At the least, we’ve learned in the last few years to read when Bush is about to do something ridiculous from his speeches. Back in 2002, who would have known that a speech to the graduating class at West Point would be his announcement of a new foreign policy that he would actually put into action before the year was out, using subtrafuge and deceit? Who knew when he went to the U.N. in early 2003 that his request that the U.N. reinstate inspections in Iraq, he didn’t mean that at all? What he meant was "We’re off to War!"
So we listen to today’s speech at the U.N. with our ears cocked for some surprise, like we’re going to war with Iran tomorrow. I haven’t read to transcript, but at least on cursory reading, it sounds like standard fare bluster, no massive hidden agenda about to pop out. Of course that isn’t a sign of safety. He may well be holding his cards close to his chest until the midterms are behind him.
One thing I’ve noticed [to follow up on Olbermann’s point], he spends a hell of a lot of time in his speeches, here and to international audiences, telling people what not to think. "My country desires peace. Extremists in your midst spread propaganda claiming that the West is engaged in a war against Islam. This propaganda is false and its purpose is to confuse you and justify acts of terror. We respect Islam." He then goes on to address Palestine, Syria, Iran, Hezbolla in negative terms. I get his point, but were I a Moslem, I would roll my eyes. It may be a new Bush-listening rule – what he says not to think is actually the truth.
He sounds a little bit like General Custer saying to the Indians, "We come in peace." After reading his speech, I found myself musing about a point that has stuck with me since 911. We do have Islamic enemies at several levels. First, there’s al Qaeda and the other outlaw Jihadists whose very existence is about killing Americans, driving us out of the Middle East, including attacking our support of Israel. The second group of Islamic enemies are Islamic States who are opposed to our support of Israel and do not accept our attempts to limit their military power. And then there are lots of other Islamic States with which we have no beef.
President Bush has constantly lumped the first two groups as if they were the same thing, calling them Evil, Terrorists, Islamofascists, etc. His failure to be clear on this point is a huge problem, perhaps the biggest problem of all. In many ways, what he calls propaganda is actually the truth – he can’t tell the difference between the Terrorists and the Islamic States. That is a categorical error initiated by Paul Wolfowitz in 1991 and revived by the P.N.A.C. in 1998 – the insanity of Michael Ledeen, Laurie Mylroie, John Bolton, etc. If only Mr. Bush would acknowledge that we are in two kinds of fights in the Middle East, requiring two different strategies – one military, the other, diplomatic. It just doesn’t seem that hard to see.
A delusion is a fixed, false belief, that is unchanged by discrediting evidence. I think it is fair to say that this Administration is truly delusional on this point.
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