Rumsfeld Commits To God

In the Financial Times (FT.com): Rumsfeld, Iraq and Good Book revelations By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington Published: May 18 2009 19:32 Last updated: May 18 2009 19:32 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6fa5b6a6-43d8-11de-a9be-00144feabdc0,dwp_uuid=17aab8bc-6e47-11da-9544-0000779e2340.html we read of good Rumsfeld being sent intelligence peppered with biblical quotations. The morning after US marines toppled a statue of Saddam Hussein in April 2003, Donald Rumsfeld, then defence secretary, received his top secret global intelligence briefing – with a twist. The cover of the “Worldwide Intelligence Update” unremarkably included a photograph of the now infamous toppling of the statue in Baghdad. The words above, however, were more remarkable. “The king is saved by a mighty army,” a passage from Psalm 33-16-19 of the Bible declared, before ending “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”... Another March intelligence report showed a photo of a US tank adorned with words from the Ephesians 6:13 urging “put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground”. The report also included: “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” The Donald Rumsfeld way of "committing" to the Lord is the reason why religion is often hated by people; it is the reason why morons kill each other, whether in Iraq or in front of abortion clinics. To commit to the Lord is to give up your idiotic, childish, jejune, concepts and beliefs that - like barnacles - had accreted themselves to your being. The simple-minded belief that God is teaching you in the ways of war is nonsense bordering on the sociopathic. It is your own love of destruction and the thrill of death. To commit to the Lord is to shut your mouth! It is to be quiet and listen! Then you will know what is expected. But you have to be silent, otherwise your words, your desires, your memories will taint your meditation, and seep through, as red paint pervades twenty coats and more of white paint. The way of God is not your way - not until you lose your way will you find the way of God. I expect it.

(ps. see What Powderfinger said... ,"Mulling Wittgenstein", for more on this )