“It’s rhetoric, stupid”?

Curiosité? Nouvelle dimension de l’art oratoire? Il semble que les dirigeants américanistes au sommet, – on parle du couple Bush-Cheney, – aient adopté une méthode originale ou bien est-ce que leurs débordements et la nécessité de l’équilibre des choses politiques y poussent-ils… Il s’agit de la fonction que nous qualifierions de “It’s rhetoric, stupid !”. L’un ou l’autre parle, lance une philippique implacable, ou bien un mot terrible, – et, quelques heures plus tard, un porte-parole vient expliquer que bon, après tout n’est-ce pas, la philippique ou le mot terrible, ce n’est pas un drame.

La semaine dernière, c’était GW avec sa “World War III”. Il l’avait dit, certes, mais c’était simple rhétorique n’est-ce pas. Il ne faut pas dramatiser. Hier, c’était au tour de Cheney. Après son discours accueilli comme foudroyant et menaçant par les commentateurs, il y a eu une rectification ou une mise au point d’un porte-parole. On vous explique ce qu’il fallait comprendre, comment il fallait entendre, etc. Ainsi AFP, via le site RAW Story rapporte-t-elle hier l’affaire :

«In what may be the boldest statements yet from the Bush administration regarding Iran's pursuit of nuclear capability, Vice President Dick Cheney pledged on Sunday that the US and international community is “prepared to impose serious consequences” on the Iranian regime if the nation did not abandon its uranium enrichment program.

»“The United States joins other nations in sending a clear message – we will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Cheney said during a speech to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The remarks come on the heels of comments at a press conference last week by President Bush warning of “World War III” if a nuclear weapon was ever developed by Iran.

»But White House spokesman Tony Fratto said on Monday that the Cheney remarks were not significantly different in substance than previous comments on the subject from Bush administration officials.

»“I wouldn't call it stepping up the rhetoric,” Fratto said, asked if the close timing of comments about Iran from both President Bush and Cheney was purely coincidental. “In fact what the vice president said was a very clear review of the situation in the Middle East.”

»“And by the way, it's not at all different from what he has said before, what the president has said before, what Secretary [Condoleeza] Rice has said before,” he continued, adding that the administration was seeking a “diplomatic solution,” and “working with our international partners in a unified way to put pressure on Iran to stop its activities.”

Mis en ligne le 23 octobre 2007 à 07H04