It's Official: Bush Admin Saw Iraq As Religious War
When I signed up to serve in the United States Army, I did so because I wanted to serve my country. I wanted to - if called - put my life on the line to defend her, and all she stands for. We who served take an oath to defend this nation and its Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. As a Jew, one of the most important principles to me in our Constitution is religious freedom. Steeped in the history of colonization of America by those who were persecuted for their worship, tolerance of all religions and not putting one ahead of another, is a core principle I would die for.
Little did I know that while I was preparing to go to Iraq, the Bush administration was using Bible passages (both Old and New Testaments) on cover sheets of security reports, emblazoned on top of pictures of our armed forces. The implication was clear - this was a religious war, and our troops were fighting for the God of the Bible.
GQ has a bunch of these cover sheets, hand delivered by Donald Rumsfeld to the White House.
Again and again, security updates were adorned with bible passages. "Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith (Isaiah 26:2)." "Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His loving kindness, To Deliver their soul from death. (Psalm 33:16-19)."
"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. (Ephesians 6:13)."
Again and again, no one at the White House seemed to object and demand the practice end, as the reports with biblical quotes kept coming and coming.
We know that the Bush administration launched the war based on flimsy and false intelligence, and used torture to try to falsely link Iraq to 9/11. But, what we now know is that in the opening days of the war in Iraq, even the flimsy intelligence took a backseat to the idea that this was a Biblical fight between the forces of good (those who worship the God of the Old and New Testaments) against those who worship the God that is chronicled in the Koran.
It doesn't just offend me as a Jew that I was apparently fighting for the New Testament in the eyes of the Bush Administration. And it doesn't just offend me as an American that they thought it proper to engage our troops in what they obviously saw as a religious crusade.
As someone who still has friends over in Iraq and Afghanistan, it boils my blood to think that insurgents and terrorists now have something else to show around as "proof" that America is "fighting a war on Islam." Rumsfeld and those at the Pentagon (as well as the White House) had to know that there was a possibility that these would come out, and only exacerbate the religious and cultural misunderstandings about the United States in the region. And yet, they didn't care.
This kind of message from the top trickled down, allowing some troops to feel comfortable in presenting themselves as Holy Warriors, and expressing that in areas where that kind of message hurts more than helps. Earlier this month, it was revealed that some troops were handing out Bibles in Afghanistan, written in Pashto and Dari. A chaplain told some troops that their job was to "hunt people for Jesus."
When Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for the Presidency, he made a point of raising the photo of the grieving mother of Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan at his grave at Arlington Cemetery. Khan - a Muslim - died for this country, in Iraq. He didn't die for the Bible. He wasn't even fighting for the Bible. He wasn't "hunting people for Jesus." If anything, brave men and women like Khan should serve as examples to the Muslim world that we don't fight religious wars.
Yet, now the long arm of the Bush administration has reached from the past into the present, again. We need to investigate how widespread this notion that we were in a religious war spread, and how far it trickled down. And, most of all, the President and Secretary of Defense must make clear to our forces that it is a false notion, and any actions based on it must stop now.
Crossposted at VetVoice.com
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
The only reason Bush & Rumsfeld picked George W. Bush to be their puppet was because of his brainwashed religion, it made him the perfect tool for their evil designs. Throw a few Bible verses his way and he would do anything they wanted.
Jon,
We wnt to War in Iraq to secure the oil...Rums
The bible verses presented to Bush were to manipulate Bush into thinking it was a Religious War anbd he was following God's desires. They were using him and playing to his bloated ego and born again beliefs.
Ask youself why didn't Cheney want anyone to know who he met with about the energy policy and what was discussed? There are documents laying out which oil companies get which oil fields in Iraq.9/11 was his excuse to finally implement something he wanted to do for years and the useful idiot Bush was manipulated by these bible verses.
I think Bush finally caught on that he was being used by Cheney and did not invade Iran or pardon Libby to get him back.
Is the Bush administration the de ad horse that will bear no beating? The 9 old robes and congress decided this doom. What is the fate of their souls?
I'm an atheist Iraq veteran, so I don't like the thought of fighting in a religious war either.
I'm not convinced the occupation was ever for just one reason, Jon, and I don't believe for a second that denationalization of oil reserves wasn't also a big part of the Iraq equation ...for someone. If that part didn't quite work out as the neoCONS were hoping, it was still part of the beast they saw in their cross-hairs.
The holy war thing also seemed their handle for firing up the rummy.
I think this is only the tip of the iceberg. We have no idea just how crazy the Bush administration was. I believe that people will continue to come forward. I hope so. It may be distracting, but the country needs to know.
Lemme tell ya, back when Bush "won" against Kerry (after I expended every OUNCE of energy to get Kerry elected), I told her I thought we were going to see a cascading series of scandals that would go on for years, things that were so bad we could barely conceive of them at the time. I had no idea how true that was going to turn out to be, and I've never been unhappier to be right. (It's a rare occurrence, to be sure.)
So the Bush admin was using the Bible as their roadmap? I'm surprised we didn't put up crosses in Gitmo.
Korea and Vietnam were fought because of anti communist ideology; there was no reasonable cassus belli. No direct threat to the US.
Iraq 1 was a response to an Ally being attacked and was backed by the UN. On many levels it was probably the most successful war ever waged. No ideological content.
Iraq 2 and Afghanistan are being fought because of anti islamic ideology. There is no direct threat to the US being posed other than being there and inciting retaliation.
The mantra of the fundamentalist mullahs of the christian persuasion now claim that peace will obtained when the Muslims convert to Christianity. After the 2nd coming of Christ, whatever that means.
We are in for a long haul ... this country is done.
We've got Obama.
We've got hope.
I thought the offical call was "They hate us for our freedom."?
Sure, thats the reason the Souix hated us to, cause we were free!
I don't disagree with you on any point; and these same misfits who claim they made America safer, should be held accountable for the price being paid, yet to be paid, for their arrogance.
But, truthfully, those covers are also an accurate reflection of America - an America that allowed these Administration officials to be given power for eight long years, let them represent our nation in this manner, and to act with this level of immunity and irresponsibility.
No, they don't represent you or I.
But would the powerless and impoverished living in the village of Islam, halfway around the globe, be entirely mistaken if they saw this and recognized it as American?
No, they are right, we are responsible for our government , they don't care if we agreed or not.
When Ortega or Chavez act hostile to America, it's not to you and I personaly they dislike.
It's what represents itself as the US. Blackwater, halliburton. the Cia Treasury, some of the Banks we are bailing out.
America ,to the exploited countries , is just rich capitalist, propping up brutal dictators , that serve the people up as serfs for the Global industrial machine.
And don't we all enjoy all these nice " Things" that this Global Free Market brings us?
Global Industrial Machine... Hey I like that one.
Hey you left ME out of that!
It should be Global Industrial Machine = GIM + ME = GIMME!
GIMME more stuff from countries that our GIMME exploits for natural resources and cheap labor so I can go further into debt, causing me to borrow more money from the GIMME.
GIMME more stuff that results in further pollution of our planet, bringing ecological collapse in its wake.
GIMME more stuff not made in America so our industries go bankrupt, thereby allowing our GIMME to make forever greater profits by outsourcing everything.
GIMME more wars so we can act like we are "The Greatest Country on Earth" pulverizing all those who don't agree.
After seeing the Rumsfeld memos, I don't see how Bush can criticize jihad. There is a photo of a tank entering the Green Zone with a caption saying that believers can take over.
This is disgraceful beyond words.
Exactly, EXACTLY. And all blind to it, ourselves.
This IS a religious war, as well as a war to steal energy resources, the fact that it is being fought primarily by men and women of integrity on the ground makes it no less so
Hm, I can't seem to find the one that says:
"Thou shalt not bear false witness." --Exodus 20
Gonzalez wrote a legal opinion that got them around that one...
It's been known for years that assertive and increasingly powerful evangelicals in the military have no respect for the fundamentally secular basis of our country as established by the Constitution and that, relatedly, discrimination and intimidation of non-Christian servicemen is now widespread. That it went so far as to reach the desk of a president who shares their messianic theocratic beliefs should not surprise anyone.
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
