Bush Blows Belligerent Bugle at UN
by Matthew Rothschild
When George Bush spoke before the United Nations four years ago, he did so as part of his lead-up to the war against Iraq.
“It was a speech I really enjoyed giving,” he told Bob Woodward in Plan of Attack.
Bush’s speech to the U.N. on Tuesday was part of his lead-up to the bombing of Iran and/or Syria, and he once again appeared to be getting a kick out of his bellicosity.
As is his wont, he referred to September 11 right off the top. And then, ever black and white, he divided the world into “extremists” and “moderates.”
Early in his speech, Bush referred to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But he didn’t seem to read past the first sentence of the preamble.
Had he done so, he might have thought twice.
He used the word “extremist” or “extremism” four times in his first six sentences. And he used “enemies of humanity” and “their campaign of murder” and “terror as a weapon” in those sentences, as well.
Let it not be said that he’s subtle.
All in all, he used variations of the word “extremist” fourteen times and “terror,” “terrorism,” or “terrorist” sixteen times.
The good guys are “forces of freedom and moderation” or “the voices of moderation.”
He paternalistically hailed Afghanistan, which he managed somehow to place in the Middle East. And he also heaped praise on Iraq’s democratic government “that embodies the aspirations of the Iraq people,” he said. (“Iraq people”?)
In the camp of “moderate reformers,” Bush improbably placed the governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Algeria, Jordan, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates—countries not known for their human rights records. But Bush claimed they were all on “the road to freedom.”
Conveniently, Bush omitted any discussion of Pakistan, where General Musharraf has ruled as a dictator since 1999. But he’s on our side, so no matter.
Bush took the podium to “speak directly to the people across the broader Middle East: My country desires peace,” he said. This after launching his illegal war against Iraq and encouraging Israel to invade Lebanon.
(Bertolt Brecht: “When the leaders speak of peace, the common folk know that war is coming. When the leaders curse war, the mobilization order is already written out.”)
Bush reserved his hottest rhetoric for Iran and Syria, leaving little doubt that he is so desirous of peace that he will once again wage war.
“Your rulers have chosen to deny you liberty and to use your nation’s resources to fund terrorism, and fuel extremism, and pursue nuclear weapons,” he told the people of Iran, adding “Iran must abandon its nuclear weapons.” As he told the Iraqis prior to invading their country, so Bush said to the Iranians: “We look to the day when you can live in freedom—and American and Iran can be good friends and close partners in the cause of peace.”
To the Syrians, he was equally threatening. “Today, your rulers have allowed your country to become a crossroad for terrorism,” he said. “In your midst, Hamas and Hezbollah are working to destabilize the region, and your government is turning your country into a tool of Iran.”
Looks like Bush may go to Tehran and Damascus before he’s through, even though, as he put it, “freedom, by its nature, cannot be imposed.”
As to Israel and Palestine and Lebanon, Bush was his usual unevenhanded self. Israel’s war crimes in Lebanon went unmentioned, as Bush laid all the violence at the feet of Hezbollah. And as to Israel’s reoccupation of Gaza and its hold on the West Bank, Bush was all but silent, mentioning just in passing “the daily humiliation of occupation.”
Again, the only obstacle to peace was on the Palestinian side, he said, pointing a finger at Hamas.
One final, ironic note.
Early in his speech, Bush referred to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But he didn’t seem to read past the first sentence of the preamble.
Had he done so, he might have thought twice.
Take a look at Article 5, for instance: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Or Article 10: “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.”
Or Article 11, Part One: “Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.”
Bush’s recent efforts on Capitol Hill to make sure he can try detainees with secret evidence and his insistence on giving the CIA the permission to use its “alternative” tactics (read: torture, or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment) show that he himself is not the exemplar of the values of moderation and freedom that he so extolled at the United Nations.
It’s a wonder anyone listened to him.
Published on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 by The Progressive |
