<

Bush Uses Scary Images to Rally Complacent Public, Justify War's Expense
Saturday, February 2, 2002
The Associated Press

"He's keenly aware of how his father lost momentum after the Persian Gulf War so I'm sure he's attuned to how to keep this war alive, both for practical and political reasons," said Farrar, a former Marine colonel.

WASHINGTON -- AP
Terrorists by the tens of thousands. Ticking time bombs. An axis of evil. Threats "vastly more deadly" than the Sept. 11 terrorist hijackings.

The harrowing images of the past week were designed to rouse Americans from a false sense of security and lay the groundwork for striking back at bases of terrorism, President George W. Bush's advisers say.

There are other expectations, too: The president hopes to justify his proposed increases in military spending and homeland security, promote the need for a missile defense system, please hawkish conservatives and shift focus from political problems at home.

"It's the right thing to do based on substance, because the threats exist. But it's also the smart thing to do based on politics," said Antony Blinken. He was a national security adviser in the Clinton White House, which was accused by Republicans of politicizing foreign affairs.

"It keeps people focused on the popular commander in chief and spending less attention on things less comfortable, like the economy and the Enron scandal," Blinken said.

In his State of the Union address, Bush said there were camps in more than a dozen countries that train terrorists -- "ticking time bombs, set to go off." He demanded that those nations eliminate the threat.

"If they do not act," Bush warned, "America will."
(More: Military.com News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

Dan