Bush’s peace rhetoric directly contradicted his Orientalist foreign policy

Evidence

Six days after the terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush visited a mosque and declared, “The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That’s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace.” Three months later, at an Eid celebration, Bush highlighted the similarities between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, the three largest world faiths. He hinted at an Abrahamic national heritage when he advised his audience “to remember how much we have in common: devotion to family, a commitment to care for those in need, a belief in God and His justice, and the hope for peace on Earth.” In direct contradiction to these statements, however, Bush implemented a Middle East foreign policy centered on the presumption that Muslims are a despotic people whose use of violence is irrational and terroristic. Indeed, Bush’s signature “Freedom Agenda” sought to spread freedom by means of military intervention and occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq. The heathens had to be civilized by force, resulting in the merging of a Cold War mind-set with American Orientalism. — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 718 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Bush’s inclusive rhetoric on Islam directly contradicted his militaristic Middle East policy. — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 718; Bush publicly disavowed war with Islam even as policy linked them — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 278; US rhetoric about Islam contradicted its own arming of Islamists — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 395 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Bush’s inclusive rhetoric on Islam directly contradicted his militaristic Middle East policy. #corroborates (0.97) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 718