Watching George W. Bush deliver his speeches is becoming more alarming as his diction and body language become ever so transparently arrogant. Only people who are oblivious to the Other as a living concept are capable of such behavior. The President issues statements that polarize and divide: “You are either with us or with them” is the most obvious. There are plenty of such declarations that an elected official is not supposed to contemplate, let alone utter. This diction is the linguistic realm of the dictator who has to answer to no one.
When it comes to body language, Bush speaks volumes. The fixed stare in his eyes is boyish, as he declares something as Biblical as “the day of reckoning is near.” He awaits the applause from the “safe” crowds of servicemen and women as a little child awaits the teacher’s commendations. The posture seems to say, “How did I do in this recitation of my Sunday school homework?” Not bad, Mr. President. But then, we are not in a Sunday school. The forced spring in his step and his quasi-military salute to the Marine by the helicopter tell us that the man is getting too confident in his performance. This sort of confidence is usually of the strutting type, which means it comes from the inability to step back and look at one’s actions.
Some people might think this is simply confidence and the ability to lead without hesitation. But a leader who does not reflect is a leader who falls on his face. That is a historical fact. The force and weight of the position should make one rethink before uttering such statements. If we take this war as an example, the President waxed Biblical like the prophets of the Old Testament before the war started. While the prophets could call on divine inspiration, the President had only Rumsfeld, Rice, Wolfowitz, and Perle to fall on. Hardly divine anything. Had this sort of behavior been evident after total victory, one might pass it as immodesty. But when you get it before any engagement or even a bullet fired, it is nothing but arrogance.
When the American administration thought it might need Spain as another vote in the UN, Spanish Prime Minister Aznar was invited to the Azores for talks he had nothing to add to. When the war was being decided, Bush and Blair met at Camp David alone. The Spanish opposition took the Prime Minister to task, shredded him for the arrogant and ungrateful behavior of his supposed allies, and taunted him as no more than a fool for having been manipulated. Is this the way to reward a “faithful” ally?
Arrogance is infectious. Rumsfeld was telling the world, in his own inimitable way, that finding piles of chemical suits belonging to Iraqi soldiers was proof positive they have chemical weapons and intend to use them. I have never heard reasoning so absurd. He said that the Iraqis “knew we would not use chemical weapons.” Is that so, Mr Secretary? The fact is that the Secretary is on record saying he favors the use of non-lethal chemical agents that temporarily incapacitate. It is illegal to use such chemicals as provided in the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) to which the United States and 139 other countries are signatories.
Surely the Iraqis heard him and took measures to protect themselves. Now I don’t know whether the Iraqis have these weapons or not, but I sure know when someone is taking the world for a ride. That complete disrespect for human intelligence is alarming. Do these people think they can get away with such declarations? Do they really believe that such one-sided argumentation is valid? The voices of reason and dissent have been quashed in America. There is no one who can come out and declare for the side of logic and reason. The fury of Church, Network, and the rabid columnists is unleashed to silence such voices.
Sen. Daschle suggested that Bush’s diplomatic failure made war inevitable. He was attacked as if he were a refusenik during the Soviet era. Senator Kerry, a man who fought for his country and was decorated for it, urgently calls to vote this president out of office only to find himself fighting a war of survival as a politician. Sen. Kennedy, an elder statesman whose American lineage needs no proof, was clear that Bush did not make a convincing case for a war in Iraq. Al Gore, who actually won the popular vote in 2000, did not see any reason to go to war to achieve the objectives of the UN resolutions. We all know where President Carter, who perhaps is the most deserving of the Noble Prize winners this past century, stands.
These people and many more are neither Arab nor anti-American. They are the leaders (chosen and elected) of the United States. They have been silenced, sidetracked, and even accused of being un-American. The one-dimensional clique that rules the White House these days is not only killing our children in Iraq but also polarizing America in a dangerous precedent that might set that country on a track of belligerence, conquest, and lethal unilateralism.
This Administration has played a dangerous game of appealing to the base instincts of the masses. Fear of the other has been utilized in way that is changing America and the world. While American arms are being used to kill Iraqis, the real danger is lurking in a cave somewhere. Bin Laden is safe and enjoying the fiasco.
He is the ultimate winner in this dangerous game. Instead of concentrating the world’s efforts to get rid of him, President Bush has been led to fulfill the long-standing agenda of people like Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Perle.
If only the President left his Bible for a little while on the desk and read Spinoza and Rousseau instead; he might ultimately find out how he is being led down a dark crevice. He might also tread lightly on the face of this earth, salute the marine like Eisenhower (a real soldier) did, and encompass the broad spectrum of humanity within his vision. All three religions would tell the President that arrogance is vile in the eyes of the Lord. Besides, the most visible sign of Saddam’s vileness is his swagger, as he saunters from one place to another.
Arab News Features 10 April 2003
