Opinion Editorials, October 2003, www.aljazeerah.info
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Have Bush and Blair sold their anti-Iraq argument?
Nilofar Suhrawardy
Hindustan Times, October 25, 2003
With the best advertising agencies and most reputed newspapers in their domain, have President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair really succeeded in selling their anti-Iraq argument to their people?
If recent public opinion surveys are to be believed, more and more Americans have ceased to trust Bush for what he says on Iraq. The leadership crisis in Iraq rests on the American president’s failure to lure the world to his way of thinking.
Cutting across social, political and national barriers, millions across the globe have indicated that with or without the media’s support, Bush’s anti-Iraq call has had little appeal. Those who have opposed Bush are all not Muslims. Unfortunately in the US and Britain, the people’s voice has fallen on deaf ears. And herein lies the crux of what has compelled millions to surge forth to make an emphatic noise against the actions of the ‘coalition of the willing’.
What is in people’s best interest cannot be imposed by what leaders perceive to be their or their group’s interest. When such an imposition is resorted to, it suggests leaders locking themselves in an ivory tower, refusing to hear the voice of their people. It is not regarding every issue that millions choose to march in protest. The display of popular dissent over the last few months against the war in Iraq and its aftermath has served as an eye-opener to a harsh reality the world is witnessing: that of a crisis of leadership.
The US remains unsuccessful in having international support behind it on Iraq. Such was not the case when George Bush Sr. invaded Iraq or when the Soviet Union and the US fought over Afghanistan. Rather than buy Bush’s anti-Iraq rhetoric harping on terrorism, opponents have labelled him as the ‘pre-emptive terrorist’. America’s attempt to justify its attack has collapsed against the new disorder that has taken over Iraq. Not only have those against the Bush administration voiced their opposition but they have tried all available means to prevent the US from turning Iraq into a fiefdom. Which explains why the war is still not over.
When leaders of Bush’s stature choose to win over popular support by generating a fear psychosis, they may be assumed to be politically on a very sticky wicket. Ironically, there is a striking resemblance to Bush’s ‘war-cry’ with the noise made by Indian politicians to justify their stand on issues such as Muslim-bashing or Kashmir. The credibility of Bush can’t rest on media spaces used to flaunt his logic. The media cater to only a particular section of society, the reader/viewer.
It cannot be assumed to hold any strength if people choose to differ with the opinion being tom-tommed. If media bigwigs and leaders are guided by the notion that by harping on a fear-psychosis they can succeed in their missions, then they are living in a realm of illusion.
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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