Wally Bush & the Neocons Manipulate the Masses
Irving Kristol, the neocons'
propaganda mouthpiece,
has written in the past about the need
to exploit religious and moral concepts
in order to manipulate the masses
His intellectual North Star, Leo Strauss,
has advocated that "those in power must invent
noble lies and pious frauds to keep the people
in the stupor for which they are supremely fit"
The more unpopular Wally becomes
the more of a failure his policies are,
the more strongly the neocons tell him
to ignore all of that, that none of it matters,
that his God and history will conclude
that he did The Right Thing,
provided that he continues
steadfastly to pursue their agenda
Wally Bush recently held a "literary luncheon" for a gaggle of extremist neocon "scholars" in the White House.Read of the poison flattery they lovingly smeared all over Bush's ego, of the brutal and ignorant prejudices they confirmed him in, of the unbridled military aggression they advocated.
Read how they fed Bush's megalomaniac belief in his "divine mission," like Byzantine courtiers or al Qaeda groupies assuring the Leader that he walks in God's favor and is answerable to no one and nothing but the Almighty.
Read too of how Bush eagerly lapped up their "lessons," nodding in solemn agreement with their fawning assessment of his greatness – even adding to it, saying that he was greater than Winston Churchill.
That's because the British leader was a secularist, an agnostic, and lacked the rigid blinders of crude, unquestioned faith that gives Bush such an unwavering certitude in the rightness – and righteousness – of his actions.
But aside from the fascinating – if sick-making – spectacle afforded by Bush's neocon chowdown, we cut to the deeper meaning of the event: we're doomed.
The bloodthirsty baying of these servile ministers is the only voice that Bush attends to.
Witness the "surge" in Iraq, launched in arrogant defiance not only of the will of the American people (neither party pays any attention to that) but also of a broad swathe of the Establishment elite, including the faction of Bush's own father.
Instead, Bush turned to Frederick Kagan -- yet another well-wadded neocon courtier with absolutely no expertise in the Middle East, no knowledge of Iraq, no military experience, no qualifications at all save for his adherence to militarism, empire and the inherent greatness of George W. Bush.
Bush will follow their lunatic agenda of "creative destruction" and imperial conquest to the end – because it is his agenda. Greenwald's conclusion is grim, but all too true:
Irving Kristol has written in the past about the need to exploit religious and moral concepts in order to manipulate the masses, and his intellectual North Star, Leo Strauss, has advocated that "those in power must invent noble lies and pious frauds to keep the people in the stupor for which they are supremely fit" -- a view Kristol has endorsed.
One can see that dynamic powerfully at work in the interaction between these neoconservatives and the President.
They have seized upon the President's evangelical fervor and equated his "calling" to wage war for Good in the world with the neoconservative agenda of endless wars in the Middle East.
And the more unpopular the President becomes as a result, the more of a failure these policies are, the more strongly they tell him to ignore all of that, that none of it matters, that his God and history will conclude that he did The Right Thing, provided that he continues steadfastly to pursue their agenda.
And the President believes that. That is why nothing will stop him in pursuing the path he created years ago when, in January, 2002, he became convinced to name not only Iraq, but also Iran, as standing members of the "Axis of Evil" (even though our relations with Iran were rapidly improving at the time).
He cited the 9/11 attacks in order to all but vow war on those countries, despite their having nothing to do with those attacks. The President's "lessons" at the feet of neoconservatives continue, and he is as faithful a student as ever. Chris Floyd @ Empire Burlesque