One of the rituals well known to the addiction treatment world
is the formal Intervention. The classic Intervention starts with
meetings of concerned significant others that are called during a time
of crisis. The result is a confrontation of the individual in trouble
and an ultimatum of some sort for a drastic change in course (the most
famous examples are Interventions of Betty Ford and Elizabeth Taylor
for pill use and drinking.)
The long-anticipated report of the Iraq Study Group has been
likened in some media reports to the classic treatment Intervention
provided to drug users and alcoholics who have "hit bottom." Seething
in its criticism, the report (Intervention) made a number of take-it- or-leave-it recommendations. "This is not like fruit salad," the head
facilitator later explained; the recommendations must be followed as a
whole. Characteristic of a person with an addictive mentality, the
president responded in a state of denial as do the "enablers" around
him. His supporters are getting fewer and fewer, however. And even his
father recently broke into tears. We will return to that later.
The addictive mentality I am talking about is a cognitive
impairment that is associated with alcohol-drug use, and may have
preceded or followed the addictive behavior. George W. Bush, over his
lifetime, has gone from one extreme-extensive and long-term binge
drinking and at least some cocaine use-to another-affiliation with
religious fundamentalism and authoritarian belief systems that cannot
be explained by his religious upbringing. From an elitist background,
the junior Bush was able to build a political base from a cultural
group that was arguably alien from his own. (See What's the Matter
with Kansas?)
For an understanding of this phenomenon of how the drinking and drug
use affects patterns of thinking, we need to look at brain research.
The most recent brain research, now revolutionized by technological
advances in brain imaging, confirms what members of A.A. have known
for years, labeled by them, the dry drunk phenomenon. Rigidity, poor
impulse control, grandiosity, and all-or-nothing or black and white
thinking are the classic characteristics. (See "the dry drunk
syndrome" on google.) We now know that once the heavy drinking and/or
other drug use stops, a certain amount of cognitive impairment may
persist. We also know, however, that the brain can actually
be "rewired" through cognitive work.
"You've got to work at it." This is a commonly heard saying of George
W. Bush. One thing he has not worked at, however, is what is sometimes
called in alcoholism treatment parlance, "the second recovery."
Treatment centers specialize in cognitive work, as does A.A., in
effect, aiding persons in recovery to replace irrational, grandiose,
and self-centered thoughts, with healthier and more moderate ways of
thinking.
The kind of intervention that our president needed was a
personal intervention, one aimed at the reasons that Bush foolishly and dishonestly (pushing for false intelligence assessments
of the international situation) led the nation in a fantasy mission
that was doomed to failure against "evildoers" in the Middle East. As
I described as early as 2002 and as psychiatrist Justin Frank later,
in Bush on the Couch, also concluded, to understand the motives behind
the ill-fated invasion of Iraq, we have to consider Bush's role in his
family, the unique psychological dynamics. As any Bush biography makes
clear, the younger Bush was not only named for his father, but he was
somehow destined to follow in his father's footsteps most of his life- at Andover, Yale, as a military pilot, in the oil business-only to
fail at each juncture until he would enter politics and as commander- in-chief be able to stride triumphant in 2003 and declare "mission
accomplished" on the carrier flight deck. Then he would have proven
himself to his father and to the world.
In December, 2006, the elder Bush's tears shed at the tribute
to his son, Governor Jeb Bush, told it all. "The true measure of a man
is how you handle victory, and also defeat"-these were his exact words
uttered at the moment that he got too choked up to continue. Though
his loss of control was later claimed to be related to his younger
son's (Jeb's), earlier defeat in a governor's race in 1994, it seems
far more likely that his tears were shed over the disgraced presidency
of his elder son and in recognition for the significance of this
debacle for the entire Bush dynasty.
In the future, it will be left to psychologists and historians
to ponder the real reason for George W. Bush's selection as members of
his team, the very men like Cheney, Wolfowitz, Powell, and Rove, who,
strikingly, had served under his father. Even Rumsfeld also had a
historic relationship with Bush, Sr., albeit a problematic one. Above
all, the challenge to psychologists and historians will be to ponder
the real reason why the younger Bush was driven to an unnecessary and
unbelievably costly war "mission impossible." The Iraq Study Group,
which, interestingly, was headed by Bush Sr.'s former secretary of
state, James Baker, was summoned in desperation to find a way out of a
disastrous course, failed to tackle causality, which, in the final
analysis is the most significant issue of all.
Katherine van Wormer (www.katherinevanwormer.com) teaches social work
and addiction treatment at the University of Northern Iowa and is the
co-author of Addiction Treatment: A Strengths Perspective.
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