"Worldwide Intelligence Update, Bush White House, April 8, 2003"
In the early days of the Iraq War a top-secret intelligence report with this cover picture & headline by Old Testament prophet Isaiah was hand-delivered to President George W. Bush by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. It was one of many war "updates" from Rumsfeld that juxtapose inspirational pictures of the battlefield with Biblical quotations such as "Have I not commanded you? Be strong & courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9".
Bush apparently thought this was unremarkable.
Now we know: Anything is possible. This story is outlandishly weird, but even Stewart & Colbert can't make me laugh about it.
Fair warning, don't try to bring up Lincoln's faith in God during his war, or I'll punch you in the head.
DON'T MISS the complete "God is with us" Slideshow here (the Slideshow link is at the bottom of the page). For much more on Rumsfeld & Bush, check out the full GQ article by Robert Draper here.
2 comments:
Hmm. There is a story which I heard about 55 years ago.
After the Germans occupied Paris, during WWII, a German soldier was on a bus. A keen-eyed small boy, sitting with his mother, noticed that the German had some words engraved on his belt -- as did all German soldiers. The words were 'Gott mit uns'.
The small boy asked his mother what the words meant. Slightly embarrassed, the mother explained that the words meant 'God with us' -- or, God is on our side.
The small boy was unimpressed. 'That's all right, Maman,' he said. 'The Allies are on our side.'
I highly recommend watching the BBC documentary A Brief History of Disbelief - which PBS stations often didn't to show and Ch. 13 only broadcast in the dead of night due to protests. I thank all those who came before me and paid dearly, some with their lived. I believe the first part, when he goes to the WTC site, is where he discusses the dangerous role of religion on politics. Very good stuff.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/atheism.shtml
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