e the motive for the war, but no such weapons have been found in Iraq. Further, Richard Clarke’s recent revelations contend that like Macbeth’s obsession with kingship, President Bush was obsessed with Iraq despite evidence of its ties to Al-Qaeda. Clarke claims that due to Saddam Hussein’s attempt to assassinate President Bush’s father, the current President Bush is obsessed with controlling Iraq. Others argue that Bush’s henchmen in the current administration have conspired with Bush for motives of ambition more than fending off terrorist threats. As one White House analyst maintains, “A group of brilliant and powerful people in the Bush Administration envision the creation and enforcement of what they call a worldwide ‘Pax Americana’ or American peace. The American people have not appreciated the true extent of that ambition” (Bookman 2002).
In Macbeth, Macbeth will stop at no means to achieve his ambition. He kills those formerly loyal to him for no other reason than to ascend to the throne. It is said in the play that Macbeth cannot “buckle his distempered cause / Within the belt of rule” (Shakespeare 1975). So it is with President Bush’s ambitions in Iraq. Such ambition causes Macbeth’s downfall as well might President Bush’s downfall in the 2004 election be caused by his ambitions in Iraq. He is spending $1 billion per week to achieve his aims in Iraq, instead of and at the expense of many domestic problems like lack of job creation and impoverished urban areas. Like Macbeth’s ambition that blinds him to reality around him, Bush’s enormous expenditures in Iraq are designed to solidify his designs on maintaining power. As political analyst Gousseva argues, “Many experts still insist that successful war in Iraq is the key trump card of George W. Bush for his 2004 reelect
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