--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Bush administration will go down in…" description: "\"The Bush administration will go down in history as the Torture Team.\" — Alex Gibney" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/alex-gibney-7495_administration_the-bush-administration-will-go-down-in_1248259.jpg" --- # The Bush administration will go down in history as the… ![“The Bush administration will go down in history as the Torture Team.” quote by Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/alex-gibney-7495_administration_the-bush-administration-will-go-down-in_1248259.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/alex-gibney-7495_administration_the-bush-administration-will-go-down-in_1248259.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/alex-gibney-7495_administration_the-bush-administration-will-go-down-in_1248259.jpg) > “The Bush administration will go down in history as the Torture Team.” [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Bush era's policies are condemned as a legacy of torture. **In simple terms:** Bush administration labeled as torture advocates. Key Takeaway Recognize and prevent abuse of power. Themes politics human rights torture legacy Mood somber critical Type historical political When to use this quote - government actions - military operations - international law Key Concepts law ethics history Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms hold leaders accountable? - How can societies heal from such legacies? A Different Perspective Labeling may oversimplify complex decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Administration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/administration/) [Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bush/) [Bush administration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bush-administration/) [Down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/down/) [Go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-torture-3923564/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Team](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/team/) [Torture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture/) [Torture Team](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torture-team-3923565/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/) ## Related quotes > [Put simply, the Bush administration policy in the Middle East is continuing to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-corsi/put-simply-the-bush-administration-policy-in-the-middle-east-is/) [Jerome Corsi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-corsi/) > [The whole macho thing has to be reexamined. Because in my view, the Bush administration was weak, not strong. To engage in a policy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/the-whole-macho-thing-has-to-be-reexamined-because-in-my-view-the/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [Lacey said if he wanted to read a daily or regular critiques of the Bush administration, he would read the New York Times, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-schanberg/lacey-said-if-he-wanted-to-read-a-daily-or-regular-critiques-of-the/) [Sydney Schanberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-schanberg/) > [The Bush administration made us nostalgic for ... well, any other time in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-sparks/the-bush-administration-made-us-nostalgic-for-well-any-other-time-in/) [Hal Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-sparks/) > [Once again, we see the Bush administration paying for its failed policies by cutting funds to vital public services and jeopardizing more American jobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrine-brown/once-again-we-see-the-bush-administration-paying-for-its-failed/) [Corrine Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrine-brown/) > [I was maybe the earliest person who was constructive toward Trump who served at a high level in the Bush administration. 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I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-lucas/the-bush-administration-also-was-not-straightforward-about-the/) [Ken Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-lucas/) > [During most of the Bush administration, human rights and democracy in Egypt were on the front burner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/during-most-of-the-bush-administration-human-rights-and-democracy-in/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [Most Americans have little idea of how far our nation's worldwide standing had fallen by the end of the Bush administration; no matter how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/most-americans-have-little-idea-of-how-far-our-nation-s-worldwide/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [Bill Clinton persuaded some people that he was really a civilized character and his Administration had the best interests of humanity at heart. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pilger/bill-clinton-persuaded-some-people-that-he-was-really-a-civilized/) [John Pilger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-pilger/) > [The Bush administration is a paragon of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/the-bush-administration-is-a-paragon-of-wisdom/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [George W. Bush and his administration embarked on a full-scale assault on civil liberties, human rights and the rule of law, walking away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-jagger/george-w-bush-and-his-administration-embarked-on-a-full-scale-assault/) [Bianca Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-jagger/) > [President Bush will go down in history as the torture president. He has now defied a majority of Congress to allow the use of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-daskal/president-bush-will-go-down-in-history-as-the-torture-president-he/) [Jennifer Daskal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-daskal/) > [I think that anyone who comes upon a Nautilus machine suddenly will agree with me that its prototype was clearly invented at some time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-that-anyone-who-comes-upon-a-nautilus-machine-suddenly-will/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## More by Alex Gibney > [Many people, including myself, thought of Jobs as an inventor, an Edison-like figure, but he wasn't. I did a documentary on James Brown recently;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/many-people-including-myself-thought-of-jobs-as-an-inventor-an-edison/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [Jobs' incredible skill was as a storyteller, a salesman. He could captivate our imaginations and reel us in. He was more P.T. Barnum than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/jobs-incredible-skill-was-as-a-storyteller-a-salesman-he-could/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [The internet connects us all and provides this fabulous fact-checking mechanism, and yet at the same time, the power of lies is conveyed much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/the-internet-connects-us-all-and-provides-this-fabulous-fact-checking/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [With every project I start out on, there's no footage. It's always a big slog to find the footage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/with-every-project-i-start-out-on-there-s-no-footage-it-s-always-a/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [Bill Gates, who is the classic computer nerd, as opposed to Steve who is, like the coolest guy in the world. And who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/bill-gates-who-is-the-classic-computer-nerd-as-opposed-to-steve-who/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [If people are portrayed as monsters, we become disconnected from them, and to me that is not remotely interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/if-people-are-portrayed-as-monsters-we-become-disconnected-from-them/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [Even with a villain, you don't want him just to be some pockmarked punchbag.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/even-with-a-villain-you-don-t-want-him-just-to-be-some-pockmarked/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [You see the natural progression of what happens when the executive gets power and then a new executive comes in. The new executive doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/you-see-the-natural-progression-of-what-happens-when-the-executive/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [The Barack Obama Administration has prosecuted more whistleblowers than all previous administrations combined. That's a staggering record. And it comes from a president who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/the-barack-obama-administration-has-prosecuted-more-whistleblowers/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [In the case of the Catholic Church, it's hard to understand how they so willfully sacrifice the children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/in-the-case-of-the-catholic-church-it-s-hard-to-understand-how-they/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [I feel that Julian Assange came to be both paranoid and self-regarding in ways that ultimately undermined his own mission. And so, the transparency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/i-feel-that-julian-assange-came-to-be-both-paranoid-and-self/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [It's hard to make a living doing documentaries. Frankly, if it takes you five years to do a film, and that's the only film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/it-s-hard-to-make-a-living-doing-documentaries-frankly-if-it-takes/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [I'm a sports junkie, and I am interested in athletic will - how you exceed the expectations of your own performance when it counts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/i-m-a-sports-junkie-and-i-am-interested-in-athletic-will-how-you/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [To get discounts on some drugs, private insurers are willing to pay top prices for blockbuster pharmaceuticals like Vioxx, despite the fact that Vioxx…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/to-get-discounts-on-some-drugs-private-insurers-are-willing-to-pay/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [The sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church is the result of what police call "noble cause corruption," the belief that because you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/the-sex-abuse-crisis-in-the-catholic-church-is-the-result-of-what/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) [Explore all 90 Alex Gibney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) ## More Administration quotes > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. 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He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [I don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/i-don-t-believe-anyone-that-i-know-in-the-administration-ever-said/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [What was unique about me being in City Hall during the Giuliani Administration, I was the only one who wasn't an attorney. I may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lhota/what-was-unique-about-me-being-in-city-hall-during-the-giuliani/) [Joe Lhota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lhota/) > [The Trump administration launched the cruise missile strikes in Syria, an act of war, without a U.N. resolution or Congressional authorization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/the-trump-administration-launched-the-cruise-missile-strikes-in-syria/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) > [The only way I'll ever run a marathon is if I'm involved in the administration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-phillips/the-only-way-i-ll-ever-run-a-marathon-is-if-i-m-involved-in-the/) [Sally Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-phillips/) > [Obama spent the first two years of his administration practicing political unilateral disarmament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cenk-uygur/obama-spent-the-first-two-years-of-his-administration-practicing/) [Cenk Uygur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cenk-uygur/) > [The actions of the University in my case make it abundantly clear that the Administration's rhetoric about Harvard's desire to attract and retain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-geller/the-actions-of-the-university-in-my-case-make-it-abundantly-clear/) [Margaret Geller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-geller/) > [In mid-May, the House of Representatives approved the full amount of money that the Veterans Administration said was needed for next year - plus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doc-hastings/in-mid-may-the-house-of-representatives-approved-the-full-amount-of/) [Doc Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doc-hastings/) > [In 1953, the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. 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