The Legacy

Iran.

The challenge.


How does Bush's mind work? Does he even have a mind?

The question is critical because we are all now facing the dangers of precipitous escalation that may fly out of control in ways that could engulf the world. .

If the president is incautious to such dangers, the rest of us must assert whatever rights we may have in a free society to stem the current slide towards war—another war that we are ill prepared for. …

Preemption has not strengthened our hand; it has only contributed to greater fragility of world relationships and a growing enmity expressed towards our country among those who lead the world.. .

So, let me ask this what could Bush be thinking?--especially in light of his previous failings to control or improve an attack where he held all of the cards.

To answer the question: Yes, Bush has a mind. A mind that is consistent and patterned gauging from the evidence that suggests that his views, whether you agree with them or not, change much or are influenced by inputs deriving from a particular situation. He is not moved by such things.


For all intents and purposes, if nothing else happens to improve our situation in Iraq--Bush has to know that he will be perceived as a failed president by his family and the party.

But the question is does that knowledge matter. For the people who benefited most, his friendship and support has been paramount. . In actuality, he may have already been successful! He has successfully moved to control the oil in Iraq. He was successful in moving his friends into a position of having coveted sub-contractor roles. He was also successful in assuring that his friends were chosen as consultants. His former Party chairman is in charge of making those assignments. We are talking huge numbers here! Not hundreds of millions of dollars but actually hundreds of billions of dollars. And Bush has been successful in catering to his friends in the military and industrial complex, the people who make jet aircraft, who manufacture ammo and weaponry, and who provide all of the parts, the motors, the computer infrastructure that is demanded by a military force. He has parlayed his friends’ and his family’s investment in Carlyle into fortunes—Today, Carlyle is one of the most successful business investment companies. It should be since it operates on inside information. He has made fortunes for his Saudi friends, too. The old one hand washes the other applies here in spades aside from what should be their embarrassment considering the appearance of collusion and other illegal actions.


Despite his present successes for his friends and family, the only segment of the population that counts to this administration, he may still try to reverse those perceptions in the little time he has left, in order to keep the republicans in government.

It is also expected that he may try to reestablish his standing in the polls he enjoyed immediately after 9/11 where he was viewed as a patriot, a warrior and a good American—all of those perceptions are now in question I might add.
So, here goes with a personal attempt to get beyond what we read in the paper to diagnose where he thinks he can go and achieve progress and save his reputation in the little time he has left.

First, he must want to leave a legacy that he considers positive; a legacy that would strengthen his name

Secondly, he must want to predispose Washington for another republican government....by controlling what happens now and extends beyond his administration.

So, what does that mean?

Bush feels most in control when a challenge is issued; least in control when it is a question involving matters of an abstract or intellectual nature. Inasmuch as he is not known as a reader, a historian or a cultured man, we expect that he will continue to demonstrate his aggression and his one upmanship through downstream exploits designed to reassert his leadership strengths..

We know from experience that he does not care specifically about governance. We can also be sure that he does not want to alienate his friends in the military and industrial complex; nor does he want to endanger or eclipse his relationship with his friends, the Saudis, who have bankrolled so many of his ventures.

Therefore, his choices immediately seem circumscribed.

Therefore, based on past performance, whatever he decides, he will stick to it unless in some way he is prevented from so doing by outside action. As of now, he has acted confrontationally with the members of the democratic party and the speaker of the house inasmuch as he has virtually ignored their positions. The walls must seem to be folding in on h im.

The answer may be in the exercise of power.

The president in the face of imminent danger, can extend his power and control. He can assert American hegemony under his own presidential mantle. He exercises his powers best through the venue of confrontation. Such confrontations could be rationalized by addressing them as terrorist based or related which would allow the president to reassert his authority and reestablish his name as a patriot and a good proponent of positive action in the interest of peace. Of course, the most obvious target would be Iran. On the other hand, there is no way to prove that either Iran wants war or that they are terrorists per se who have deliberately weakened the American effort in Iraq.

Nonetheless, that is not the issue here . What we are dealing with is perceptions.
Perceptions of Bush being a leader, a man of action, a man who is a patriot. These are all positive attributes that Bush likes to align himself with. He is the swaggering “hero” who never fought a battle but doesn’t mind believing his own mythology.

So, if this pithy analysis is right, it is immediately troubling because the outcome may trigger events beyond our control and those events might catapult us into a situation that puts at stake all of the gains we have made over the years in relationships and peaceful progress. It is to these issues that I address my concerns.

Hopefully, for one reason or another, this scenario won’t take place but a miscalculation may be all it takes to push us to the brink. And that is not unthinkable given the variable of war.

Until then, all we can do is let our representatives understand that we are engaged and that we are concerned.


Les Aaron