Thursday, September 07, 2006
President Bush has again demonstrated this administration's uncanny ability to deceive without actually lying. We have been told that we have transported terror suspects to CIA "black sites" at locations around the world. The president reassured Americans that "America doesn't torture", and that he has not, and will not, authorize torture. That sounds great. Does the assertion mean that the terror suspects held at the black sites were not tortured- no. The president did not say that foreign nationals did not engage in torture. If foreign interrogators were used at the black sites, they would not require "authorization" from the POTUS. It should be noted that the president also did not state that Americans did not torture. He said specifically that America doesn't torture. He admitted that tough interogation methods were used at the CIA sites. All experts on interrogation agree that these tough interrogation methods are nonproductive at best, and counterproductive at worst. The president said that a number of terror plots were stopped as a result of information gained from the held suspects. The American people have no way of knowing if that in fact is true.
The Bush administration has done a superb job of high-jacking language. Early in his first term president Bush sat in the Rose Garden and promised that he would sign a bill renewing the ban on assault weapons. This certainly was seen as good news by Americans in favor of gun control. The president did not say that he would insist that the legislation reach his desk. He did not even say that he would push for the legislation. At the time that he uttered his promise, he knew that the legislation would never reach his desk. The ban on assault weapons was allowed to expire. The president made a promise that he knew he would not have to keep. In the bargain the president benefitted politically from the act of making the hollow promise.
The estate tax which affects very few American households was re-named the death tax- and death affects everyone. Legislators in favor of moving our troops to Kuwait are accused of wanting to cut and run. The most effective use of deceptive language was demonstrated in the ramp-up to the war in Iraq. The administration never claimed that Iraq participated in or abetted the attacks of 9/11/01. By consistently using the terms "Iraq" and "9/11" in the same sentences, the administration was able to convince over 40% of Americans that Iraq was involved.
Although the Bush administration have used deceptive language masterfully, they have been guilty of outright dishonesty. The slate of accusations prepared for Colin Powell to present to the UN was rife with dishonest statements. The Bush administration's entire case for going to war against Iraq was based on flimsy intelligence that was communicated as hard cold fact. It was never conveyed that the US believed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. It was communicated that they knew that Iraq possessed these weapons. Doubt and uncertainty never were included in the equation. This fact is chilling because all intelligence is graded according to credibility. Some of the intelligence that was made public prior to the invasion of Iraq did include caveats that referenced the dubious reliability of some of the sources. These caveats were redacted by the Bush administration when they used them to bolster their case for war.
The Bush team might not be liars, but they are masters of decptive use of language.
The Bush administration has done a superb job of high-jacking language. Early in his first term president Bush sat in the Rose Garden and promised that he would sign a bill renewing the ban on assault weapons. This certainly was seen as good news by Americans in favor of gun control. The president did not say that he would insist that the legislation reach his desk. He did not even say that he would push for the legislation. At the time that he uttered his promise, he knew that the legislation would never reach his desk. The ban on assault weapons was allowed to expire. The president made a promise that he knew he would not have to keep. In the bargain the president benefitted politically from the act of making the hollow promise.
The estate tax which affects very few American households was re-named the death tax- and death affects everyone. Legislators in favor of moving our troops to Kuwait are accused of wanting to cut and run. The most effective use of deceptive language was demonstrated in the ramp-up to the war in Iraq. The administration never claimed that Iraq participated in or abetted the attacks of 9/11/01. By consistently using the terms "Iraq" and "9/11" in the same sentences, the administration was able to convince over 40% of Americans that Iraq was involved.
Although the Bush administration have used deceptive language masterfully, they have been guilty of outright dishonesty. The slate of accusations prepared for Colin Powell to present to the UN was rife with dishonest statements. The Bush administration's entire case for going to war against Iraq was based on flimsy intelligence that was communicated as hard cold fact. It was never conveyed that the US believed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. It was communicated that they knew that Iraq possessed these weapons. Doubt and uncertainty never were included in the equation. This fact is chilling because all intelligence is graded according to credibility. Some of the intelligence that was made public prior to the invasion of Iraq did include caveats that referenced the dubious reliability of some of the sources. These caveats were redacted by the Bush administration when they used them to bolster their case for war.
The Bush team might not be liars, but they are masters of decptive use of language.
# posted by Billing Anders @ 4:45 AM 
