From Alan Murray's "Political Capital" column in todays Journal:
"SYMBOLS MATTER. The two AK-47s and the $750,000 in $100 bills found with Saddam Hussein are stark symbols of his brutal regime. His power derived from guns and money. Stripped of those, he was nothing but a dirty man with an empty pretense to power.
"But symbols matter for the U.S., too. The coalition allies need to show Iraqis, and the rest of the world, that their victory isn't just one of better guns and more money. Last week, the Bush administration got the symbols wrong. Saddam's capture gives it an opportunity to set them right.
"...FIRST, THE BUSH administration announced that it wouldn't allow French, German or Russian companies to be prime contractors in Iraq reconstruction. President Bush then magnified the problem by embracing the decision as his own. When asked by a reporter whether this ban might violate international law, he said with a sneer: 'International law? I better call my lawyer; he didn't bring that up to me.'
"Then the U.S. Defense Department announced that an initial audit suggested Halliburton Corp....may have overcharged taxpayers by as much as $130 million on contracts in Iraq. There is no reason to believe the White House had anything to do with those contracts; and the Pentagon's procurement problems long predate the Bush administration. But together, these events made for powerful symbolism. The President seemed to be belittling international law and standing up for war profiteers.
"...Saddam's capture provides Mr. Bush an opportunity to try again. At his news conference Monday, the president sounded more subdued but continued to insist that rebuilding contracts shouldn't go to French or German contractors. 'The idea of spending taxpayers' money on contracts to firms that didn't participate in the initial thrust -- that's not something I'm going to do,' he said.
"With Saddam out of the way, attention will turn back to Osama bin Laden, and the terrorists he spawned. Unlike Saddam, bin Laden's power involves more than fear and greed. His followers believe in their cause. Success in the battle against them can't be won by having the most weapons or the biggest treasury. Ultimately, it must be won by convincing the world that there is a clear line between good and evil, and that the U.S. is on the right side of the line. To do that, the Bush administration needs to pay more attention to the symbols that the world is watching."
Language matters, too. Here's some fine oratory from the press conference. With tax cuts like his, what's not to commiserate?
Ah, yes, those pesky symbols. Such as civil liberties, even in the face of external threats. The commission headed up by former (Republican) governor James Gilmore had some pointed things to say about the loss of some symbols. Even, while the focus on preventing another terrorist attack has blurred.
Meanwhile, in what could be interesting and embarassing for the Bush administration, Iran wants to take Saddam Hussein to an International Court for crimes against humanity. Seems unlikely that the Bush administration will allow that, given that a number of the administration's key players were directly involved in supporting Hussein in his war against Iran. And this is one where I don't think the French and Germans -- in fact, western countries in general -- will complain too loudly, given their complicity in arming Saddam in the 1980s.
But I think what we will find over the next weeks and months is that just as they didn't plan beyond the collapse of the regime, incredibly, they didn't have a plan for what to do with Hussein either.
It's the nature of campaign coverage that Dean's "I'm no sissy" speech would get most of the attention of the press. But, as Amy Sullivan points out, Wesley Clark's far more reasoned and thoughtful speech, got none. Which is all the more remarkable since he gave it on the occassion of testifying at an international war crimes trial for another mass murderer.
Combat camera crews, a weapon of mass destruction in this war.
"SYMBOLS MATTER. The two AK-47s and the $750,000 in $100 bills found with Saddam Hussein are stark symbols of his brutal regime. His power derived from guns and money. Stripped of those, he was nothing but a dirty man with an empty pretense to power.
"But symbols matter for the U.S., too. The coalition allies need to show Iraqis, and the rest of the world, that their victory isn't just one of better guns and more money. Last week, the Bush administration got the symbols wrong. Saddam's capture gives it an opportunity to set them right.
"...FIRST, THE BUSH administration announced that it wouldn't allow French, German or Russian companies to be prime contractors in Iraq reconstruction. President Bush then magnified the problem by embracing the decision as his own. When asked by a reporter whether this ban might violate international law, he said with a sneer: 'International law? I better call my lawyer; he didn't bring that up to me.'
"Then the U.S. Defense Department announced that an initial audit suggested Halliburton Corp....may have overcharged taxpayers by as much as $130 million on contracts in Iraq. There is no reason to believe the White House had anything to do with those contracts; and the Pentagon's procurement problems long predate the Bush administration. But together, these events made for powerful symbolism. The President seemed to be belittling international law and standing up for war profiteers.
"...Saddam's capture provides Mr. Bush an opportunity to try again. At his news conference Monday, the president sounded more subdued but continued to insist that rebuilding contracts shouldn't go to French or German contractors. 'The idea of spending taxpayers' money on contracts to firms that didn't participate in the initial thrust -- that's not something I'm going to do,' he said.
"With Saddam out of the way, attention will turn back to Osama bin Laden, and the terrorists he spawned. Unlike Saddam, bin Laden's power involves more than fear and greed. His followers believe in their cause. Success in the battle against them can't be won by having the most weapons or the biggest treasury. Ultimately, it must be won by convincing the world that there is a clear line between good and evil, and that the U.S. is on the right side of the line. To do that, the Bush administration needs to pay more attention to the symbols that the world is watching."
Language matters, too. Here's some fine oratory from the press conference. With tax cuts like his, what's not to commiserate?
Ah, yes, those pesky symbols. Such as civil liberties, even in the face of external threats. The commission headed up by former (Republican) governor James Gilmore had some pointed things to say about the loss of some symbols. Even, while the focus on preventing another terrorist attack has blurred.
Meanwhile, in what could be interesting and embarassing for the Bush administration, Iran wants to take Saddam Hussein to an International Court for crimes against humanity. Seems unlikely that the Bush administration will allow that, given that a number of the administration's key players were directly involved in supporting Hussein in his war against Iran. And this is one where I don't think the French and Germans -- in fact, western countries in general -- will complain too loudly, given their complicity in arming Saddam in the 1980s.
But I think what we will find over the next weeks and months is that just as they didn't plan beyond the collapse of the regime, incredibly, they didn't have a plan for what to do with Hussein either.
It's the nature of campaign coverage that Dean's "I'm no sissy" speech would get most of the attention of the press. But, as Amy Sullivan points out, Wesley Clark's far more reasoned and thoughtful speech, got none. Which is all the more remarkable since he gave it on the occassion of testifying at an international war crimes trial for another mass murderer.
Combat camera crews, a weapon of mass destruction in this war.
posted by John at 5:25 PM
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