Gog and Magog Bring You Freedom Fries

know what else i'm tired of?Gog and Magog being the reason that we went to war in Iraq. not WMD or what-the-hell-ever made up crap we used to justify it.

GOG AND MAGOG.

...Stranger still are new accounts emerging from France describing how former president Jacques Chirac was utterly baffled by a 2003 telephone conversation in which Bush reportedly invoked fanatical Old Testament prophesy -- including the Earth-ending battle with forces of evil, Gog and Magog -- in his arguments to enlist France in the Coalition of the Willing.

"This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people's enemies before a New Age begins," Bush said to Chirac, according to Thomas Romer, a University of Lausanne theology professor who was later approached by French officials anxious to understand the context of the biblical reference.

http://www.thespec.com/article/572824 (toronto)

In the winter of 2003, when George Bush and Tony Blair were frantically gathering support for their planned invasion, Professor Thomas Römer, an Old Testament expert at the university of Lausanne, was rung up by the Protestant Federation of France. They asked him to supply them with a summary of the legends surrounding Gog and Magog and as the conversation progressed, he realised that this had originally come, from the highest reaches of the French government.

President Jacques Chirac wanted to know what the hell President Bush had been on about in their last conversation. Bush had then said that when he looked at the Middle East, he saw "Gog and Magog at work" and the biblical prophecies unfolding. But who the hell were Gog and Magog? Neither Chirac nor his office had any idea. But they knew Bush was an evangelical Christian, so they asked the French Federation of Protestants, who in turn asked Professor Römer.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2009/aug/10/religion-george-bush (uk)

Chirac recounts that the American leader appealed to their “common faith” (Christianity) and told him: “Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East.... The biblical prophecies are being fulfilled.... This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people’s enemies before a New Age begins.”

This bizarre episode occurred while the White House was assembling its “coalition of the willing” to unleash the Iraq invasion. Chirac says he was boggled by Bush’s call and “wondered how someone could be so superficial and fanatical in their beliefs.”

After the 2003 call, the puzzled French leader didn’t comply with Bush’s request. Instead, his staff asked Thomas Romer, a theologian at the University of Lausanne, to analyze the weird appeal.

....In 2007, Dr. Romer recounted Bush’s strange behavior in Lausanne University’s review, Allez Savoir....Subsequently, ex-President Chirac confirmed the nutty event in a long interview with French journalist Jean-Claude Maurice, who tells the tale in his new book, Si Vous le Répétez, Je Démentirai , released in March by the publisher Plon.

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2009/08/gog-magog-and-george-bush

*(so you don't think i'm just going all lefty on this, the first two links are separate non-american accounts of this international incident.)

So let's get this straight. when bush pitched a WAR in the middle east to France, part of his 'sell' was that this was HIS hand dealing with the fruition of Old Testament prophecy? well no-the-hell-wonder they said 'thanks but no thanks'. if someone came to me with that shit, i wouldn't let them MOW MY YARD. Outside of the multi-level absurdity, isn't this the very thing that we accuse Islamic extremists of doing? trying to take the world and make it over in the image of their own faith? HELL, weren't we brushing away those 'crazy' muslims that were alarmed about bush starting the crusades over again? that was just silly! we just wanted to give them 2 scoops of freedom!

THIS is why we sent kids to die while the jackasses back home demanded to have freedom fries? THIS!?! i'm so angry right now.

Sadly, Terribly Convenient for Tracking

A report just surfaced listing the FBI's involvement in detainee interrogations. One of the most enlightening parts of the report was the FBI's catalog of our government's role in torturing people. the link above takes you to an incredible chart from talking points. An amazing catalog of the betrayal of American principles and values. This 8 year long insult to the integrity of my home cannot end with enough speed.

A Parting Shot

I was going to say that the Republicans voted against a bill today that would allow US troops to spend equal time at home with family as they do deployed in Iraq. The ratio of home/away time for the British is 4:1. Well, if i told you they voted against it, i'd be fibbing. they actually filibustered the bill so that no one would vote on it. It would have passed and the President would have to personally veto it. My question is why do this? the Senator takes heat for not being supportive of the troops and they KNOW the president would veto the bill without worrying about political heat for re-election. maybe my thinking is off here.

When Does the "Better" Part Come?

I was reading the newest Harper's Index, and it said that approximately 1.2 million people have died in/since the US/Iraq war started. In this release, the White House says "Under Saddam's regime many hundreds of thousands of people have died as a result of his actions - the vast majority of them Muslims."

OK.

So what does this mean? did we end the 30 year rule of a cruel, despicable dictator, only to see a few hundred thousand MORE Iraqi's dead in 4 years? Are we seeing what Saddam took a generation to do come to pass in a handful of years? Truly, when does this become 'worth it'?

The Spirit of Our Nation Betrayed...with an Easy to Follow Map!

At the Direction of the President, our nation has taken people prisoner without charges. This is the most fundamental violation of a fair Judiciary there is. It is what we don't do...until now. It was what our parents, our grandparents, our great grandparents were told that made us different than the Communist Menace.

We also don't torture. America is a nation of freedom and protection by the law, for the people. Our laws say not we don't torture. Our morals say we do not torture. Our word and our example has been a guiding light to the world in showing how a modern democracy must exist. It is what gives us moral authority and public trust.

The map above shows the routes the President approved for trafficking people in order to torture them. You can see the routes that the President and Vice President have used to export our dignity in order to fight a war they had no idea how to fight. They'd seen it in a movie and they thought that was enough to override a legion of people who'd seen war. Our nation's soul lies on those routes...All so that men who avoided war at all costs could fight one just like they'd seen on TV.

The President and Vice President should be Impeached.

One More Cook for the Stew?

from the Washington Post:

The White House wants to appoint a high-powered czar to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with authority to issue directions to the Pentagon, the State Department and other agencies, but it has had trouble finding anyone able and willing to take the job, according to people close to the situation.

At least three retired four-star generals approached by the White House in recent weeks have declined to be considered for the position, the sources said, underscoring the administration's difficulty in enlisting its top recruits to join the team after five years of warfare that have taxed the United States and its military.

OK, it may just be me, but it seems that the real problem isn't that they can't find someone to the job. the problem is that they feel the need to have such a "Czar" in the first place. Think about it. we have 2 wars, so to speak, and evidently this is too much for the President, the Sec. of Defense, and the joint chiefs of staff? I'm sorry, but if we could manage WW1 and WW2 without a "Czar",but we cannot do the same now...? Well then, the Administration is simply finding new depths to its incompetence.

Surge Report Card

A couple of months ago, there was a big uproar on whether to 'surge' more troops into Iraq. That surge is happening now. so, how well is it working out?

As expected.

More peaceful where the troops are. More dangerous where they aren't. Baghdad violence is down. deaths of US soldiers and Iraqi citizens outside Baghdad are up. How would you grade that?

D+

Trouble Brewing?

You may have caught this story (Above link). 15 British marines were taken captive today after doing a routine inspection of an Iranian ship in the Persian Gulf. Upon completing their inspection, the men were surrounded by Iranian naval ships and taken into custody. The British are demanding their immediate release.

That's the story up to this moment.

Gen. Tommy Franks is an Idiot!

I don't think Gen. Tommy Franks catches enough grief over his role in the Iraq war. because his quick march into Baghdad was successful, everyone seemed to pat him on the back and level their blame at Rumsfeld. People forget how much Franks had to do with the planning and implementation of the war. As soon as the initial combat was over, Franks quickly retired and got out of the country. Like a guy punching a heavy weight champ in the face then darting out of sight so he can claim to his buddies "yeah, they champ couldn't even lay a hand on me..."

What he really did was avoid real planning, play for one inning, and leave like the game was won. It wasn't. He left the scene to do a victory lap and left his soldiers with the war he couldn't bring himself to plan for. They pull 3 tours of duty, bleed, and die.

He plays golf.

What a hero.

Read the link above to see a short article about the war for which he prepared our troops.

So Now We Know...Again.

(AP) A "very damning" report by the Defense Department's inspector general depicts a Pentagon that purposely manipulated intelligence in an effort to link Saddam Hussein to al-Qaida in the runup to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, says the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The Pentagon announces what we all knew in the first place. The office of the President knowingly fabricated the evidence that lead us to war. If he was a Democrat he would be impeached.