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Escape Artists

By William Saletan
Posted Thursday, Dec. 3, 1998, at 3:30 AM ET
Illustration by Peter Kuper Escape Artists
Bill Clinton and Saddam Hussein share the same bag of tricks.

By William Saletan
(posted Wednesday, Dec. 2, 1998)

The prevailing wisdom about President Clinton's political fate in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky affair is that he certainly won't be removed from office, probably won't be impeached by the House, and may well escape punishment altogether. It seems unfair to many people that Clinton, having behaved despicably and then lied to everyone about it, defeated the investigation of this misconduct by evading, obstructing, and demonizing Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr. But while Clinton may escape justice at home, he faces a cruel sentence abroad: He must endure, at the hands of Saddam Hussein, the same tactics he used against Starr. Of course, Saddam has long been a master of these tactics. But there is poetic injustice in the uncanny resemblance between his 10 point strategy against U.N. weapons inspection chief Richard Butler and Clinton's campaign against Starr and the "vast right-wing conspiracy."
1. Belittle the subject. Clinton's henchmen dismissed Starr's investigation as a detour into sexual matters that were nobody's business. Iraq dismissed Butler's recent requests for documents as a detour into matters that "have no relations to the disarmament procedures." Clinton's spinners said Starr had no grounds to pursue evidence of his misconduct. Iraq says Butler has no "technical or scientific grounds" to demand that Iraq relinquish specific evidence about its missile program.
2 Invent privileges. To justify their refusal to testify or turn over documents requested by Starr, Clinton and his allies stretched some privileges (executive and attorney-client) and invented others ("protective function"). To justify its refusal to turn over documents requested by the weapons inspectors, Iraq stretches some privileges (sovereignty) and invents others ("national security"), backed by comparably bogus legal arguments.
3. Play word games. Clinton evaded the law and its enforcers by revising the meanings of words such as "sexual relations," "alone," and "is." Iraq, having promised to cooperate with the weapons inspectors, now says "cooperation" doesn't entail absolute capitulation to their requests.
4. Vilify the investigator. Clinton's team neutralized the investigation of his misconduct by diverting scrutiny from Clinton to Starr. They elevated Starr's profile, defined him as a vicious zealot, and undermined the credibility of his investigation. Likewise, Iraqi officials and newspapers are neutralizing the investigation of Iraq's misconduct by elevating Butler's profile and defining him as a "devil" and a "mad bull."
Illustration by Peter Kuper 5 Politicize the investigation. Clintonites accused Starr of attacking Clinton at the behest of tobacco companies, Richard Mellon Scaife, and right-wing senators and lawyers. Iraq accuses Butler of staging confrontations in order to maintain cruel economic sanctions and provoke a war. Butler seeks "a new excuse to be used by the United States and Britain in order to trigger a new aggression against Iraq," says an Iraqi newspaper. Wherever Clinton and Butler agree, Iraq infers collaboration. When Clinton spelled out his demands for Iraqi cooperation and Butler subsequently requested documents, Iraq's foreign minister charged, "Butler has resorted to a new ploy ... the implementation of the points made by Clinton."
6. Attribute the investigation to political frustration. Clinton and his surrogates brushed off the Lewinsky probe as a desperate, diversionary attempt by Starr to vindicate a "four year, $40 million investigation" that had failed to unearth evidence of Clinton's guilt in other matters. Iraq brushes off Butler's latest document requests as the desperate, diversionary tactic of an investigator who has failed to unearth evidence of Iraq's guilt in building weapons of mass destruction.
7 Feign compliance. While erecting legal roadblocks and privately spurning Starr's requests to testify before the grand jury, Clinton publicly vowed to tell the truth ("more rather than less, sooner rather than later") and professed that he was cooperating fully with the investigation. Likewise, Iraq issues statements and letters touting its compliance with "surprise" inspections, even as it withholds documents sought by the inspectors. Clinton, having averted Starr's subpoena by agreeing to testify before the grand jury, spent his testimony fudging, lying, and reverting to his previous circumlocutions. Iraq, having averted Clinton's Nov. 14 military assault by agreeing to cooperate with the weapons inspectors, fudged, lied, and reverted to its previous circumlocutions.
8. Drag out the investigation and blame it on the investigators. Clinton and his cronies prolonged Starr's investigation for months with foot dragging, legal challenges, and evasive testimony. Meanwhile, they moaned that Starr was cruelly prolonging the investigation. Saddam and his cronies have prolonged Butler's investigation for years in the same way, while moaning that Butler and his American puppeteers are cruelly prolonging the inspections and the sanctions.
9 Imperil innocent people and blame it on the investigators. By withholding the truth and deceiving his aides, Clinton exposed them to humiliation, subpoenas, and huge legal fees. Meanwhile, the White House blamed the consequences on Starr. Likewise, by withholding the truth about his weapons, Saddam has exposed his countrymen to economic sanctions. He has also methodically placed civilians in the way of likely military strikes. All the while, he has staged Clintonesque photo-ops and mass demonstrations to guilt trip the United Nations and blame the United States for starving Iraqi children.
10. Accuse the investigator of framing you. Clinton's defenders accuse Starr's prosecutors of pressuring witnesses such as Betty Currie and Susan McDougal to testify falsely against Clinton. Iraq accuses the weapons inspectors and the United States of planting nerve gas on an Iraqi missile warhead in order to implicate Iraq falsely in weapons violations. Iraq's evidence for this charge was no better than the evidence against Starr. But it succeeded just as well in changing the subject.
Iraq's image war against Butler and the United States hasn't matched the success of Clinton's image war against Starr, but it has produced considerable gains. Having obliged Clinton to call off his Nov. 14 military strike, Iraq continues to thwart the inspectors. And on Nov. 24, when Butler briefed the U.N. Security Council about Iraq's noncompliance, Russian and Chinese representatives questioned the relevance of his document requests and indicated that they would review the facts independently. The charges against Butler are a sham, of course. It's too bad Clinton lacks the authority to say so.

Recent "Frame Games"

  • "Blinkmanship": Was Clinton's decision to call off the Iraq attack cowardly or courageous? (posted Wednesday, Nov. 18, 1998)
  • "Cannibalism": The House coup is taking the GOP in the wrong direction. (posted Tuesday, Nov. 10, 1998)

Illustrations by Peter Kuper.
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William Saletan is Slate's national correspondent and author of Bearing Right: How Conservatives Won the Abortion War.
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