Pliable Bush
puppet of hawks
LINDA
MCQUAIG
In an apparent attempt to come up with a guise
other than warmonger, George W. Bush is being hastily repackaged as
"deeply religious."
Bush has always been officially
described as "born again" � a useful device to explain the transformation
from his early days (up to the age of 40) of heavy drinking and carousing.
But the notion that Bush is
motivated by deep religious convictions is being pushed with such vigour
these days by his supporters that one senses an orchestrated campaign �
perhaps to prevent worldwide skepticism about the motives for the Iraq
invasion from spreading to the U.S.
Some Americans may worry about an
evangelical crusader controlling the world's biggest nuclear arsenal, but
religion � even the fundamentalist variety � is generally considered a
good thing in the U.S. Certainly, focusing on religion helps keep
attention away from other more contentious motives for invading Iraq, such
as oil or world domination.
So the media have been hyping
Bush's alleged spirituality (including a Newsweek cover story on
"Bush and God"), even as the president snubbed pleas for peace from world
religious leaders and last week tested a 21,000-pound bomb in preparation
for unloading it on people in Iraq. (Blessed are the bombed children.)
Of course, it's possible that
Bush is deeply religious, whatever than means.
More likely, Bush is simply an
empty vessel, a hollow shell, a person of weak character and limited life
experience who is therefore highly susceptible to the control of a small,
determined group of ideological hard-liners bent on asserting U.S. power
more forcefully in the world.
A description attributed to Bush
himself in 1989 seems apt. The Houston Chronicle reported Bush telling a
friend: "You know, I could run for governor, but I'm basically a media
creation. I've never done anything. I've worked for my dad. I worked in
the oil business ..."
One thing that stands out in
Bush's past, besides the partying and business failures, is the extent to
which he relied on his family's political and financial connections. U.S.
presidents have often come from blue blood backgrounds, but George W. Bush
makes even John F. Kennedy look like a self-made man.
But back to that group of
hard-liners, (which includes prominent Bush advisers like Paul Wolfowitz,
Richard Perle, John Bolton and Douglas Feith).
The hard-liners have long been a
force within the Republican party, struggling against the post-Vietnam
resistance in America to getting entangled in a big war.
Their approach could be described
as U.S. supremacist; they are dismissive of international organizations
like the U.N. and multilateral attempts at disarmament. They want
Washington to use its military superiority to enforce American global
dominance � a goal that has become more achievable since the demise of
Soviet power.
The hard-liners became a
significant force in the administration of George Bush Sr., under the
tutelage of hard-liner Dick Cheney, who served at the time as defence
secretary. But their push to make Washington more assertive and unilateral
was held in check somewhat back then, since Bush the elder was a
multilateralist, as were others in his cabinet. He was also � whatever
else one says about him � experienced, accomplished, knowledgeable about
the world and in control of his own government.
None of this could be said of his
son, whose presidency came, in the end, courtesy of the ultimate in
connections � Supreme Court judges appointed by his father.
George W. wasn't part of the
hard-line Cheney crowd; while they were honing their arguments about U.S.
supremacy, he was focused on his next martini and on making a fortune in
the oil industry using his father's connections.
But he was happy to get on board
with them for his presidential bid, selecting Cheney as his running mate.
To the public, Bush appeared
affable and not particularly threatening, even talking in a televised
presidential debate about the need for America to be "humble"
internationally. But, lacking any outside constituency or the experience
to control the politically savvy hard-liners, George W. became their boy
in a way his father never was.
The American people, however,
remained resistant to war.
Then came Sept. 11. The
hard-liners knew their ship had come in. And George W. finally found
something he was apparently good at � talking about evil and vengeance.
It is a tragedy for the world
that such a pliable, empty vessel as George W. Bush should happen to be in
power at a time when the traumatization and lulling of the American public
has made possible the carnage about to unfold in Iraq.
Linda McQuaig is a Toronto-based author and political
commentator. Her column appears every
Sunday. |
