Rhetoric of Mass Destruction

Quote:  "We removed Saddam Hussein from power because he was a threat to our security." President Bush.

Figure of Speech:  pareuresis (pa ROOR eh sis), the overwhelming excuse.

The White House is trying a bold new tactic—telling the truth.  "It is true that much of the [pre-war] intelligence turned out to be wrong," the president concedes.  In other words, Bush recognizes for the first time that there were no WMD's in Iraq.

But then he throws in a pareuresis, a figure that has two meanings in ancient rhetoric:  It's either a great excuse, or a fake one.

Snappy Answer:  "Why?"