April 6, 2004

Contact:
Elaine Justice, 404-727-0643, ejustic@emory.edu
Deb Hammacher, 404-727-0644, dhammac@emory.edu

Was Bush Administration Blinded by Own Motives on Iraq?

As the 9-11 commission continues to scrutinize the actions of the Bush administration, and losses accumulate in Iraq, much of the focus has been on whether the administration was deliberately misleading the public or the information they had was simply bad.

Emory psychologist Drew Westen says that leaves out a third possibility, that the President and his advisors may have been deceiving themselves in the way they processed intelligence data.

"It may be that Bush and his advisors are guilty less of deliberately lying to the American people than of showing an inability to weigh evidence independent of their motives," says Westen.

When 9-11 occurred, according to Richard Clarke's testimony, the President was searching for data linking it to Saddam. Once the Taliban were deposed, the administration set its sites again on Iraq and seemed to dismiss any evidence that didn't support that view, explains Westen.

"It seems that Bush, Rumsfeld and others had a strong desire to get rid of Saddam, and may have been looking too hard for the data to justify it," Westen says.

Westen suggests that self-reflection does not seem to be a strong suit of the President. "It's interesting to see how a disinclination to look inward at the potential influence of one's own biases and desires on decision making plays out in politics. There are some who see Bush as a strong leader and resolute because he doesn't let facts interfere with his strongly held beliefs. Others consider that a serious character flaw," Westen says.

"Whether certainty in one's convictions is a strength or a weakness in a President depends in part on his capacity to step back from his beliefs and evaluate the evidence," he says. "It also depends on whether his beliefs happen to be accurate."

Westen is director of clinical psychology at Emory University and holds a joint appointment as a professor in the departments of psychology, and psychiatry and behavioral science. Westen, who also holds a master's degree in political thought, can provide a psychological analysis of political issues, including the psychology of voter behavior and the influence of non-verbal communication on their decision-making. Reach Westen at 404-727-7407 (w), 404-375-6639 (cell) or dwesten@emory.edu.

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