From an article by Robert Draper for GQ:
ON THE MORNING OF Thursday, April 10, 2003, Donald Rumsfeld’s Pentagon prepared a top-secret briefing for George W. Bush. This document, known as the Worldwide Intelligence Update, was a daily digest of critical military intelligence so classified that it circulated among only a handful of Pentagon leaders and the president; Rumsfeld himself often delivered it, by hand, to the White House. The briefing’s cover sheet generally featured triumphant, color images from the previous days’ war efforts: On this particular morning, it showed the statue of Saddam Hussein being pulled down in Firdos Square, a grateful Iraqi child kissing an American soldier, and jubilant crowds thronging the streets of newly liberated Baghdad. And above these images, and just below the headline SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, was a quote that may have raised some eyebrows. It came from the Bible, from the book of Psalms: “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him…To deliver their soul from death.”
This mixing of Crusades-like messaging with war imagery, which until now has not been revealed, had become routine. On March 31, a U.S. tank roared through the desert beneath a quote from Ephesians: “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” On April 7, Saddam Hussein struck a dictatorial pose, under this passage from the First Epistle of Peter: “It is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.”
There's a slideshow at the link, and you can see many of the documents for yourself.
Between this, stories about the US soldiers proselytizing in Afghanistan, and multiple incidences of desecration of Islamic culture, I believe that what we've seen in the past few years is the rise of Christian fundamentalism in the US military.
It might be time for us to take a serious look at the sort of religious extremism growing right here within the ranks of our own armed forces. It's not a problem for our men and women in uniform to practice their own personal faith and have whatever spirituality they'd like, but it definitely is a problem for they -- and high officials like Rumsfeld -- to co-mingle their faith with their work. A serious problem.
1 comments:
Worst. Most incompetent & miserably, churlishly malcontent who's ever disgraced the office of Sec of Def. OR Sec of War in our long history.
And I was saying this for years before he was 'retired'. Worst dereliction of duty in prosecuting a war. Usurpation of command and regular micro managed interference with front line units for no damned good reasons, other than Bushco PR. We'll learn much more of his role behind many disasters in years to come.
This latest episode only proves him to be a rank incompetent and completely out of his depth & field in the job. Should have been fired Before any war. On the advice of the JCS, or his direct quashing of any & all useful advice from them while NOT planning an invasion of Iraq. More to come for certain. JMP
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