Rumsfeld’s Biblical Message-Laden Intelligence Briefs

Major General Glen Shaffer should be Court Martialed for violating his oath to uphold & defend the Constitution of the United States. Specifically, for violating his oath to uphold & defend Article VI and Amendment 1.

As suspected, we lived under a theocracy under Bush that was intent on a holy war in the middle east.

Way to go Rumsfield!! we SHOULD BE QUOTING the bible and using it for everything in this sinful life!
that is what God said not me!!
GoD bless! and keep up the good work

Lots of verses address the separation of church and state. A little scripture from the KJV Bible.
Mathew 24
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

I’m disturbed that military intelligence reports have a biblical theme. I don’t want biblically driven military policy. That’s just dumb. For those who can’t handle the separation of church and state, imagine that someone with a different interpretation of the Bible, one who strictly relied on the teachings of Jesus came into the position and started advocating “Turn the other cheek” as the theme after an event like 9-11. I don’t want someone justifying their decisions with the Bible, I want them justifying their decisions based on the cold, hard facts. Putting Bible quotes on a report just smacks of vanity and ego, if not the downright delusional belief that God must be on your side.
But what bothers me even more at an intellectual level is this sense of marketing strategy that lies behind these reports. What on earth do they need slogans for or graphics (beyond the normal graphs and charts)? Are not the officials of our government grown up and intellectually developed enough to make decisions without all the stupid bells and whistles you’d find on, say, an issue of GQ? Good lord. This just seems like a bubble-headed waste of time and money and the work of people who can’t defend their thesis with a logical argument. My god, if I turned in my college thesis with a graphic and a biblical slogan unrelated to the material on the front, I would have been laughed out of my seminar. These are intelligence reports not marketing brochures. Hopefully with the change of administration we have some grownups in office who don’t need pretty pictures to help them digest potentially dry information.

Where is Donald Rumsfeld? Has anyone seen him since he was suddenly removed?
Is it because this person is not presentable? Is it because Rumsfeld’s mental condition has devolved into obvious dementia or paranoia?

I guess I never am ceased to be amazed at how oblivious top Bush administration officials were to how America was viewed or would be viewed by incidents such as thes. If nothing else it portrays arrogance….and that is a trait that seems to permeate Republicans….and until they rid themselves of it will keep them from gaining power anytime soon.

And ABC doesn’t like it!

What we’ve know all along: God did it.
(Behold, the GOP is diminishing)

If you have a billion dollar defense industry, and heavy unemployment for unskilled labor, it is a recipe for attack on another nation. Iraq now has their Pearl Harbor. If no one attacks you, you can attack them under the flag of the holy cross. Our tax dollars flood the world with rifles, ammunition, and grenade launchers. We are sinners, and we will run out of warriors before the enemy does. We are weak, and fear complete victory and enslavement.

Does anyone still deny that Iraq was a “crusade”?

The atheists, agnostics and secular humanists are still working hard to demonize Geo. Bush and his administration. While their darling is imposing debt on our country, and “spreading the wealth around” socialist philosophy that is unlikely for us to ever get out from under. Tell me one place where socialism, has ever worked outside academia, that is in the real world. The real problem with the left is that they hate God and want all reference to him removed. “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.”

Wilbur posted “”The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.” ”
The fool has said “God told me to invade Iraq”.

The founding fathers quoted from the same book and the presidents swore an oath in it. Whats new ABC?

The founding fathers quoted from the same book and the presidents swore an oath on it to take office. Whats new ABC?

1MANA55 posted “The founding fathers quoted from the same book and the presidents swore an oath on it to take office. Whats new ABC?”
Maybe this is also something that needs to be changed – taking the oath on the Bible.
BTW, 1MANA55. I find it funny how pro-lifer’s like you don’t mind that Bush believed that God told him to invade Iraq. Over 5000 Americans have DIED because of this. Maybe as many as a million Iraqis have died because of this. But their deaths don’t matter to pro-lifers like you. Life is precious while it is in the womb, but once out.. they are good for demented leader’s cannon fodder.

Historians will classify the current wars as religious wars. The status quo continues; nothing changed after 9/11.

Don’t understand the point of this story other then for ABC to whip up anti-Christian rhetoric. Especially since at the same time you had Muslims quoting the Koran and beheading people on the internet.

This is completely unbelievable that a religious war would be fought in THIS day and age on behalf of the American people! NONE of the serious allegations against Iraq were true. NONE OF THEM!! No WMD, no ‘underground laboratories’, no ‘biological weapons laboratories’, NOTHING! ALL OF THESE THINGS WERE FABRICATED. The Congress was even shown drawings of these FABRICATED facilities. NONE OF THEM EXISTED! WHO MADE THOSE DRAWINGS?! What is going on here is highly suspicious. The Congress has to investigate these right wing nut jobs immediately.

The current “war on terror” is simply the new Crusade against the Islam. Many will say – Yes, but we didn’t started it, everything is because of 9/11! But the correct answer is – Yes, the US started this Crusade by staging a false terrorist attack on WTC! The evidence proving the US government involvement in 9/11 is just beyond overwhelming! The latest proof came from a chemical analysis laboratory in Copenhagen, Denmark which shows in abundance trace of nanothermite explosives in the dust collected from the site of WTC right after 9/11. The material was published at April 10, 09 and is available on the internet. Also recently there were an interview at Coast to Coast with the Danish professor, head of the chemical laboratory.

Torbalan – You’re using a widely rejected conspiracy theory to suggest that Muslim terrorists are victims….
That’s a tough sell buddy.
I guess the US hired a bunch of peace-loving Muslims in Afghanistan and Pakistan to pretend to be terrorist organizations as well..

The current “war on terror” is simply the new Crusade against the Islam. Many will say – Yes, but we didn’t started it, everything is because of 9/11! ———————————————
Cheney provided beyond a shadow of a doubt that Saddam was behind the 9/11 attacks.

Air Force Pays Evangelicals to Preach About Terrorism
Wednesday February 27, 2008
If a military cadets asked you to arrange for speakers about modern terrorism, would you choose experts and scholars on the subject or evangelical Christians who make questionable claims about their past while proselytizing their religion? The sensible choice should be the first option, but I’m not sure that very sensible cadets are at the Air Force Academy where the second option has been enthusiastically endorsed.

we msut erase all religions if man is to become greater then ever.. we cant move forward until religion is done away with.

by Tyrone:
“Major General Glen Shaffer should be Court Martialed for violating his oath to uphold & defend the Constitution of the United States. Specifically, for violating his oath to uphold & defend Article VI and Amendment 1.”
NOT A CHANCE TYRONE!
HERE IS ARTICLE4; FIRST AMENDMENT!
“Free exercise of religion”
Main article: Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment
In Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963), the Warren Court applied the strict scrutiny standard of review to this clause, holding that a state must show a compelling interest in restricting religion-related activities. In Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990), the Supreme Court retreated from this standard, permitting governmental actions that were neutral regarding religion. The Congress attempted to restore this standard by passing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, but in City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507 (1997), the Supreme Court held that such an attempt was unconstitutional regarding state and local government actions (though permissible regarding federal actions).
*****
FREEDOM OF RELIGION IS A PERSONAL CHOICE, ONE THAT GOVERNMENT CANNOT TAKE AWAY FROM YOU….HOW YOU EXERCISE YOUR “BELIEFS” IS GUARANTEED BY THIS CLAUSE.
WHAT RUMSFELD DID WAS PERFECTLY LEGAL, AND NOBODY CAN DENY HIS RIGHT TO EXPRESS HIMSELF.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH!

The extreme conservatives of the Republican party must never ever be allowed to wield such power again! It is questionable whether we can survive this time around much less give them another chance to destroy the world in the “service of God” as most of them think is their calling.

“The greatest danger for the world peace, even the existence of the mankind” …is actually religion

This just shows that you can justify ANYTHING to gullible people by using the Bible. People used the Bible in the past to justify slavery, and they used it during the last administration to justify an unjustifiable war – causing the murders of a million people and leaving our country in greater danger because of increased worldwide anti-American hatred.

Dave,
“j, The issue is that Rumsfield used religious ideals to influence actions of war.
Osama bin Laden used religious ideals to attack the U.S. and the Bush administration used religious ideals to start a war based on lies. The difference between the two is the flavor of dogma.
Posted by: Dave | May 17, 2009 3:25:57 PM”
*************
Scripture quoted from the Bible is NOT DOGMA…it’s TRUTH….the WORD spoken by God Almighty CREATED EVERYTHING; therefore; it’s TRUTH…So, understanding the WORD of the Lord, and quoting scripture is not wrong….it’s only wrong if you quote it in the wrong context….Rumsfeld used scripture he believed applied to explain the events of war…God does NOT promote WAR by man….God used WAR that HE PLANNED to solve problems…that’s the only time WAR is good, when the Lord tells you to go to war, which i don’t believe was the case about IRAQ….just the opposite, i wrote President Bush a letter requesting that he NOT go into Iraq….that it would be 7 years of a death, wasted on a war that could not be won by Americans…..the Iraq war was all about Oil and Money…and nothing more.
…THE WORD of the LORD, IS NOT “RELIGIOUS IDEALS”…IT’S TRUTH.
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“The greatest danger for the world peace, even the existence of the mankind” …is actually religion”
Posted by: Dave | May 17, 2009 3:28:18 PM
Dave, you need to understand the MUSLIM RELIGION is based on idealogical beliefs of their ALLAH…a MORTAL MAN who is not a GOD, but a false idol…so you are confusing/comparing the WORD/SCRIPTURE used by Rumsfeld vs. bin Laden’s use of a false god who told him to murder americans….THE TWO, RUMSFELD and LADEN CANNOT BE COMPARED BECAUSE THEY EACH BELIEVE DIFFERENTLY
…RUMSFELD’S BELIEF IS BASED ON TRUTH, (tho he may twisted the scripture to fit his belief)…THE OTHER bIN LADEN BELIEFS ARE BASED ON DECEPTION.
***********************
The problem of “religion” is the misconception that one’s “religion” expresses their BELIEF of GOD ALMIGHT,THE ONE AND ONLY GOD…a person’s belief which may or may NOT Reflect the one true God. Religion is a RITUAL ONE practices as WORSHIP. Therefore “religion” is not God Almighty….
GOD ALMIGHTY is the WORD spoken by Jesus Christ and the Prophets in the BIBLE…the 4 Gospels were inspired by the “Comforter” (Holy Spirit) sent to mankind BY Jesus Christ, after HE rose to take HIS Place at the Right Hand of God Almighty, the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD. At that time, Jesus Christ was given COMMAND of EVERYTHING God Almighty Created…
(this event is fulfillment of the scripture)…the ONLY WAY TO THE FATHER (GOD ALMIGHTY) IS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST>>>>meaning JESUS CHRIST MUST KNOW YOUR NAME….WHICH IS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE….GIVING YOU ENTRANCE TO HEAVEN….
Now, the BEST WAY FOR JESUS CHRIST TO KNOW YOUR NAME…is to PUBLICALLY express your Love, Praise and Devotion for Jesus Christ….for it is written, THOSE WHO PUBICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE LOVE FOR JESUS CHRIST ON EARTH; JESUS CHRIST WILL PUBICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE HIS LOVE OF YOU TO GOD ALMIGHTY….
So, Mr. Dave, and EVERYONE READING THIS>>>>>if i were you; i would watch what i PUBLICALLY announce about Jesus Christ…

i would sure like a face to face debate with this gentlemen….he obviously has lost his way……i can prove to Ehrman, he has “faulty logic” …providing him with concrete evidence of what he cannot see or deny, but must explain!
…belief is knowing a thing in your heart, whether you can “see” it or not
…FAITH is acting on your belief, knowing it’s TRUTH…..that is what Major General Glen Shaffer was doing with his “coversheets”….knowing all the while Rumsfeld believed the war was a spiritual war of good v evil….with that understanding, i have to agree with Rumsfeld…he was to put on all the amour of GOD (WHICH MEANS “THE WORD”) AND STAND STILL. Evil cannot defeat the WORD…unfortunately the Bush Administration did not understand the scripture.

Perhaps Rumsfeld performed a miracle and turned back time on the Pentagon clocks?

Karen,
Maybe if people stopped invading other countries because of greed, power, and apparently religion, the world would not be such a bad place.

j
“God Almighty would NEVER tell anyone to murder another….”
Actually, he does fairly often in the Old Testament.

2 words………WAR CRIMINAL

I mean this looks goth, like Rumsfield was playing that Russian mesmerist, Svengolly, to Bush.

Well now we know how they told GWB what to think say and do. It figures that he would fall for such amateurish manipulation. He was nothing but a puppet for Cheney and his advisors.

Once again religion is used as an excuse to justify actions. By giving government briefings a “holy” mark, it encouraged the use of self-created (biblical) justifications. But this is not really suprising news. Those in the bush administration have been babbling on, religiously, forever.

j
Every tribe or nation that has EVER gone to war, has done so thinking “God” willed it. It is the orginal human conceit, which has led to more human slaughter than any other idea in history.

this country was founded on freedom of religion among others … even the president (or former) gets to live out his beliefs!!!

Germany has an arrest warrent for Rumsfeld for war crimes he planned and authorized. Rumsfeld belongs in prison with Cheney and many others in the Bush administration.

Rummie also seems to have forgotten, “That shalt not bear false witness”.

Rumsfeld is one of the worst war criminals of the last 50 years; a murderer by proxy who authorized torture and was responsible through negligence and arrogant misjudgment for the loss of a multitude of young American lives. If he is quoting the Bible, it should be from Hades. He deserves nothing less.

What this article states and shows is how President Bush’s underlings manipulated him into doing “their will” by quoting certain Biblical phrases. When you prod an intellectually weak man with a belief that he was chosen by God to be President and that his actions are “Gods will”, well you can get him to do just about anything you want. When you place your life and the lives of others in a belief of the God myth well, you then have to accept that 9/11 was God’s will, his wonders to perform…..How’d that workout for us?

I don’t think everybody gets how foolish this was of Rumsfeld et al. (in addition to just being plain silly). This is just the kind of this Al Qaida needs to recruit people, by showing them evidence that the US *IS* a ‘crusader’. But then, the Bushies made quite a number of blunders (secret torture, ‘renditions’, etc); they made recruiting much easier for A.Q. than it should be. Why in DoG’s name add a religious dimension?! We gain nothing, and risk empowering the bad guys! Thanks, Rummy! Real smart!

“At least one Muslim analyst in the Pentagon had been offended, GQ reports, and others worried that the biblical passages would inspire Islamic outrage within Muslim nations.”
WHO CARES IF WE “OFFEND” THESE PEOPLE????!????

AMEN Rumsfield! Separation of church and state is not nor was not what the liberal atheistic democratic party would have you all believe. It is NOT part of the constition. The constitution protects these types of faith expressions and guarantees the rights of the religous to practice their faith everywhere and anywhere without any law prohibiting them. The nonreligous were guaranteed that no one would make THEM worship in any state sponsored religion (ie a federally run denomination, because at the time several states had state sponsored religous faiths) There was absolutely nor is there any obligation to protect citizens from the exposure to another pesons expression of faith. It aint there people!!!!!! It is freedom OF religion not from religion.
Faith is a deep part of MANY (most) Americans get over it and start practicing all that left wing tolerance I keep hearing about.

Hey Marcus – an intellectually weak man graduated from a better University than you probably went to with better grades than his democratic predecessors…. don’t believe everything the media feeds you honey.

Hey MrsPlasticman,
The “intellectually weak man” you adore bought his way through Uni with family money. He subsequently took this “vast” knowledge and failed at business. He got elected President of the USA only because his father previously held the office, and if Americans crave anything, it’s “name brand recognition”.
As for W’s grades, I’d like for you to show that his were higher than, well lets say his opponent in his first presidential race. Or his predecessor. But you can’t. You’re just doing the Republican Two Step.

I find it interesting the people who are defending Rummy’s right to religious freedom. Their complete mis-interpretation of the bill of rights aside, I wonder how they would react if the religious messages included in these military briefs reflected another religion (Muslim, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, etc)? I sure they would all be appalled!

In response to “Jim” May 18th, 2009 8:11:21 a.m. – we would be appalled. Why? Our nation was not founded on Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, etc., it was clearly founded as a Christian nation, on biblical principles by mostly professing Christians; like it or not. We live in the United States of America. I do believe in religious freedom. I believe anyone in this great nation of ours can follow any religion they want, but in fact our original history; not the politically correct “rewrites,” clearly depict a nation founded on biblical truth. Good grief! Just visit our capital and read our original documents. Our founders would not have been one bit appalled at using biblical texts to make a point; matter of fact they almost ALL did. Now, this is where opponents of our history (oh, they wish it were not true so much that in their minds it isn’t) begin to tell us that these miss-guided founders were slave owners, slaughtered innocent native Americans, etc.; (I’ll bet you have that history right), to which we would agree with you. Those things were appallingly and not supported by the message of Scripture properly understood. Whether you like it or not, that is true. So give me bible verses! (Philippians 2:9-11)

Considering Christianity and Islam are religions theoretically based on peace……….it’s amazing how violent both religions’ followers are.
The irony of Bush’s Christian Crusade in the Middle East is that Christians are leaving the Middle East. Since Bush, there are now fewer indigenous Christians in the Middle East.
Not unlike “abstinence only sex education”…………..it didn’t work.

Of course Thomas Jefferson is not well liked by the conservative wing of the GOP or by those who foist their religious tyranny on the rest of us, but here are some Jefferson quotes anyway. Enjoy . . . . .
“Question with boldness even the existence of God; because if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.” . . . . “The rights of conscience we never submitted, we could not submit. We are answerable for them to our God. The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg . . . . Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error.” Instead of reading your bible, read The Jefferson Bible. It is far my enlightening!

I salute you Major General Glen Shaffer
Its idiots like these complaining that are the reason my kids can not say the “Pledge of Allegiance” in school or want to remove “In God we trust” from money or how about the Ten Commandments from our court rooms. I bet their the same sorry losers that voted “Darth Vador” into office.

Bud says the United States “was clearly founded as a Christian nation”.
Well, Bud, that’s what Religious Right activists and right-wing TV preachers want Americans to believe. But it is COMPLETELY WRONG, part of a campaign to create what Evangelicals call a “Christian Nation”. Read the U.S. Constitution: it is a wholly SECULAR document and contains zero references to Christianity or Jesus Christ.
In fact, the Constitution refers to religion only 2 times in the First Amendment, which bars laws “respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” and in Article VI, which prohibits “religious tests” for public office. Both of these Constitutional provisions are evidence that our country was NOT founded as “officially” Christian. This is America’s founding document, not personal religious beliefs.
But you know, the Founding Fathers did not create a secular government because they hated Christianity – many were believers themselves. However, they were also very aware of the dangers of a church-state union. Read a little history of the era. These men experienced first-hand what happened with church+state partnerships in Europe and in the early Colonies: oppression, tyranny, and evil in “God’s” name.

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of SEPARATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE.”
Thomas Jefferson, Jan. 1, 1802
BAM!

do you really understand what Jefferson meant?
“”Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of SEPARATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE.”
Thomas Jefferson, Jan. 1, 1802
BAM!
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Sovereign Reverence, recognizes God
Jefferson recognizes that man cannot be separated from the “account” of God and none other…
Jefferson goes on to say, that the government shall legislate no law respecting the establishment of religion…meaning, no legislation can be promulgated slanted to any method of worship……..as in the government cannot declare the government is “Catholic” Protestant, Baptist…etc…..this is what Jefferson meant, isn’t it…this is the separation he meant, not that man could be separated from account of God.
Most misunderstood about Jefferson, in fact, Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and specifically included the “creator” in the Declaration….which defines his thinking about his “account” to God for our nation.
BAM

By the way, sydney, your grammar is atrocious.

RUMSFELD AND BUSH KILLED AND WOUNDED THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN THE NAME OF GOD!
HELL IS THEIR NEXT DESTINATION.

Me had typos!! They are corrected, below:
I like what I’m seeing…a lot of atheist comments that terrorism, undeserved violence, lying, etc. are intolerable in the U.S. government. Likewise, a lot of god-fearers hold their leadership to a high standard that rejects only those actions which are unjustified by evidence of enemy attrocity.
I would suggest that there is much commonality in all of this debate — somehow it’s more fun to focus on differences. But if our entire continent was ravaged and tens of millions of innocent civilians slaughtered, it seems that atheist and believer would both see that as a crime based on firm logic, and at that point probably both would stand united to fight for our freedoms and tolerate any personal reason for fighting that war. I think the reason for the disgust with these scriptures is that the Iraq war already comes with so many unverified assertions and attrocities. (no logic!) Had there been logic and evidence, then perhaps there would be more focus on the correctness of our leader’s war motivations, rather than a justifiable focus on their improper use of religion for war.
Many of us will not admit that we all operate on limited knowledge, including our top officials. If the Bush administration was lying all along, Heaven help them. If they were acting in good faith (and much of their actions seem to be), Heaven help those who will not tolerate any attempt to maintain this country’s God-given freedoms!

That is why you will never ever see another right wing evangelical in the white house again. Religion is going to be the destroyer of America if it is allowed to continue it’s rampage. It has damaged this country more than anything in our history. It has forced American against American, and has even been used politically to stir hatred and cause divisiveness. This should not be allowed to happen. This is a minority of people trying to internally ruin this country, and until people start denouncing it as the evil it is it will continue to erode this countries promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. RELIGION NO MORE!!