Bush's "Way Forward" in Iraq
By Chad A. B. Wilson
Published December 20, 2006, 11:53 am in News, Military / Foreign policy.
I'm a whiner. I know that. Sometimes all I want to do is complain about how stupid everyone else is, which really just means that they don't think the same way I do. And usually, these complaints of frustration are centered on our President, G.W. Bush. Now don't get me wrong here. I don't consider myself one of those Bush-haters, although on some days I fear that I am. I want to like Bush; I swear that I do. I want to follow him becuase he is the leader of my country, elected by the people of this country that I love. But, like most others, the primary thing I love about our country is our freedom to think, speak, and question even our best leaders.
I was happy to see this interview in The Washington Post, which was just published earlier today. It shows that our President is still willing to explain himself and his administration to the press. I'm definitely happy about that. But now I have to go through an analyze it, which leads me to my first paragraph. I'm a complainer.
Bush's Masterful Use of Language
I love the way Bush adopts the language of his opponents when his opponents are seen as more level-headed than he is. I spent over a week discussing the Iraq Study Group Report (ISGR), and when it first came out, it was seen as antagonistic toward the Bush administration policies in Iraq. Many conservatives still think so, as I discussed in my last column. But now Bush has begun using the ideas and even the terms from that report.
Now these ideas and terms are not copyrighted by any means, and Bush is free to use them, but we have to remember that Bush speaks code. His speechwriters and coaches are masters at this, as Moore and Slater explain in their book on Karl Rove, The Architect: Karl Rove and the Master Plan for Absolute Power. Because Bush was trying to reach out to Catholic voters, for example, he began using the phrase "the culture of life" in discussions of abortion. This phrase is a reference to Pope John Paul II's statement that we are in the midst of a "dramatic struggle between the culture of life and the culture of death" (Moore and Slater 99). As Moore and Slater say, that phrase "worked fine for evangelical Protestants but had a special meaning to Catholics" (99). That's code if I have ever heard it. Or how about this gem: "I was hardly even code anymore by Bush's 2003 State of the Union address, in which he said, 'There is power, wonder-working power, in the goodness and idealism and faith of the American people,' an allusion to the old Christian gospel hymn, 'There is power, power, wonder-working power in the precious blood of the Lamb'" (100). You may say these are coincidences, but I don't buy that. Sure, there's nothing necessarily wrong with doing it; that's the way politics and arguments work, after all. But the code is there, the words and phrases that have special meanings only for those who understand it. For others, the words make perfect sense, but they don't have the added weight as they do for those that can decipher the code.
I understand the irony here, too. I think it's funny that I'm claiming that Bush is a master of the language. Perhaps his misuse is masterful, as well? Perhaps it's really all just a strategy of playing dumb? Ah, probably not.
The Word and Way Forward
How does Bush do this in the interview in The Washington Post? He uses the word "forward" numerous times during the 25-minute interview, which is probably to be expected, but he uses it in the context of "a way forward" approximately 11 times, with four of those times focused on the situation in Iraq. "Forward" is a common word, of course, but it has more meaning now that the ISGR is out, the title of which is The Iraq Study Group Report: The Way Forward--A New Approach. So let's look at what Bush says, shall we?
Bush begins the convesation discussing how he wants to increase the overall size of the U.S. military. He says this:
"Obviously, I've been thinking about -- and talking to a lot of people about -- the way forward in Iraq and the way forward in this ideological struggle."
How is that not a reference to the ISGR? Or how about this one?:
"And I'm going to take my time to make sure that the policy, when it comes out, the American people will see that we are -- have got a new way forward to achieve an important objective, which is a country that can govern, sustain and defend itself."
Isn't that what the ISGR tried to do all along?
"And I've got some more work to do, and I'll come forth at the appropriate time and explain the way forward to the country."
And now Bush is the one to explain how we can move forward in Iraq, obviously. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with his use of the phrase "the way forward," becuase, well, there isn't. It's not copyrighted, as I said, and he is free to use it becuase, well, it's a good phrase.
But, and here's the important point, he knows that it means something different for those who have been screaming that we should listen to the ISGR. It means either that he is going to listen to the ISGR and do what they say or he is going to have a different but just as valid and valuable a way forward. Either way, it is he who knows the way forward, and he is being very reasonable by listening to everyone, but he will be the one to reveal and lead us forward. The ISGR, well, that was a fine and dandy document by an independent group, but it's just that--an independent group--and not a government agency. Nope, it is Bush who will do it.
I love the way Bush co-opts the language, then. He really is a master at this. I wish I were half as good at language as his team. (Yeah, yeah, I know I'm not...) He manages to turn even something that could be hurtful into something good for him, such as him being the one to show us the way forward.
I will close by saying that I hope to God he does it. I hope he can lead us forward. I hope he comes forward within the next month with a foolproof plan that will address all of the challenges of the Iraq situation and will miraculously save us from all of our, well, their ills.
The only problem is that I know I'm dreaming here. As much as I respected the ISGR, I know it's not a panacea for Iraq, and Bush won't have the answer, either.
Comments & Trackbacks
No Comments/Trackbacks for this post yet...
This post has 95 feedbacks awaiting moderation...
Leave a comment