George W Bush’s counter-terrorism policy was fundamentally based on fear. The ‘war on terror’ was sold as a form of protection against the horrific acts that al-Qaeda and the ‘axis of evil’ states could (allegedly) inflict on the US. September 11 was just the tip of the iceberg; the world was rife with hostile actors intent on destroying the American homeland. In this way Americans’ own security was exploited in order to justify the Bush administration’s policy on terror, where creating a perception of terror itself lay at the heart of that strategy. Within this context, it can be argued that this construction of fear was/is so extensive and pervasive as to constitute a restraint on the Obama government. Obama cannot realistically implement any aspect of counter-terrorism policy in isolation of the culture of fear promoted by his predecessor. The frames and narratives of fear that he has effectively inherited limit him. To achieve complete policy freedom, Obama would have to overcome or downplay these fears. Yet in doing so, he risks appearing ‘soft’ on issues that supposedly threaten the future of the entire US. Ultimately, Obama still requires some form of fear to successfully implement any counter-terrorism strategy. The point of this paper is that Obama is incapable of constructing that fear however he wishes. The Bush construct is a defining factor that Obama cannot easily escape from. Specifically, this paper will consider this in relation to the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Where the threat of WMD was central to Bush policy, this will be compared to Obama’s current stance on WMD terrorism to demonstrate that the similarities identified can – at least in part – be attributed to the continuing impact of fear as constructed by the previous administration.
