly associated with all of them.
* Many people work in a number of administrations. That Dick Cheney worked in the administrations of G.H. and. G.W. Bush is neither unusual nor does it automatically indicate a conspiracy. He also served in the administrations of [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Gerald Ford]].
* Many people internationally are associated with the Carlyle Group. As it is a large international investment group, it would be surprising if the Bush and bin Laden families were ''not'' in it or in some other group together. Former British Prime Minister [[John Major]] is also associated with it. The bin Laden in fact have also disowned Osama bin Laden, who is an opponent of organisations such as the Carlyle Group, which he has accused of embodying international economic imperialism. 
* Many presidents have said "The job of the President would be easier, if I were a [[dictator]]" or something similar, including [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and [[John F. Kennedy]]. In those cases the comment was made ''tongue-in-cheek''. There is no evidence that Bush was intended it is any other way. Similar arguments are applied to the "limits on freedom" statement.
**[[Bill Clinton]] stated "When personal freedom's being abused, you have to move to limit it." and "[we] can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans." [http://www.digitalnpq.org/global_services/global%20viewpoint/06-17-02vidal.html]
* While proponents of the conspiracy link Bush family members to a range of groups, from Nazis to Ayatollah Khomeini, Saddam Hussein to the Carlyle Group and the Bin Laden, supporters of Bush argue that there is no connection between Bush, these people, and each other. They further note that although Bush may have had dealings with the bin Ladens, he didn't have such dealings with Osama bin Laden himself.
* Many rich people and companies became involved with the Nazis due to pre-existing business relationships with Germany.  Becoming disengaged from such relationships cannot happen overnight.


As a result, critics of the Bush family conspiracy theory see it as a string of unconnected claims which have at most pure circumstantial evidence but which contains no hard evidence of any longterm conspiracy. 

Works that allege deliberate misdeeds by the Bush family include:
* ''[[The Best Democracy Money Can Buy]]'' by [[Greg Palast]] (2002)
* ''[[The Dirty Truth, The Oil and Chemical Dependency of George W. Bush]]'' by [[Rick Abraham]] (2000)
* ''[[Forbidden Truth: U.S.-Taliban Secret Oil Diplomacy, Saudi Arabia and the Failed Search for bin Laden]]'' by [[Jean-Charles Brisard]], [[Guillaume Dasquie]], [[Wayne Madsen]], [[Lucy Rounds]] (2002)
* ''[[The Immaculate Deception: The Bush Crime Family Exposed]]'' by [[Russell S. Bowen]] (2001)
* ''[[The Mafia, CIA and George Bush]]'' by [[Pete Brewton]] (1992)
* ''[[The Secret War Against the Jews: How Western Espionage Betrayed the Jewish People]]'' by [[John Loftus]] and [[Mark Aarons]] (1994)
* ''[http://www.tarpley.net/bushb.htm George Bush: the unauthorized biography]'' [[Webster Griffin Tarpley]] &amp; [[Anton Chaitkin]] (c1991)
* ''[[Fortunate Son: George W. Bush and the making of an American President]]'' [[J. H. Hatfield]] ''et al'' (2d ed 2001)
* ''[[Afternoon of March 30th: a contemporary historical novel]]'' [[Nathaniel Blumberg]] (1984) [http://www.nathanielblumberg.com/bush.htm site]

See also:
*[[9/11 domestic conspiracy theory]]
*[[Bush regime|Bush Regime]]

==References==
* [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030214.html The Straight Dope: Was President Bush's great-grandfather a Nazi?]
* [http://www.gwbush.com/ GWBUSH.COM]
* [http://www.tni.org/letelier/tniips/bush.htm "What's Behind the Bush-Pinochet Friendship?", by Saul Landau]
* [http://www.spiritone.com/~gdy52150/bushies.htm Gold Fillings, Auschwitz &amp; George Bush]
* [http://www.frankendesign.com/pdf/Web_Conspiranoids.pdf The Indiscreet Charm of the Bush Nazi Web Conspiranoids]
* [http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shadowlands/6583/et028.html The Windsor-Bush Bloodline]