Short answers, pulled from the story.
George Herbert Walker Bush served as a young man in the United States Navy Reserve starting on the 12th of June 1943. He flew Grumman TBM Avengers and logged 58 combat missions before Japan surrendered on the 2nd of September 1945.
George H. W. Bush served as ambassador to the United Nations from 1971 until he became director of central intelligence in 1976. He then acted as vice president under Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989 while maintaining a low profile regarding constitutional limits.
Bush stated he had been out of the loop and unaware of fund diversion when media exposed the affair in 1986. Biographer Jon Meacham wrote that records show awareness existed regarding arms-for-hostages trading yet no evidence proved Bush aware of specific diversions.
The United States economy slipped into mild recession beginning late 1989 which caused unemployment to rise from 5.9 percent to 7.8 percent mid-1991. Voters blamed poor quality national election campaigns and shifted their image from conquering hero to politician befuddled by economic matters.
George H. W. Bush signed START II treaty January 1993 providing further nuclear reductions beyond original agreement. Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty signed July 1991 cut strategic weapons thirty percent agreed both countries reducing arsenal significantly ending decades-long standoff.