War on Terrorism, or War on Truth?

By Margaret Nagel

George W. Bush’s speechwriters are brilliant technicians. They put words in his mouth that are homespun and neighborly—cloaking his single-minded pursuit of political power and financial bonanzas for himself and his cronies at the top. Across the whole spectrum of issues vital to our time, even the most casual investigation can readily identify blatant contradictions in President Bush’s record of words and deeds. Here are just a few examples of Bushspeak.

Respect for Immigrants

Bush’s Words: “Our nation was born in [a spirit of courage and optimism] as immigrants yearning for freedom courageously risked their lives in search of greater opportunity. That spirit of courage and optimism still beckons people across the world who want to come here.” (World Congress Center, 11/01)

Bush’s Deeds: Arrested months ago in Attorney General John Ashcroft’s roundup of possible terrorists, hundreds of non-citizens remain imprisoned on vague or no charges while their wives and children face deportation.

The Southern Poverty Law Center paints a grim picture of the fate of immigrant juveniles who come here hoping for asylum. “Instead of offering them help,” says the center’s legal director Rhonda Brownstein, “we throw them in jail until we can send them back to where they came from. Meanwhile, we pit them against a trained immigration lawyer and expect them to overcome legal and language barriers on their own.”(SPLC Report, 7/02)

Free Speech

Bush’s Words: “We [Americans] value the right to speak our minds. (11/01) “America will always stand firm for the
non-negotiable demands of … free speech…” (State of the Union
Address, 1/02)

Bush’s Deeds: Instead of supporting free speech, Bush gives us Attorney General Ashcroft, who has cowed too many in Congress with statements such as, “To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve.” In the USA Patriot Act, Bush gives new scope to every enemy of our Bill of Rights.

The War on Terrorism

Bush’s Words: One key phrase is that “America will do what is necessary to ensure our nation’s security.” (State of the Union Address, 1/02)

Bush’s Deeds: In 2001, Ashcroft’s legal advisers made it clear that the Justice Department has every legal right to turn gun-purchase records over to the FBI. But under pressure from the gun lobby, Ashcroft has refused. Ashcroft also proposed destroying gun-purchase records within 24 hours for “public safety.” (Washington Post, 7/25/02)

Because of pressure from the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, Bush refused to endorse an international accord calling for inspection of all facilities capable of manufacturing bioweapons.

Foreknowledge of 9/11

Bush’s Words: White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer declared: “The President did not … receive information about the use of airplanes as missiles by suicide bombers. This was a new type of attack that was not foreseen.” (5/15/02)

Bush’s Deeds: The existence of training camps for exactly such attacks had long been widely known. Authoritative warnings were issued before 9/11 about this threat.

Protecting the Environment

Bush’s Words: Bush proposes initiatives with wonderful names like “Clean Skies.” He urged Congress to work with him for “a cleaner environment.”(1/02)

Bush’s Deeds: He dismissed a comprehensive new EPA report on global warming as just something from “the bureaucrats.” He continues to press for more nuclear reactors, despite unsolvable problems of waste disposal and safety failures. His Administration has invoked the threat of terrorism to roll back decades of environmental safeguards. Bush’s proposed budget for FY 2003 slashes discretionary spending for the environment by $1 billion. The Administration’s own figures project that when inflation is factored in, environmental spending power will decline by $14 billion over the next five years. (www.nrdc.org)

Nuclear Arms Reduction

Bush’s Words: “President Putin and I are about to sign the most dramatic nuclear arms reduction treaty in history. Both the United States and Russia will reduce our nuclear arsenals by about two-thirds—to the lowest levels in decades.”

Bush’s Deeds: The Bush plan simply puts the decommissioned weapons into storage. Bush made a step backward from Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties I and II. Bush’s empty gesture allows him to push for new generations of weaponry, and the militarization of space through National Missile Defense.

Corporate Misdeeds and Reform

Bush’s Words: “The heady profits of the late 1990s spawned abuses and excesses…” “When abuses like this begin to surface in the corporate world, it is time to reaffirm the basic principles and rules that make capitalism work: truthful books and honest people, and well-enforced laws against fraud and corruption…” (Regent Wall Street Hotel, 7/02)

Bush’s Deeds: Bush implies that Bill Clinton was responsible for today’s corporate woes. But it was Newt Gingrich and the Republicans in 1995 who passed a law making it more difficult to sue companies for misleading shareholders, and who froze the budget of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bush’s proposal for a $100 million budget boost for the SEC is miniscule compared to the House’s proposed $300 million. His call to bar “corporate leaders who are convicted of abusing their powers” from serving on boards would prevent the SEC from proving only an executive’s “substantial unfitness.”(New Republic, 7/22/02)