Dependance Day

Tout le monde révise grâce à moi son anglais (encore que W. parle une langue assez baroque) même s’il ne s’agit pas d’imposer un exercice post-baccalauréat style « cahiers de vacances » comme les proposent nombre d’arnaqueurs. Mais il faut lire Bush dans le texte, parce qu’il est, n’en déplaisent à nos atlantistes mondains, en prise directe avec ses compatriotes, bien davantage que l’intelligentsia de la côte est ou les médiocrates du Congrès que nous prenons pourtant pour la « Voix de l’Amérique ».

On pourra se reporter au texte complet du discours ou à sa vidéo, mais voici les principaux extraits d’un discours d’Independance Day typique de la rhétorique américaine. Cela s’articule autour de trois idées :

- primo, la guerre contre le terrorisme est toujours la continuation de la guerre d’Indépendance, comprenons que les Etats-Unis luttent encore pour être libres du reste du monde, libres de ses turpitudes, libres du Mal ;

- secondo, la guerre est un mal nécessaire, mais il faut la faire chez les autres pour ne pas la faire chez soi. Sous-entendu, si nous nous retirons d’Irak et d’Afghanistan, la guerre nous suivra et aura alors lieu chez nous, comme le 9/11. « If we were to retreat from Iraq, what’s interesting and different about this war is that the enemy would follow us here. » (George W. Bush, Discours devant l'American Legion du 10 avril 2007). Ce discours n’est pas nouveau : comme je l’écrivais déjà dans American parano, « l’explication qui, pour être facile n’en est pas moins celle qui a été immédiatement acceptée par l’opinion américaine, et qui est un thème récurrent des discours de George W. Bush, est l’argument de la protection "en avant" du territoire américain. Il l’a répété à plusieurs reprises toujours à peu près dans les mêmes termes : l’armée américaine protège en Irak les villes du Middle West. Ses prédécesseurs n’avaient jamais tenté de vendre l’interventionnisme autrement que comme une projection loin des frontières américaines de la défense du modèle états-unien. C’est tout autant pour garantir le territoire de nouvelles attaques que pour préserver la tranquillité américaine que Bagdad a subi le martyre. Et qu’importent les dommages collatéraux qui ne sont, comme le disait en 1996 le secrétaire d’Etat Madeleine Albright, que le prix à payer (The price is worth) non pour la défense de grands principes, mais pour le confort de l’Amérique. Les enfants irakiens dont Albright balayait la mémoire d’une moue dédaigneuse, mort-nés ou décédés au bout de quelques mois, n’ont pas été sacrifiés pour la liberté de leurs frères et sœurs mais pour celle des seuls petits Américains. »

- tertio, il s’agit d’une guerre de civilisations annoncée ouvertement comme une guerre de religions. La Déclaration de 1776 proclamait l’origine divine des droits de l’homme (à la différence des textes français), origine qui a toujours été réaffirmée par tous les auteurs et les responsables politiques américains. Bush le redit franchement, sans détour, sans honte, et oppose ouvertement son Dieu au Dieu de l’Islam. En défendant les droits et l’indépendance des Etats-Unis, récipiendaires de la seule parole révélée, les Américains sont les croisés du Dieu de Luther et de 1776 contre celui du Prophète et du Coran.

Et essayez un jour, rien que pour voir, d’expliquer à un Américain qu’il s’agit du même…

« You're the successors of those brave men. Those who wear the uniform are the successors of those who dropped their pitchforks and picked up their muskets to fight for liberty. Like those early patriots, you're fighting a new and unprecedented war -pledging your lives and honor to defend our freedom and way of life. In this war, the weapons have changed, and so have our enemies, but one thing remains the same : The men and women of the Guard stand ready to put on the uniform and fight for America.

[...]

Since September the 11th, members of the West Virginia Air National Guard have earned seven Bronze stars and four Purple Hearts. Two of those Purple Hearts were awarded to Staff Sergeants Brad Runkles and Derek Brown. They're here today.

Brad and Derek are childhood friends ; they grew up right here in Martinsburg and they signed up together to serve in the West Virginia Guard. In 2004, they were driving together in the lead gun truck of a convoy in Iraq when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. Brad and Derek made it out, but they suffered burns on their hands and faces. They recovered from their wounds - and in May of last year, they both re-enlisted.

Today is the day to celebrate courage in the face of adversity. I want you to hear what Derek says. He said : " This war is something that has to be done - either over there or here. And I think it's best we fight it over there, " he said. " I'm proud to serve my country like those before me - for the cause of freedom. " America is proud to have citizens like Derek and Brad, that we call neighbors and friends and defenders of the peace.

And your service is needed. We need for people to volunteer to defend America. Because in this war, we face dangerous enemies who have attacked us here at home. Oh, I know the passage of time has convinced some - maybe convinced some that danger doesn't exist. But that's not how I see it, and that's not how many of you see it. These people want to strike us again. We learned on September 11th that in the age of terror, the best way to do our duty, which is to protect the American people, is to go on the offense and stay on the offense. And that's exactly what we've been doing against these radicals and extremists.

It is best that we take the fight to where the enemy lives, so we don't have to face them where we live. And so since 9/11, that's precisely the strategy we have followed.

In Afghanistan - where I know some of you have been deployed and some of you are deployed - we removed a regime that gave sanctuary and support to al Qaeda as they planned the 9/11 attacks which killed nearly 3.000 citizens. They found safe haven.

That's what they like. They like a place where they can plot and plan in relatively - in security, all aiming to come and harm the citizens of the greatest face for liberty in the world.

Today, because we acted, the terrorist camps in Afghanistan have been shut down, 25 million people have been liberated, and the Afghan people have elected a government that is fighting terrorists, instead of harboring terrorists. This enemy of ours - they have got an ideology. They believe in something. In other words, the attacks are just a tactic to enable them to spread their dark vision of the world. Perhaps one way to differentiate between our thoughts is just think about religion. In the great country of the United States, we believe that you should be able to worship any way you see fit ; that you're equally American, regardless of your religious beliefs. They believe that if you don't worship the way they see it, then they're going to bring you harm.

We believe in an Almighty, we believe in the freedom for people to worship that Almighty. They don't. They don't believe you should worship the way you choose. They believe the only way you should worship is the way they choose. And, therefore - and, therefore, they will do anything they can to spread that ideology. And it's our charge, it's our calling to keep the pressure on these people, to defend America and to spread an ideology of hope and an ideology of peace so that the kids who came up here to give the Pledge of Allegiance will be able to live in peace and security.

[...]

Recently, I traveled to Prague, the Czech Republic, where I spoke to a conference of dissidents and democratic activists from 17 nations on five continents. I was proud to represent our country at that historic meeting. I was proud to tell those brave souls that America stands with them in their struggle for liberty, because we believe in the universality of liberty. I personally believe that freedom is a gift from an Almighty to every man, woman and child on the face of the Earth. » (4 juillet 2007)