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CounterPunch
October
19, 2002
Bush's Armageddon
Obsession
The Looking Glass War
by MICHAEL ORTIZ HILL
I'd become accustomed to George W. Bush's use
of the word evil until he told the nation this last spring, "The
evil one is among us." Anyone with a passing understanding
of the evangelical world of Bush' faith knows he was referring
to the Antichrist. The implications of this are grave beyond
telling and yet scarcely ever noted in the public discourse.
On the eve of a misguided war the Commander in Chief of the most
powerful military force in human history has located American
foreign policy within a Biblical narrative that leads inexorably
towards the plains of Megiddo, roughly fifty five miles northwest
of Jerusalem: the battle of Armageddon. Two essential questions,
as impertinent as they are imperative, need to be asked: Mr.
President, as a born-again Christian is it not true that you
regard this as the end times prophesied in the Bible? In what
way does your religious understanding of apocalypse inform American
policy in the Mideast?
There are many aspects to the fundamentalist
understanding of the end of days not the least being the conversion
of the Jews to the true Messiah before the final battle. In Bush'
political autobiography (A Charge to Keep) he places himself
squarely in the mainstream of evangelical thought. Recounting
his pilgrimage to the Holy Land Bush writes of entering into
the waters of Galilee in the apparent baptism of "a Jewish
friend. " It was then that the hymn came to his mind:
Now the time is approaching By prophets
long foretold When all shall dwell together One Shepherd and
one fold Now Jew and Gentile meeting From many a distant shore
Around an altar kneeling One common Lord adore
I don't know if the president has read
Hal Lindsey, but much of what he says shows a similar perspective.
Having sold fifteen million copies Lindseys' book The Late Great
Planet Earth remains the most influential text shaping fundamentalist
thought on apocalyptic matters. Written within the geopolitical
fantasies of the Cold War Lindsey writes, " As Armageddon
begins with the invasion of Israel by the Arabs and the Russian
confederacy, and their consequent swift destruction, the greatest
period of Jewish conversion to their true Messiah will begin.
" I'd rather not believe that Bush is moving according to
Lindseys' game plan but the simple fact is that we don't know.
The administration systematic alienation of our Arab allies (soon
leaving Israel as our only viable ally in the Mideast) raises
disturbing questions.
Lindseys' book influenced not only American
fundamentalist culture but had a pervasive effect on fundamentalist
Islams' apocalyptic worldview. According to David Cook, the American
expert on Islamic apocalyptic literature, until the late eighties
this element of Muslim culture had been fairly static for centuries.
" The contemporary Muslim," says Cook, " sees
the present world turned upside down by Christian millennialism....
In defense, Muslims make heavy use of the Bible, or one might
say the Bible as seen through the eyes of Hal Lindsey. There
are Muslim readings of the book of Daniel, Ezekial and Revelation.
The only difference is the 'good guys' are Muslims, not Christians."
This strange cross-fertilization between cultures has placed
us in the situation in which the current administration and Radical
Islam share a common worldview in which peace descends after
Evil is defeated in an apocalyptic battle. Both parties sing
the same song: God will lead our warriors to victory against
the forces of darkness.
We are at an extraordinary and critical
historical moment. When Bush was in Germany trying to garner
support for invading Iraq the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Pentagon
leaked its unanimous objection. More recently Brent Scowcroft,
the elder statesman of the Republican foreign policy establishment
declared that Bush' plans could unleash "an Armageddon in
the Middle East."
" The comments of Mr. Scowcroft
and others in the Republican foreign policy establishment,"
writes the New York Times, "appears to be a loosely coordinated
effort."On the domestic front it seems that both the Pentagon
and significant figures in the Republican party (Scowcroft, Kissinger,
House majority leader Dick Armey) are attempting to rein in a
rogue president before American men and women begin coming home
in body bags.
On the foreign front the U.S. is facing
near universal opposition by our European allies and complete
opposition from the Arab world, including Kuwait and the Iraqi
Kurds who have suffered so much under Saddam Hussein. The religious
underpinnings of Bush's war against evil are evident as is the
absolutist theology he shares with Radical Islam. Both of them
see such wars as we may be facing right now as righteous, good
and necessary. It is clear, we should be afraid for we are profoundly
endangered by the passions of both Christian and Muslim fundamentalisms.
This essay and its companion "Overcoming
Terrorism: A Twelve Step Approach" can be read at www.gatheringin.com.
Given the gravity of the world situation the author encourages
readers to circulate this freely.
Michael Hill Ortiz can be reached at: michaelortizhill@earthlink.net
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October 14,
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