What's a few thousand Iraqis - "more or less"
I finally got a chance to read the Bush speech today, and unbelievably, he did answer questions as several commenters pointed out. But what jumped out at me was the point that Cephas made in the comments on an earlier post. Brian Williams(NBC news) had a "day with the president" where he followed Bush around and asked him questions. The strongest response was by far from a question related to Katrina where Bush replied, "You can call me whatever you want, but don't call me a racist."
Then, a few hours later, after his speech, he got a question from the audience to which he answered,
THE PRESIDENT: How many Iraqi citizens have died in this war? I would say 30,000, more or less, have died as a result of the initial incursion and the ongoing violence against Iraqis. We've lost about 2,140 of our own troops in Iraq.
Does anybody else see a problem here? I also find it pretty telling that Bush values Iraqi lives "more or less." What're the lives of a thousand Iraqis "more or less." Gotta break some eggs, right?
That's why Presidents should answer questions, so we know what they really think, not what their message is.
Then, a few hours later, after his speech, he got a question from the audience to which he answered,
THE PRESIDENT: How many Iraqi citizens have died in this war? I would say 30,000, more or less, have died as a result of the initial incursion and the ongoing violence against Iraqis. We've lost about 2,140 of our own troops in Iraq.
Does anybody else see a problem here? I also find it pretty telling that Bush values Iraqi lives "more or less." What're the lives of a thousand Iraqis "more or less." Gotta break some eggs, right?
That's why Presidents should answer questions, so we know what they really think, not what their message is.
posted by mikevotes at
8:39 PM
5 Comments:
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By
Cephas, at 8:40 PM
I had the same reaction. So often, the phrasing betrays the actual sentiment behind the words.
"More or less" -- that's the phrase we use when talking about measurements of inanimate objects, not human beings; e.g., "four inches, more or less."
Bush may say, "You can call me many things, but don't call me a racist," and he may actually be right. On a case-by-case basis, and when they are in alignment with his views, he may be as accepting of people of color as one could want. But the more pertinent fact is, he views people who are insignificant to his purposes with something like a Stalin-like attitude: "When one person dies, that's a tragedy -- when a thousands die, that's a statistic."
By
Motherlode, at 11:23 PM
Good point, motherlode. I think you're right. From what I know about Bush, he actually is not a racist. He's an elitist and a classist and a bit of a oligarch, but I really don't think he's racist.
But you got my point that whether or not he's racist he still doesn't value Iraqis as human beings. Why really isn't that important.
By
mikevotes, at 6:30 AM
I wonder what the real figure is. If Bush says 30,000 "more or less", you can bet it's at least twice that. Seems to me I was hearing the figure of 75,000 some months ago. You know?
By
Neil Shakespeare, at 7:07 AM
I've heard estimates up to 100,00, but that was from an extrapolation so I would say it's suspect.
And, I'm assuming that that number Bush supplied was simply his guess at deaths through a direct result of violence and not those who have died in the subsequent societal breakdown, poor medical care, lack of electricity, contaminated water supplies.
Bottom line, like most wars we'll never really know the real total.
By
mikevotes, at 12:53 PM
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