Bad Intelligence:
The Consequences of Stubborn Leaders Leontes of Sicilia in William Shakespeares The Winters Tale and George Walker Bush, 43rd President of the United States of America
Leontes, king of Sicilia in The Winters Tale, is convinced that his wife Hermione has been unfaithful. His belief in this remains unshaken, no matter how many times or by whom he is told otherwise. Those in a position of leadership are often loathe to change their stance on any subject. This could stem from a fear of seeming indecisive, from not wanting to start down a slippery slope of second-guessing and self doubt, or simply from an inflated ego that is unable to admit a mistake. George W. Bush was a leader who liked to stick to his guns and whose 2004 reelection campaign was extremely critical of an opponent who flip-flopped. Like Leontes, President Bush made assertions without evidence but whereas Leontess actions cost him his family, Bushs actions cost other people theirs.
Shortly after the September 11th attacks against the United States, President Bush cultivated the perception that there was a connection between Saddam Hussein and those attacks (Feldmann). Despite the fact that there had been an alliance attempted in the past between Iraq and Al Qaeda (the actual perpetrators of the attacks) that failed, largely due to the religious zealotry of Osama Bin Laden clashing with the secular regime of Saddam Hussein (Bergen), the connection continued to be insinuated for years, if not stated outright, so much as that at the time, up to 70% of Americans believed such a link existed (USA Today). The President then made a leap from suspected connection to possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Leontes makes a similar quantum leap in poor reasoning by conjuring an imaginary assassination plot, believing Camillo, Hermione and Polixenes planned an attempt on his life. He asserts There is a plot against my life, my crown. Alls true that is mistrusted. That false villain [Camillo] whom I employed was pre-employed by him [Polixenes] (Shakespeare 2:1:47-49) and does so with no basis whatsoever. Leontess treason-related paranoia led to another issue: how to deal with his detractors.
Leontes pegged those who disagreed with his assessment of the situation as traitors. Many were afraid to speak up in any significant way, for fear of being labeled an enemy of Sicilia. Leontess lords try timidly to dissuade their king, but ultimately whenever Leontes calls them a nest of traitors and
liars all (2:3:82 and 145) Antigonus and the others acquiesce with only token resistance. At the time, of course, the king was the country; the monarch and the state were inextricable. Such is not the case with an American President in the 21st century but that did not stop the Bush administration from calling into question the patriotism of its critics, like John Ashcroft telling critics "your tactics only aid terrorists They give ammunition to America's enemies. Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld went so far as to say critics of the Bush Administration's Iraq policy are encouraging terrorists and complicating the ongoing U.S. war on terrorism (Center For American Progress).
In each instance, in Leontess kingdom and Bushs America, there is a married couple who meet dire consequences for speaking truth to power. While others attempting to defend the queens innocence are silenced by Leontess threats of dispossession, exile and execution, Paulina was a fearless and outspoken advocate for Hermione. To his face, she calls him mad and says Ill not call you tyrant; But something savours of tyranny, and will ignoble make you, yea, scandalous to the world (Shakespeare 2:3:114-119). Because of his inability to control his wife, Paulinas husband Antigonus was derided and threatened by the King. First, Leontes accuses Antigonus of not being able to control Paulina, saying Thou dotard, thou art woman-tired, unroosted and says that Antigonus dreads his wife (Shakespeare 2:3:74,75,79) only to later accuse him of having put his wife up to challenging him in the first place!: Thou traitor, hast set thy wife to this (Shakespeare 2:3:130). Ultimately, Antigonus is punished when he is charged with the grisly task of abandoning Leontes and Hermiones newborn daughter in the wilderness. If he doesnt, Leontes will seize thy life, With what thou else callst thine (Shakespeare 2:3:136-137). Antigonus does as hes told and is then pursued by a bear and subsequently mauled. In the 2003 State of the Union address, George Walker Bush uttered 16 now-infamous words: The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa (Bush). After Bushs speech, Joe Wilson, who had investigated such a possibility for the CIA 11 months prior, pointed out the inaccuracy publically in a New York Times op-ed article called What I Didnt Find in Africa. Another news article, published eight days later, revealed that Wilsons wife, Valerie Plame, was a CIA officer. (Novak) Plame had been a non-official cover agent working on gathering intelligence regarding the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The source of this leaked secret information was traced back to the office of the Vice President, Dick Cheney. I. Lewis Scooter Libby, the Vice Presidents chief of staff, Karl Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff and Richard Armitage, the deputy secretary of state, had discussed Valerie Plames position as a CIA operative with the press (NPR). Naming her this way would have compromised every operation, every relationship, every network with which she had been associated in her entire career Wilson said (Corn). It has been alleged (and widely believed) that the leak of this information was intentional and retaliatory; a counterstrike for Joseph Wilsons article drawing attention to the lack of evidence for the Presidents claims. Plame was punished for her husbands outspokenness as Antigonus was for his wifes.
While many speculate that President Bush and his administration were dishonestly and intentionally misleading in their justification for Operation Iraqi Liberation Freedom (presumably the name change was to avoid the acronym OIL), it is likely that they were firmly convinced that they were right and simply unable to prove it. Leontes sent two of his men, Dion and Cleomenes, to the Oracle of Delphi to confirm his suspicions. If there had been any doubt in the Kings mind, it would have only made good sense to wait for that confirmation before taking any drastic action. Likewise, President W. sent troops to invade Iraq and find the hidden weapons of Mass Destruction. Surely Leontes would not have destroyed his relationship with his wife and alienated his subjects if he had not been sure. Of course a compassionate conservative President would not commit American troops to war if he were not positive. But the Oracle said Hermione is chaste, Polixenes blameless, Camillo a true subject, Leontes a jealous tyrant and the king shall live without an heir, if that which is lost be not found (Shakespeare 3:2:130-133) and almost immediately, Mamillius, the Kings son, is reported dead. Hermione then dies of grief. President Bush sent soldiers into Iraq in 2003. No weapons of mass destruction have been found, save those left over from the early 1990s (which Hussein purchased from the United States)that were not in working order anyway. To date, there have been over 4,000 Americans killed in Iraq, over 30,000 wounded (Griffis), untold numbers of Iraqis, combatant and civilian, killed and wounded and billions (approximately 850) of dollars spent by the United States alone (Feller).
What caused these men to stick to their guns despite a lack of evidence and support isnt clear. In Leontess case, Antigonus proposes that the king is abused, and by some putter-on who will be damned fort (Shakespeare 2:1:141-142). In George W. Bushs case, that villain would more than likely be identified as Karl Rove. But regardless of who (if anyone) took these leaders down their paths, their actions were unnecessary. And they cost lives. Leontes however, has his redemption and is reunited with his wife, not really dead. Former President Bush has yet to receive such redemption, even having to cancel a trip to Europe for fear of arrest and prosecution for war crimes (Elliott). But its said that history is written by the winners and supposedly, Bushs Mission was Accomplished back in May of 2003.
Works Cited
Bergen, Peter. "This link between Islamist zealot and secular
fascist just doesn't add up." Guardian 30 Jan 2003: n. pag.
Web. 17 Feb 2011.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/jan/30/world.brita
inand911>.
Corn, David. "A White House Smear." Nation 16 Jul 2003: n. pag.
Web. 17 Feb 2011. <http://www.thenation.com/blog/156037/white-house-smear>.
Elliott, Justin. "Bush Cancels Europen Trip Amid Calls for His
Arrest." Salon 07 Feb 2011: n. pag. Web. 20 Mar 2011. <http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/02/07/bush_amnesty_arrest/index.html>.
Feldmann, Linda. "The Impact of Bush Linking 9/11 and Iraq."
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