While I am as happy as a pig in shit that GQ managed to obtain Donald Rumsfeld's Bible verse riddled Worldwide Intelligence Update cover sheets, and that their release is getting such tremendous attention, I have to admit that I was a bit exasperated by this statement from GQ: "This mixing of Crusades-like messaging with war imagery, which until now has not been revealed, had become routine." Why my exasperation? Because this "routine" mixing of "Crusades-like messaging with war imagery" by the Department of Defense has been revealed over and over by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) since its founding by Mikey Weinstein in the Winter of 2005.
The Bible verse on the first slide of GQ's slideshow? Well, that was the theme of Secretary of the Army Pete Geren's commencement address at West Point last year. Geren opened and closed his speech by quoting the verse, and, throughout his speech, painted the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a religious struggle. Because of that speech and others like it, as well as Geren's participation in the infamous Pentagon Christian Embassy video, MRFF called last December for the incoming Obama administration to replace him. For more about Secretary Geren and why he should be removed from the office of Secretary of the Army, please read Mr. President-elect: Please Don't Allow Pete Geren To Be Kept On.
But, Geren remains the Secretary of the Army, and other participants in the Christian Embassy video, although found guilty of violating ethics regulations by the DoD Inspector General, after MRFF demanded an investigation of the incident, have not only received no punishment whatsoever, but have instead been promoted. Within a year of the IG recommending that "appropriate corrective action" be taken against then Brigadier General Robert Caslen, this general, who, in uniform at the Pentagon, was filmed by Christian Embassy proclaiming that he and his flag officers Bible study group were the "aroma of Jesus Christ" at the Pentagon, was promoted to major general and appointed to the prestigious position of Commanding General of the 25th Infantry Division. Another of the Christian Embassy generals, Vincent Brooks, was also recently promoted from brigadier general to major general, assuming command of the 1st Infantry Division, more widely known as "The Big Red One," in April of this year.
Mikey Weinstein, who has been besieged all morning with phone calls and emails from MRFF supporters who are apparently having the same reaction to GQ's "revelation" as I did, just emailed me the following statement:
"GQ's seemingly 'sudden' revelation of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's unconscionable mixing of religious, biblical rhetoric with the 'Bush Doctrine' as applied to America's premptive invasion of Iraq (and it's bloody consequences in painting the U.S. military as modern day Crusaders) is ABSOLUTELY NOT 'sudden' at all! Indeed, it's about as 'sudden' as the FDA dramatically announcing, NOW, a warning about a just-discovered connection between cigarette smoke and lung cancer. The American mainstream press should be ASHAMED that it's GQ which claims to break this story; a 'story' about a war which the Military Religious Freedom Foundation has been fighting every day now for almost four years."
Jeff Sharlet's eye opening article, "Jesus killed Mohammed: The crusade for a Christian military," in the May issue of Harper's Magazine, clearly sparked a sudden interest in a battle that MRFF has been fighting for years, leading to things like the recent Al Jazeera report showing footage of U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan with stacks of Dari and Pashtu language Bibles, discussing how to convert Afghan Muslims. The military, of course, claimed that what the Al Jazeera report showed was just an "isolated" incident, that it was taken out of context, and even went as far as accusing Al Jazeera of "irresponsible and dangerous journalism" for reporting the story. But, as we at MRFF know quite well, this was no isolated incident, nor was it taken out of context. Our files are brimming with other verified examples of our military's attempts to convert both Afghans and Iraqis to Christianity, so I gathered a few of these to rebut the military's excuses in my post last week, Code 1, Code 2, Code 3 at Bagram Airfield.
For those who want to read more about our military's "holy war," here are links to a few other pieces I've written over the last year or so:
The "Great Commission" and Iraq
Attention All "Evil-Doers": This Really is a Religious War
U.S. Army Conveniently Loses Records of Embedded Christian-Reality-TV-Show Missionaries
Army Chief of Chaplains Promotes Ministry That Called Navy Secretary Satanic
Creationism: The Latest in Military Suicide Prevention
Gen. Schwarzkopf: If You're Not Too Busy, Could You Please Come Back and Knock Some Heads Around?
MRFF to Demand That Pentagon Immediately Cease All Ties to Obama-Bashing Ministry
The DoD's Entirely Unsatisfactory Response to MRFF's Letter Regarding TBN 4th of July Special
Obsession "Stars" Have Lectured at U.S. Military Colleges; U.S. Navy Uses Film
Please also visit MRFF's newsletter archive to see some more of the shocking stories, photos, and videos that MRFF has uncovered.
What, they didn't use the phrase "a few bad apples"? ?? ?????
All but three of these are from the old testament.
Christ is the star of the new testament. Where the two disagree, tnt trumpeth. Periodeth.
Where's the:
Blessed are the peacemakers?
Love thy enemy?
And all that other hippy rubbish?
The GOP are NOT christian.
Their world view comes from the old testament. But they cherry pick it. Conveniently leaving on the cherry tree thou shalt not kill, though shalt not bear false witness and no gods before me, amongst others. The god before is $$$ (mammon) See tnt for christ's views on the inability to server both mammon and god.
The old testament is closer to the judaism and islam than to christianity.
E Pleb Neesta --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b56e0u0EgQ
GODISNOWHERE
Blessed are the cheese makers. --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paJUj8HJ4D8
The US Constitution intended to put a stop to this ,and did stop it somewhat inPublic Schools.
But as we see more privatization, in schools and now the military, we see more of the Religious Intrusion into our lives. Under color of Authority.
Any Officer in the Armed Forces who uses his authority to force his religion on a subornate or a conqured enemy, should be fired on the spot, and prosecuted under UCMJ.
Not bad enough to violate the Constitution , they have now given Terrorist , Propaganda fodder to accuse The US of wageing a Crusade.
And who can argue with them?
It's still amazing to me that people believe in fairy tales and put their faith in myths and folk stories.
does he not command us to "smite our enemies" and to "destroy the evil doers"
Doesnt Jesus tell us that it is better to kill 5 evil men than allow one innocent man to go free?
Verily, The lord is here to tell you that we have to kill a lot of people to solve all the worlds problems. And thats only the half of it. The more evil doers you dispatch to hell, the better your position in heaven!
Jesus is called the prince of peace. But to secure peace we must make war. Therefore jesus is the supreme commander of war.
This issue condenses everything that's wrong with the right: The marriage of religious intolerance and fanaticism with military power and empire. A microcosm of the Bush years. This is IT.
Terrifying because it's the exact opposite and perversion of Jesus's message of non-violent resistance to empire.
I could npt of said it better!
Including testimonial from Tom Delay? give me a HolyBreak!
and the Pentagon cleric at the end stating C-E is interceding on behalf of many Americans...I didn't ask for your intervention.
Robert Head, chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, for the last three years and a D.C.-based Granger staffer for a total of nine years, has moved on to Lockheed Martin Corp. — in Washington.
Head is a director of legislative affairs and has responsibility for the catchy-sounding MS2 part of Lockheed, not for the company’s Fort Worth-based aeronautics division.
The Lockheed Web site says MS2 stands for Maritime Systems & Sensors and "provides surface, air and undersea applications for U.S. and allied forces, including radar and surveillance systems" and a "systems integrator of network-centric naval combat systems."
Head, a Fort Worth native who graduated from Fort Worth Country Day and Southern Methodist University, is a son of prominent Fort Worth attorney and former Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce Chairman Albon Head.
The bibles probably aren't as good as a nice log on the fire on a cold, desert night, but I bet they're real popular as firelighters.
As for the US military... They must be as mad as they look. First, blow up the village, killing half the population, then try to sell them christianity.
Shame, shame, shame.
(Eeewwwww, this is so creepy) CRUSADERS!
Why isn't this and Rumsfeld's part of the story on the front page of the New York Times?
Think Joe Scarborough will bring it up in the morning? (sorry, don't tune in to find out, it only helps their ratings) It's a sure thing, it will never come up. Not Joe, not any of them will tackle this FUNDAMENTALIST EXTREMIST cell within our military.