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Cracks in the Bush Adminstration: Is America Waking Up?

08:39 / 16.07.03

In the past few weeks, I've noticed a very interesting turn in media coverage of Bush, his administration, and the war in Iraq. Gone are (some of) the moral platitudes, and in their place are actual critiques and questions. I don't know if it's the same in the States as it is here but in Newsweek and Time Magazine both have had articles this week (and in recent weeks) raising the question, "If the Uranium story was false, what ELSE are might they have lied about?"

In addition, we're still in Iraq, soldiers continue to die daily in a war that "ended" two months ago, the U.S. jobless rate is alarming, and some Democrats (OK, mostly Democrats who want to get a presidential nomination) are starting to point fingers and ask questions..

Is this a sign of change? Or a short crisis soon to be covered up?

11:15 / 16.07.03

FWIW, CNN europe has undergone a change of tone in its coverage of late. Previously, the war and its justifications were pretty unchallenged. Now, asking difficult questions of Bush, or at least reporting on a debate about weapons, Uranium, Intelligence and so on is par for the course.

I think that there are good reasons for establishment objections(rather than the tree hugging hippy kind) to the war. It was expensive, probably counter productive and may involve the US in a long commitment to rebuilding Iraq.

13:15 / 16.07.03

That's probably so people won't abandon them for BBCWorld, which is covering the pre- and post-war shenanigans more extensively than CNN would like. The American Enterprise Institute flacks they've been parading as "experts" aren't in very good odor these days. I've noticed lately they're using a lot of these people but not giving their affiliations.

13:17 / 16.07.03

I've been hiding from TV news for months, so I haven't seen this. There have been critical stories in print all along, mostly centered around the budget and the 9-11 intelligence failures and subsequent bogus investigation... though perhaps these were being handicapped.

I dunno. I expect that the administration is saving its ammunition for the fall, when it will blitz the key election states.

13:26 / 16.07.03

From the abstract:

Is America finally waking up from it's 911-induced coma

I think so. Certainly 9/11 was a godsend for a fledgling administration that needed desperately to justify a foreign policy of aggression against countries such as Iraq. The massive wave of jingoism following the Twin Towers, which essentially told us that American lives are worth more than the lives of other human beings, allowed Bush and his cronies to get away with a great deal and be reasonably sure that nobody would stop to ask why they were going to war.

I was at a globalisation conference in Brighton a few months ago, and was listening to a visiting US professor talking about 9/11 actually having potentially desirable results, since it caused the Bush administration to overstretched itself to such a massive degree that it's now finding justifying the action taken to be increasingly difficult, if not near-impossible, which - it's hoped - will cause it's collapse.

Ultimately I think people are becoming rapidly less tolerant of Bush's - and Blair's - foreign policy. Whether this dissatisfaction leads to an identifiable result remains to be seen...

The Fifth Columnist

23:17 / 16.07.03

It could lead to a Democrat being elected in 2004...depending on how hard they push on the Iraq issue. Now that we've come up short on the WMD's, mainstream Dems feel they have a leg to stand on in opposing the war. The principle of the thing isn't enough...not when your opponent can call you "un-American". Now that the far-left of the party (esp. dark-horse candidate Howard Dean) is shouting "I told you so", they're moving on it, cautiously. If they can convince the American public that Bush was not just mistaken, but acted in bad faith then they can discredit the current administration. That's the thing about the Democratic party, at the national level...they have principles, but they only act on them out of political necessity. If they get their congressional investigation, it's going to get interesting.

Some related thoughts are posted in the "Thug Politics in America" thread.

13:23 / 17.07.03

Tezcatlipoca, you may well have a point, in that 9/11 caused the Bush administration to overstretched itself to such a massive degree that it's now finding justifying the action taken to be increasingly difficult, if not near-impossible.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Bush government wasn't able to invade/occupy Syria, Iran, Korea, and the rest, if/when its case against Iraq collapses and more Americans protest. Maybe the spell of 9/11 will break and the US public will risk being branded "traitors" and finally start asking some basic questions.

I do not think the US public should be underestimated, despite massive misinformation from the corporate media organisations. Historically, the US public has a lot to be proud of, from the Wobblies, a century ago, to the successful Vietnam anti-war protests to Seattle.

I believe, or hope rather, that when Americans - supposedly more suspicious of government than Europeans - realise they have been well and truly conned, lied to, and a criminal war carried out in their name, they'll get mad and return to their successful tradition of protest.

When that happens all hell will break loose.

20:17 / 17.07.03

The cracks are showing. But they're predicated on the lack of capture of Hussein, the lack of discovery of WMDs and whether the inquiry into Bush's war cry turns up as just as just semantics or complete deception.

The quote from the Democratic operative nails it completely. 'The issue will not endure. Once Hussein and weapons of mass destruction are found in Iraq, “that is the spear in the heart of this whole argument.”'

How likely is this?

20:44 / 17.07.03

Jesus. I'd like to know just what "comatose" Americans are supposed to do about any of this. Protest? Where, and to whom? We did protest and it had zero impact--just about as much impact as it will have when the other shoe drops during campaign season. People seem to think that we get a ballot in the mail to vote on everything our government does. You have a lot more direct access to government in much of Europe, at least in theory, and your governments are just as exploitive and deceptive. Ours is louder, that's all.

I'm sorry, I know that this is not precisely what you mean, but from where I'm sitting it looks like you're saying, "Gosh, if only those ignorant Americans would wake up and realize war is bad, everyting would be all right." And it's damn irritating.

We're The Great Old Ones Now

07:57 / 18.07.03

Sadly, that's what you get for living in the most powerful nation on Earth. Don't give up, agitate, explain, inform. It's all you can do. Oh, and when the election comes around, beat your friends and family out of the house and make 'em vote against W.

Mass: who knows whether Hussein will be caught? He's obviously taken some serious steps to hide himself. He's alleged to have called his plastic surgeon in, so maybe he's already in the US raising funds for the resistance by winning bikini contests. By the way, the other thing which would probably secure W. the election is catching Osama...

WMD... it looks unlikely, doesn't it? Scott Ritter pointed out that the 'unaccounted for' bio-weapons would by now be so much smelly sludge; they have a shelf life of three years max. Iraq was very thoroughly disarmed after the last war. The Iraqi scientists who ought to be singing like birds to secure money and livelihood in the US are all very quiet, and likewise the military officers. In other words, if the WMD exist in the way they were supposed to, there was an entire parallel command and research structure in Iraq, and we haven't found any evidence of it at all.

If you want to be really paranoid, you can say they're holding onto it all until the election...(!)

10:30 / 18.07.03

Qualyn: I'm confused. Who are you directing your comments to? Anyway, I understand your frustration at feeling like you can't make a difference - hell, I voted in the last election, protested the Supreme Court "sElection" decision and have marched here in London, too... but frustrating and futile as these actions can feel sometimes I think it's imperative NOT to give up.

Believe me, by no means am I calling all Americans "asleep" - I'm just saying that it does indeed seem that in someways Americans have been sleepwalking through the past two years and maybe it's time to realize, President Bush, that we're not "ALL behind you," as a sign I saw early on the morning of 9.12.01 proclaimed.

And I think this is a good thing. I'd like these cracks to turn into the crumbling of the Bush Administration, and a regime change in 2004, and by golly I will be voting and I hope every other American on Barbelith is, too. We CAN make a difference.

*

14:18 / 18.07.03

It was clear to me that the object of this thread is not those americans reading it, myself included, but the american public we've been marching and protesting to TRY and wake up, all this time. I too feel like the mass of the american public is in denial about the real state of our country, our government, and our position in world affairs. Otherwise intelligent people and well-educated people are making ridiculous statements to me about Iraq, the World Courts, and the UN and backing them up with facts also quoted by such reknowned political and social theorists as Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage. This makes me feel like one of a tiny minority. But, as this thread addresses, we needn't feel like a handful to stem the flood, anymore. There are more people coming around. If enough of us do come around, Bush and co. will have a hell of a lot more work to throw the 2004 election than they did in 2000. Someone with an ounce of sense may even get elected, and then we can stave off the bloody coup for another four years.

I'm with you, Qalyn. I feel pretty fucking helpless, too. But I'm aware that a lot of what's keeping me feeling that way are the sentiments expressed in the media and parroted by the people around me. I feel a little less helpless, and maybe I won't feel helpless at all come November next year.

Of course, come the day after the polls I may realize fleeing the country is not just the best solution, it's the only solution. That'll be right after the election's thrown again and Bush is talking about "redefining" term limits.

15:09 / 18.07.03

If you want to be really paranoid, you can say they're holding onto it all until the election...(!)

This is what I've been saying. They're not going to lose the election by playing fair, like they did in '92. There will be a media blitz and probably more state-sponsored terrorism... of American voters. And when this happens, will you still wonder why "Americans" can't control their government? And, if by some miracle, a Democrat is elected, what then? Everything's okay again?

I'm sorry for the outburst. I respect you guys and I don't mean to be rude. What I find very frustrating wrt to this thread is not the junta currently occupying the White House--I hate them, but I have just enough grasp of realpolitik and all that jazz to cope with it--it's the condescension to "Americans" by people who, while some of the smartest "regular joes" I've met in interwebnetland, clearly don't understand our legal or political system or our civil society very well, but still feel comfortable wagging their fingers at us. I find this thread offensive from the topic abstract on down. No one's telling French citizens to "wake up" to their government's imperialist agenda, without which the current war in Iraq would've been impossible, and let's not forget Vietnam. No one wonders when the German people will ask probing questions about their government's harboring of terrorists because they're good for German business. Please stop talking down to Americans, because A) believe me, you don't know the half of it, B) you are only contributing to the idea that we are powerful, stupid children, and C) it is very likely that the same kind thing is going on in your part of town as well.

15:24 / 18.07.03

Okay, this was kind of an emotional outburst and I'm sorry for that. I'm frustrated by this and I'm going in 10 directions at once. I think my premises are sound, though, and I would happily discuss them, here or elsewhere, in less loaded terms if someone wants to help me straighten myself out.

More to the point of this thread--yes, right now there appears to be a slackening of the reins in the Administration, but I don't expect it will last that long. They are gathering their resources for another putsch.

Professor Silly

19:05 / 18.07.03

I think the most important consideration is where information comes from. Obviously the corporate news outlets represent the view of the rich, whether they consider themselves liberal or conservative. I'm not rich, so their information only has limited application to my life. I'm sure if I lived in a town like Pensacola, Florida I'd encounter a lot more supporters of Bushy, what with the military bases there.
But I don't. I work in a tattoo shop, so I only really talk to those people I tattoo. Granted, I work on mostly folk from the richer suburbs of Denver...so it's not the biker/criminal element. That said an overwhelming number of those people have anti-Bushy views. I've only encounter two of the "let's bomb them all and let Jesus sort them out" types...and that's two too many in my opinion.
The argument that I've had NO disagreements on goes like this: We're the richest country in the world, and yet we're twenty-eighth in education (or there-abouts). I see no reason why we shouldn't be the smartest...except the paranoid view that a dumbed-down population is easier to control. Sure we have great Universities, and many from around the world come to experience their great education...but the public schools are an absolute joke.
Liberals, conservatives...noone has argued against this train of thought. Once I get them there, I move on to health care (an even more liberal issue).
But once again, I'm only interacting with those that are getting tattoos, which doesn't exactly represent the nation. I hope and pray that the voters will punish the Republicans this next election...but I'm not holding my breath. We may very well have to lose abortion rights and see all the states go bankrupt before the masses realize what's going on.
In the long term I see this as okay--as illustrated in Herbert's "Dune Messiah" the further we swing in one direction (ultra-conservatism) the stronger and more violent the eventual backlash will be....

10:28 / 19.07.03

More later, but I thought I'd just point that I AM an American, and I started this thread, so I don't really think I'M talking down to myself, and yes I do know the half of it. I do think that we, as citizens of the most powerful and influential country of the planet have a responsibility to speak up and say something. Yes these things are happening elsewhere in the world and that's not excusable, but we as an Americans BECAUSE of our status have more responsibility to be accounted for than those other nations.

YES, it is frustrating trying to make change in this climate: I would argue that that's no excuse for not trying, and neither is thinking you'll probably lose.

That's me, though, and I'm an optimist - I'd love to argue more but I have errands to run...

08:45 / 21.07.03

I don't envy Americans who disagree with their government's unprovoked attacks on countries, organisations and individuals, its open torturing, maiming and "taking out" of thousands of innocent people, mostly for oil, greater power and Israel.

It is clear that the US political system no longer offers real choice (did it ever?) and that there is hardly any difference between both parties. Both are squarely for big business, an aggresive foreign policy, now based on naked imperialism, while screwing the poor, blacks and working class at home as much as they can get away with.

Citizens of other repressive states, and that's what the US now is, must feel just as impotent, especially in the face of mass propaganda from the corporate media repeating again and again that black is white and that the wars and repression are all for "freedom"; that Americans who protest against their government are being "unpatriotic" and foreigners who protest are "anti-American". US Peace protestors must feel so isolated right now as I know the US secret police are regularly kicking down their doors at 5am and beating the sh*t out of the "Saddam-lovers"...and what lawyer is going to risk their credibility defending such "traitors"?

So what does the US peace lover DO under this type of political intolerance? The reason I ask is that one protest in the US is worth 1000 anywhere else, thus we are all depending on you guys. Limited US "democracy" won't change anything and mass direct action still has a long way to go over there, apart from the honourable example of Seattle. Bomb Bush back? Hmm...tempting...very tempting...but I think the days of the Weather Men and the Angry Brigade are long gone, their strategies for toppling government not having worked. I think we'll just have to wait a few years for the US peace movement to recover from its deep sleep, before we see any real challenge to US state terror.

18:04 / 21.07.03

In the US, it really depends where you live. State-wise, and city-wise. I live in a very liberal, gay-friendly college town, so the atmosphere here is much different than say, a stereotypical suburb or a small town in the bible belt. (Not that there aren't conservatives here, mind you.)

During the Iraq war (that is, the "conventional phase"), there were lots of protests, usually an anti-war rally on one side of the street numbering in the 50-200 person range (depending on the day and time), with about 2-12 people across the street waving US flags and holding signs that said "America, Love it or leave it!"--that kind of thing. I was always amused by the mispellings of some of the pro-patriot signs, like "Amerika" or "Irak" or "Gorge Busch". Always made my day.

We have a local anti-war 'zine being put out and a weekly rally/vigil downtown protesting the occupation. But then again, out here, its like preaching to the converted. As far as voting goes, we still use old-fashioned paper ballots you fill in like a multiple-choice exam. I don't see us using touch-screens any time soon.

Overall though, folks out here are more cynical than anything else. Lots of closet anarchists meeting in bookstores and coffeehouses. But its been like that for years, regardless of who was in the white house.

Go to the next town over, and its all pickup trucks festooned with US flags and SUV's with "support our troops" bumper stickers. That's just how it is.

18:13 / 21.07.03

US Peace protestors must feel so isolated right now as I know the US secret police are regularly kicking down their doors at 5am and beating the sh*t out of the "Saddam-lovers"...

Come again?

and what lawyer is going to risk their credibility defending such "traitors"?

Rather a lot of them, actually.
http://www.aclu.org

11:07 / 22.07.03

MJ-12 Angry Men, the US secret police I refer to are the FBI.

Regarding US lawyers, I have heard that some of them too have been physically roughed up by the US secret police, not to mention the problems many would certainly encounter professionally when defending protestors.

Of course the Civil Liberties Union and others, if they have not been cowed, will protest, but I don't believe they cut much ice in the current repressive climate in the US.

11:57 / 22.07.03

I understand that you meant the FBI. My question would be, just what is your definition of "regularly?"

12:04 / 22.07.03

And it would be helpful if people backed up their assertions with relevant links where possible...

12:10 / 22.07.03

Oh, I have heard that people in Seattle and other cities have been 'visited' by the FBI, their homes turned upside down and some imprisoned for made up petty offences.

14:45 / 22.07.03

I don't disregard the possibility of nightly J. Edgar Hoover-esque visits by the Men in Black (the DoJ just rolled new proof that some of the claims of Patriot Act abuse are in fact valid and certifiable) but I'm not a huge fan of he said-she said anecdotal evidence either. Where are your sources on this, GreenMann? The linkage, the linkage.

And the tide IS turning, however lethargic to people's wanting it might be. Never underestimate the short attention span of Americans on ANY issue. Jingoism is no exception.

10:41 / 23.07.03

Hardly anyone, Americans or not, dispute, or are surprised, that the FBI, have, since 9/11, been raiding the homes of Muslims, students, anarchists and other suspected "terrorists". The particular FBI raids in Seattle I heard about word of mouth are part of this trend, but there is no shortage of internet links on this subject.

14:38 / 05.08.03

Good thing a few people aren't willing to let Bush roll over them Nixon-stylee.

Former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, a key figure in the Iraq-Niger uranium controversy, accused the Bush administration on Monday of using intimidation tactics to stifle criticism about its handling of prewar intelligence on Iraq.

Their violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act is what kills me. Break any law you can to put a firewall between inquiries and your mistakes, George. Christ.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

16:48 / 05.08.03

Green Mann said: one protest in the US is worth 1000 anywhere else

Which is true, I reckon. And also gives rise to the inescapable problems of geography, what with the US being so huge. A major rally in Washington... well, (thinks the rest of the world), that's just one city, yeah? Many smaller rallies everywhere else and you may not get reported.

We in the UK have it easier in a sense- to have symbolic value, and make good telly, you've just gotta get everyone into London- no more than a day's travel, wherever you start.

And as far as I can tell from the little we see over here, the US peace movement is pretty fucking strong. Unfortunately, the media seem to be stronger, hence we never see the good people are doing.

Locust No longer

05:13 / 13.08.03

When I was in London during the massive protests over Iraq, the alternative press in the UK(as well as the mainstream) seemed to hardly cover the American peace protests at all. Maybe I simply didn't hear about them, but it seemed like the media portrayed all Americans as "our president right or wrong" and that the American protests were non existent when I knew for a fact they weren't.

08:10 / 13.08.03

All this talk of the FBI raiding peoples homes and beating lawyers is ridiculous. Seattle was terrorized and you "heard" this? America has some real problems but its far from being a police state as of now. At last count there were about 700 muslims illegally rounded up and eventually released, which is definatelly a bad thing, but out of millions of people its hardly fascism, even though it might be leaning towards that at a very slow rate. Im totally against the Iraq war but all of you do a disservice to the cause when you make these outrageous claims.

10:34 / 13.08.03

All this talk of the FBI raiding peoples homes and beating lawyers is ridiculous.

Well, it's not totally ridiculous.

Feds raid homes of Muslim students

Saudi family baffled by FBI raid.

Exaggerated, perhaps, but not ridiculous. And reporting and challenging these incidents is one way to try and ensure that they do not become more par for the course.

The detention of Muslims seems to have been used as much as a weapon against immigration as against terrorism - see for example this recent article from the World Socialist. I don't think detentions carried out on this apparently arbitrary basis are acceptable no matter now 'many' or how 'few' people are involved (and, lest we forget, similar dententions have been carried out in the UK, notably at Belmarsh).

You can find some interesting ideas about fascism and America at this site - not saying I totally agree with them, but they are worth a look.

04:40 / 14.08.03

That's my point that it is exaggerated. America has tons of problems, but when one says cities are under FBI raids you invite others to dismiss you as nuts and not win over potential converts. I said 700 muslims have been oppressed, that is far too much. But America as a whole is a long way from being a fascist state. If America ever becomes a police state than it will be a boy-who-cries-wolf thing when noone will listen to those that realize it.

10:47 / 14.08.03

If America ever becomes a police state than it will be a boy-who-cries-wolf thing when noone will listen to those that realize it.

Er - shooting yourself in the foot a bit there, old thing. Not that I believe that America is a fascist state either, but...

Incidentally, where are you getting your figures from?

19:45 / 14.08.03

I believe I got that number from the Progressive magazine. Actually I totally agree that all the abuses need to be pointed out to prevent future abuses, but I'm sick of the totally hate-America activist crowd. Those such as GreenMann prove the pro-war peoples point, by being openly anti-American instead of critisizing America to make it better.