- If only more Americans could chew gum and think like
Britney Spears. In a recent CNN interview, the gum-snapping pop star said
that we should "trust our president in every decision he makes"
and "be faithful in what happens." Then again the country is
already fairly trusting. According to a recent Washington Post poll, seven
in 10 Americans believe that Iraq's Saddam Hussein had a role in the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks, even though there is no proof of that connection.
-
- Not surprisingly, President Bush is doing nothing to
dissuade his fellow Americans of that so-far unproven notion. For over
a year, Bush built up support for war with Iraq by repeatedly hinting of
such a link. And the president's Sunday night speech to the American people
continued the classic Bush pattern of juxtaposing Iraq and Al Qaeda in
ways that establishes the perception of a pre-9/11 link.
-
- "Nearly two years ago, following deadly attacks
on our country, we began a systemic campaign against terrorism," Bush
declared on prime-time television. The "systemic campaign" outlined
in the speech, he said, began in Afghanistan and moved onto "raids
and actions around the world."
-
- The most sweeping and controversial US action, of course,
took place in Iraq, "where the former regime sponsored terror, possessed
and used weapons of mass destruction, and for 12 years defied the clear
demands of the United Nations Security Council," said the president.
-
- Clearly, the old Iraqi regime used terror and chemical
weapons against its own citizenry. But, again, a direct link between Iraq
and the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on American soil was never established.
And the United States has yet to uncover evidence of weapons of mass destruction
in postwar Iraq.
-
- This continuing lack of presidential clarity on the subject
of war, terror, and Iraq is surely by design, not happenstance. It is to
Bush's advantage that 69 percent of Americans think it is at least likely
that Hussein was involved in the attacks on the World Trade Center and
the Pentagon, according to the Washington Post poll.
-
- The perception helps Bush justify the war, the continuing
US presence in Iraq, and the amazing $87 billion he now seeks for military
operations and reconstruction in that country.
-
- "We have carried the fight to the enemy," he
said Sunday night. "We are rolling back the terrorist threat to civilization,
not on the fringes of its influence, but at the heart of its power."
(Colin Powell, Bush's secretary of state, was less definitive on that issue
during a weekend appearance on "Meet the Press." Asked about
Iraq becoming a "breeding ground" for terrorists, Powell said,
"There are terrorists who are being drawn to Baghdad. I'm not sure
how large these numbers are, how significant the threat is.")
-
- "Trust me" was the underlying message of virtually
every line in the Bush speech. Follow me with the blind loyalty of a 22-year
old Britney Spears. Don't ask me to account for the prewar disinformation
about Iraq, terror, and weapons of mass destruction. Don't hold me responsible
for the lack of a postwar plan to stabilize the country. Don't expect me
to explain why the United States has yet to locate Hussein or Osama bin
Laden or when it expects to do so.
-
- British Prime Minister and Bush ally Tony Blair must
respond regularly to questions about the war and its aftermath from the
press and Parliament. Bush's onetime "explanation" comes packaged
for primetime viewing, cynically and deliberately linked to a week flush
with memories and emotions linked to the Sept. 11 attacks. It also exploits
the average citizen's unwillingness to undercut American troops now stationed
in Iraq.
-
- The country is heading into a presidential election year.
Eventually, Bush will have to engage in real debate over his economic and
foreign policy decisions. But it's easy to understand why he would try
to buy time now, with a trust-me speech.
-
- So far, Americans are not demanding proof of an absolute
link between Iraq and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Like Britney Spears,
they are inclined to say: Trust, don't verify -- at least for now.
-
- - Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.
-
- © Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
-
- http://www.boston.com
|
