During her remarks with Kuwaiti foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed on January 16, 2007, Dr. Rice referred to the violence in Iraq and stated:
"...obviously, the violence in and around Baghdad is one of the very important reasons the President went to the American people and said that the situation in Iraq is unacceptable to him, just as it was unacceptable to most Americans and that that violence needs to stop. Now, violent people will always be able to kill innocent people. And so even with the new security plan, with the will and capability of the Iraqi Government and with American forces to help reinforce Iraqi forces, there is still going to be violence. But whatever the number of civilians that have died in Iraq, and there are obviously competing numbers, but whatever the numbers, it's too many.
Deconstruction of the above comment made by Dr. Rice brings forth the manipulativeness of public diplomacy discourse in the context of Iraq. The discussions of the unacceptability of the violence in Iraq and the necessity of it to stop are removed from the discussions of the role of the US in the context of this violence. The responsibility for the violence is shifted and the US is framed as the problem solver, the benevolent savior that comes to the rescue of the Iraqi people, and not as one of the key players in bringing about the violence.
Furthermore, the comment "violent people will always be able to kill innocent people" shifts the responsibility of the violence in the hands of the violent people in Iraq who are killing innocent civilians. Once again, absent from Dr. Rice's talk is acknowledgement of the role of the US in the violence and ownership of responsibility related to violence in the Middle East.
The US and its military presence are further seen as solutions to the violence in Iraq, rather than as the sources of violence in Iraq. Additional military presence is seen as a way to minimize violence rather than as a catalyst for further violence in Iraq.
"...obviously, the violence in and around Baghdad is one of the very important reasons the President went to the American people and said that the situation in Iraq is unacceptable to him, just as it was unacceptable to most Americans and that that violence needs to stop. Now, violent people will always be able to kill innocent people. And so even with the new security plan, with the will and capability of the Iraqi Government and with American forces to help reinforce Iraqi forces, there is still going to be violence. But whatever the number of civilians that have died in Iraq, and there are obviously competing numbers, but whatever the numbers, it's too many.
Deconstruction of the above comment made by Dr. Rice brings forth the manipulativeness of public diplomacy discourse in the context of Iraq. The discussions of the unacceptability of the violence in Iraq and the necessity of it to stop are removed from the discussions of the role of the US in the context of this violence. The responsibility for the violence is shifted and the US is framed as the problem solver, the benevolent savior that comes to the rescue of the Iraqi people, and not as one of the key players in bringing about the violence.
Furthermore, the comment "violent people will always be able to kill innocent people" shifts the responsibility of the violence in the hands of the violent people in Iraq who are killing innocent civilians. Once again, absent from Dr. Rice's talk is acknowledgement of the role of the US in the violence and ownership of responsibility related to violence in the Middle East.
The US and its military presence are further seen as solutions to the violence in Iraq, rather than as the sources of violence in Iraq. Additional military presence is seen as a way to minimize violence rather than as a catalyst for further violence in Iraq.
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