After the war, he graduated from Yale University and moved to West Texas, where he established a successful oil company. After an unsuccessful run for the United States Senate, he won election to the 7th congressional district of Texas in 1966. President Richard Nixon appointed Bush to the position of Ambassador to the United Nations in 1971 and to the position of chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1973. Though both of Bush's fellow crew members died, Bush successfully bailed out from the aircraft and was rescued by the USS Finback. Several of the aviators shot down during the attack were captured and executed, and their livers were eaten by their captors. Biographer Jon Meacham writes that 'no evidence was ever produced proving Bush was aware of the diversion to the contras,' but he criticizes Bush's 'out of the loop' characterization, writing that the 'record is clear that Bush was aware that the United States, in contravention of its own stated policy, was trading arms for hostages'.
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yes