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Thursday, July 03, 2003
Musing on the "Shanes" of this world Yesterday I briefly sketched out my theory about a lot of the political rhetoric in the U.S. was not best understood by looking at it literally. I had no idea how events of the real world yesterday would bolster my idea. Yesterday morning that guy named George W. Bush got into the following exchange: Q Mr. President, a posse of small nations -- like the Ukraine and Poland -- are materializing to help keep the peace in Iraq. But with the attacks on U.S. forces and the casualty rates rising, what is the administration doing to get larger powers, like France and Germany and Russia, to join the American occupation there?The "bring them on" part has drawn a lot of attention and White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer was asked about just a few hours later: Q Also in Iraq, when he says, "My answer is bring them on," to people who would be tempted to attack American troops, does that kind of language risk inviting more attacks?In other words, Fleischer says the people who Bush's message was literally directed at were not the people that he actually trying to address. And, as seems to be the norm for Team Bush, there is reason to doubt the claim that "[w]e've got the force necessary to deal with the security situation." *** It is now cliched to say that Bill Hicks' rants about Operation Desert Storm sound in many ways as if they could be used to describe recent U.S. actions RE Iraq. It has become a cliche because it is true. In "Bullies Of The World" from Arizona Bay, Hicks compares the U.S. to Jack Palance's character in the 1953 movie Shane (George Stevens), Jack Wilson, in terms of how the U.S. arms countries and then fights war with them by baiting them into conflict. In yesterday's comments, Bush is doing exactly that. It will be interesting to see if a "Shane" arises in the "war on terror" that has the ability to defeat the U.S. and/or an agenda that is worth supporting. Most likely this "Shane" won't be an individual but some sort of movement that, at best, is now just starting to form. Unless this "Shane" arises, Perry Anderson's idea of refusing to accept injustice but acknowledging that there does not appear to be a viable short-term alternative will have to be the best route. *** "The Pentagon has told U.S. European Command to prepare military options and issue a recommendation for possible U.S. intervention in Liberia," CNN reports. " Some U.S. officials said Bush is committed to having the United States take a peacekeeping role, but key questions -- chief among them [Liberian President Charles] Taylor's fate -- need to be resolved before a decision can be made." |