Monday, November 17, 2003
Real Life Meets the Sterile Zone
Nobody really thinks that the mainstream of conservative Republicans are actual fans of Mussolini, or that they use Mein Kampf as their political blueprint. But it is not out of line to draw parallels between the right's actions today and similar actions from history and use those parallels as cautionary tales or lessons for our own time. Which is what Michael Ventura does in the Austin Chronicle when discussing the cancellation of the CBS miniseries The Reagans.
But who needs fiction when real life is getting so interesting? Bush is headed for Britain this week, and there's going to be trouble. Maybe from terrorists--Britain has raised its terror alert level to the equivalent of the American orange, although the Brits say it's unconnected to Bush's visit. But there is definitely going to be trouble from protestors. Bush canceled a speech to Parliament for fear of being heckled by unruly MPs. In addition, thousands of people are expected to hit the streets for the Bush visit. Not that any of the street protests will happen anywhere close to Bush, who will be isolated in a splendidly named "sterile zone." Yet the sterile zone is but a fraction of what American security officials wanted. You ought to see what the British would not permit.
Speaking of things not permitted, last week, the commission investigating the 911 attacks reached an agreement with the White House to get access to the president's daily briefings, including one for August 6, 2001, which Condoleezza Rice has said contained warnings of a Bin Laden plot to hijack airplanes. Trouble is, the commission will not be permitted to see unedited briefings. The White House gets to edit the documents first.
Well, why bother, then? There is one thing that would doom George W. Bush to instant defeat in the 2004 election--if it were revealed that he knew in advance about Al Qaeda plots to drive airliners into buildings and did nothing about it. The commission's agreement means if that evidence exists, nobody will ever see it. In addition, Bush has pushed the 911 commission to conclude its report by the end of May--so anything in it that might be bad for his reelection campaign will be long forgotten by November.
Nobody really thinks that the mainstream of conservative Republicans are actual fans of Mussolini, or that they use Mein Kampf as their political blueprint. But it is not out of line to draw parallels between the right's actions today and similar actions from history and use those parallels as cautionary tales or lessons for our own time. Which is what Michael Ventura does in the Austin Chronicle when discussing the cancellation of the CBS miniseries The Reagans.
But who needs fiction when real life is getting so interesting? Bush is headed for Britain this week, and there's going to be trouble. Maybe from terrorists--Britain has raised its terror alert level to the equivalent of the American orange, although the Brits say it's unconnected to Bush's visit. But there is definitely going to be trouble from protestors. Bush canceled a speech to Parliament for fear of being heckled by unruly MPs. In addition, thousands of people are expected to hit the streets for the Bush visit. Not that any of the street protests will happen anywhere close to Bush, who will be isolated in a splendidly named "sterile zone." Yet the sterile zone is but a fraction of what American security officials wanted. You ought to see what the British would not permit.
Speaking of things not permitted, last week, the commission investigating the 911 attacks reached an agreement with the White House to get access to the president's daily briefings, including one for August 6, 2001, which Condoleezza Rice has said contained warnings of a Bin Laden plot to hijack airplanes. Trouble is, the commission will not be permitted to see unedited briefings. The White House gets to edit the documents first.
Well, why bother, then? There is one thing that would doom George W. Bush to instant defeat in the 2004 election--if it were revealed that he knew in advance about Al Qaeda plots to drive airliners into buildings and did nothing about it. The commission's agreement means if that evidence exists, nobody will ever see it. In addition, Bush has pushed the 911 commission to conclude its report by the end of May--so anything in it that might be bad for his reelection campaign will be long forgotten by November.
