Christopher Hitchens quotes the same passage by the current president's father as Joi Ito quoted, and comes to this conclusion as to why George W. Bush should ignore George H. W. Bush's advice: “Both [George H. W.] Bush and [National Security Advisor Brent] Scowcroft—and [Secretary of State James] Baker—did make the irresponsible decision to let the Balkans bleed, which is why I mistrust the counsel of prudence that I opened by quoting”. The article is worth reading in full, because Hitchens restates the case for war and states the case for continuing the occupation, as well as the risks and negative impacts it entails.
George H. W. Bush
Ian Buruma: “Bill Clinton accused Bush pre of being soft on China, until Clinton became president himself; and the foreign policy advisers of Bush fils were equally hawkish on China, until it was their turn to manage the world. ”
The emphasis is mine. I don't at all mind the construction "Bush fils" and "Bush pere", for two reasons: 1) it uses non-English words (i.e. French); and 2) it neatly avoids the the false Junior/Senior construction, which, I might add, a reporter used tonight on CBC's The National.
But technically it doesn't avoid the construction, since according to dictionary.com, fils is “[u]sed to distinguish a son from his father when they have the same given name.” Techinically half-true, since they have different middle names. But using a non-English word when an English equivalent will do gives someone or something more authority, regardless if that authority is deserved.
