"Wanted Dead or Alive": Masculinities and US Military Intervention in Afghanistan

280 Pages·2017·1.68 MB·English

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Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies
6-1-2010
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Michelle E. Bellini
University of Denver
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(2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 64.
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―WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE‖
MASCULINITIES AND US MILITARY INTERVENTION IN AFGHANISTAN

______

A Dissertation

Presented to

The Faculty of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies

University of Denver

______

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

______

by

Michelle E. Bellini

June 2010

Advisor: Dr. Karen Feste
©Copyright by Michelle E. Bellini 2010

All Rights Reserved
Author: Michelle E. Bellini
Title: ―Wanted: Dead or Alive‖: Masculinities and US Military Intervention in
Afghanistan
Advisor: Dr. Karen Feste
Degree Date: June, 2010

ABSTRACT

Hegemonically masculine concepts are frequently employed by decision-makers
during times of crisis and war. Language used by leaders is powerful in securing
domestic support for US foreign policy decisions, and hegemonic masculinity shapes the
ways in which leaders conceive of conflicts and in what ways those conflicts should be
addressed. Notions of hegemonic masculinity exert a powerful, structural influence on
US Presidential foreign policy decisionmaking.
The attacks of September 11th, 2001 changed United States foreign policy in
fundamental ways. This research examines the role of hegemonic masculinity in
President George W. Bush‘s policy speeches, both how hegemonic masculinity may have
shaped his language and how that language gave Bush the support he needed for
unilateral intervention in Afghanistan.
The research begins from a standpoint feminist perspective, and examines
President George W. Bush‘s language in public speeches and statements released to the
public on September 11, 2001 and in the six weeks following the attacks. The research
includes a narrative examination of Bush and how he understood international politics
with regard to hegemonic masculinity, and a narrative of how Bush employed gendered
language when speaking about the US intervention in Afghanistan. The language used
by President Bush is examined in detail, regarding his references to power, rescuer, and
iii
warrior in his speeches and statements before and after the 9/11 attacks. Both
quantitative and qualitative approaches were utilized to uncover how these three concepts
were employed by President Bush before and after the terrorist attacks.
President Bush relied heavily on conceptions of hegemonic masculinity in his
language after September 11, 2001. In particular, he used gendered ideologies and
narratives to bolster the case for unilateral intervention in Afghanistan, employing
notions of power, rescuer, and warrior. Bush‘s use of the concepts of rescuer and warrior
increased significantly after the terrorist attacks. Bush, in effect, remasculinized the
United States through a hypermasculine response. These three concepts, power, rescuer,
and warrior, were embraced by many Americans, and support for the US intervention in
Afghanistan was overwhelming. Language is powerful, and Bush‘s use of specific
language which referenced hegemonic masculinity was an essential component in his
arguments for US military intervention in Afghanistan.

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Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Lindsey Mott, for her invaluable assistance with the statistical analysis,
and to Nicole Coonradt, for editing the manuscript.

v
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Introduction………………………………….. 1

Chapter Two: A Gender Approach to Foreign Policy………. 9

Chapter Three: Masculinity Concepts in Foreign Policy…….. 25

Chapter Four: President George W. Bush as a Masculine
Leader………………………………………… 69

Chapter Five: Intervention in Afghanistan as Masculine
Foreign Policy………………………………... 101

Chapter Six: Masculinity Concepts in President Bush‘s
Foreign Policy Speeches……………………… 141

Chapter Seven: Conclusion……………………………………. 248

Bibliography ………………………………………………… 258

Appendix A ………………………………………………… 267

Appendix B ………………………………………………… 269

vi
List of Tables

1. Table One: ―Pre 9/11 Speeches‖ ……………………… 181

2. Table Two: ―Post 9/11 Speeches and Written Memorandum,
Directives, and Statements‖ ………………. 183

vii
List of Figures

Figure One: References per Speech of Power, Rescuer,
and Warrior ……………………………………… 184
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Chapter One
Introduction
The world changed when terrorists attacked the United States on September 11,
2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four American airplanes early that morning, using
them as bombs, flying two directly into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in
New York City, and one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The fourth plane,
probably intended to hit the White House or the Capitol building, went down in a
Pennsylvania field, allegedly after the passengers tried to overcome the hijackers. These
attacks claimed thousands of lives, incurred costs in billions of dollars in damages, and
devastated American financial and political symbols. The terrorist attacks on 9/11 were
the first time since Pearl Harbor that the United States was attacked on its own soil,
reshaping American foreign policy in profound and long-lasting ways.
President George W. Bush, less than a year into his first term of office, was
initially in shock. He spoke to the American people that day, and addressed the nation
that evening, promising to find the alleged terrorists who had helped the hijackers and
bring them to justice. The next two days, as the nation focused on the attacks and the
recovery effort, Bush, with few public addresses, scrambled to put together a strategy to
deal with the Islamic radicals who had perpetrated the attacks. The third day after the
attack, Bush went on the offensive, speaking frequently about his intentions to find all
who were involved in the attacks and to bring them to justice in the United States.
During the week following the attack, Bush asserted American strength, proclaimed a
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