Re: is GW Bush a Christian Zionist?

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Posted by sem on January 31, 19102 at 16:13:50:

In Reply to: is GW Bush a Christian Zionist? posted by Jordan Times on January 31, 19102 at 14:21:50:

Maybe Bush is mixing his religion with the politics; he evidently does not
understand that by pampering so much to Israel, he makes it easy for the
radical Muslims to hate America.......

: http://www.jordantimes.com/Wed/opinion/opinion2.htm

:
:'A dose of sober-mindedness'
:By George S. Hishmeh
:
:
:WASHINGTON — These are heady days for George W. Bush. The American president
:must feel intoxicated with the praise he has been given at home for his swift
:success in Afghanistan, where the American-led war has led to the ouster of
the
:extremist Taleban regime and the dissipation of Osama Ben Laden's Al Qaeda.
And
:Hamid Karzai, the new appreciative leader in Kabul, was here for the State of
:the Union address, always an occasion marked by abundant patriotism,
:exaggerated achievements and promises.
:The distracters, however, may point out that the Taleban's Mullah Omar or Al
:Qaeda's Ben Laden are still at large. Or, more to the point, this celebratory
:occasion in Washington has been marred by the downward spiralling of the
:Palestinian-Israeli war of attrition which saw, for the first time, a woman
:suicide bomber who was a university student.

:Yet, President Bush continues to mix apples and oranges in his fight against
:international terrorism after the horrific events of last September in New
York
:City, Washington and the fields of Pennsylvania. He and his vice president,
:Dick Cheney, lambasted the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, for failing to
:make “a 100 per cent good-faith effort to put an end to terrorism”, without
:once recognising the dilapidating effect of the Israeli occupation. President
:Bush went a step further and accused Arafat of “enhancing terror”, and pressed
:him to accept responsibility for the arms-smuggling operation. Talk has been
:rife here that the US may even sever its ties with the Palestinian leadership.

:The single-mindedness of the American president and his unabashed support of
:the hawkish Israeli government has puzzled many observers here. An intriguing
:report circulated by the Religion News Service may shed new light on this
:mystery.

:There are an estimated 98 million Christian evangelicals in the United States,
:but of concern here is its sub-group, known as Christian Zionists. They
believe
:that Jews are God's chosen people and have a divine deed to their contested
:land, in accordance with a covenant described in the first book of the Bible.

:But Christian Zionism is about more than private belief. “Its `anything for
:Israel' theology has the potential to affect US foreign policy in the same way
:that the Christian Right has influenced (US) domestic issues through political
:pressure,” the lengthy feature, written by Mark O'Keefe, pointed out.

:“One intriguing question, posed frequently in Israeli government and US
:evangelical circles,” O'Keefe continued, “is whether President Bush, who has
:been outspoken in his evangelical beliefs, privately holds Christian Zionist
:views.”

:“It's one of the common explanations (of) ... why and how Bush is sympathetic
:to Israel and its cause,” Moshe Fox of the Israeli embassy admitted to
:O'Keefe. “I haven't had a chance to talk to the president about this, but that
:view is out there, and it is quite common.”

:The White House would not comment on whether Bush's religious beliefs might
:affect his actions towards Israel, insisting that he makes policy
:decisions “based on policy factors”.

:Bush's single-track approach does not sit well with many former officials. For
:one, Robert Malley, who was special assistant for Arab-Israeli affairs in
:President Clinton's White House, has described current US policy vis-ı-vis the
:Palestinian-Israeli conflict as a “recipe for catastrophe”.

:He wrote in The New York Times last Friday: “Of course, the United States is
:justified in pressuring Chairman Arafat to act against Palestinian terrorists.
:But so, too, must it admonish Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to cease those
:policies that inflame the Palestinian public and paralyse its security
service:
:the targeted assassinations, home demolitions, suffocating closures and
:creeping reoccupation.”

:He added: “By his actions ... Mr Sharon has done all in his power to make it
:unfeasible for (the Palestinians) to meet their obligations.”

:The point here is that the more the US and Israel humiliate the Palestinian
:leader, now confined to his headquarters compound in Ramallah, the more the
:Palestinian people are likely to rally to his support. In other words,
:dismissing the Palestinian leader as “irrelevant”, a point now adopted by some
:key American politicians, only underlines the empty-headedness of these
Israeli
:copycats.

:One is tempted to echo the remarks of the Swedish foreign minister, Anna
Lindh,
:who described Bush's policy as “stupid” and “crazy”. Regardless, isn't it
quite
:obvious that neither the Bush administration's threats, which in its latest
:manifestation has only yielded some foul and inelegant language against the
:Palestinian leader from the new American peace envoy, nor the Israeli stress
on
:security above everything else has produced a workable solution. This Israel
:rendition has actually camouflaged Zionist expansionist objectives; since
:assuming office a year ago, Sharon has reportedly established 26 illegal
:settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

:In their upcoming get-together, the fourth in a year, both Bush and Sharon
need
:a good dose of sober-mindedness or else hell may break loose.
:

Follow Ups:

There is no pleasing a radical Muslim anyway. They do seem to understand brute force 17:31:34 1/31/102 (2)
- There is no point in talking to radical muslims. All they understand is through a barrel of gun! 19:50:02 1/31/102 (1)
  - Re: There is no point in talking to radical muslims. All they Texas Warlord 20:02:21 1/31/102 (0)

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Comments: :Maybe Bush is mixing his religion with the politics; he evidently does not :understand that by pampering so much to Israel, he makes it easy for the :radical Muslims to hate America....... :: http://www.jordantimes.com/Wed/opinion/opinion2.htm :: ::'A dose of sober-mindedness' ::By George S. Hishmeh :: :: ::WASHINGTON — These are heady days for George W. Bush. The American president ::must feel intoxicated with the praise he has been given at home for his swift ::success in Afghanistan, where the American-led war has led to the ouster of :the ::extremist Taleban regime and the dissipation of Osama Ben Laden's Al Qaeda. :And ::Hamid Karzai, the new appreciative leader in Kabul, was here for the State of ::the Union address, always an occasion marked by abundant patriotism, ::exaggerated achievements and promises. ::The distracters, however, may point out that the Taleban's Mullah Omar or Al ::Qaeda's Ben Laden are still at large. Or, more to the point, this celebratory ::occasion in Washington has been marred by the downward spiralling of the ::Palestinian-Israeli war of attrition which saw, for the first time, a woman ::suicide bomber who was a university student. ::Yet, President Bush continues to mix apples and oranges in his fight against ::international terrorism after the horrific events of last September in New :York ::City, Washington and the fields of Pennsylvania. He and his vice president, ::Dick Cheney, lambasted the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, for failing to ::make “a 100 per cent good-faith effort to put an end to terrorism”, without ::once recognising the dilapidating effect of the Israeli occupation. President ::Bush went a step further and accused Arafat of “enhancing terror”, and pressed ::him to accept responsibility for the arms-smuggling operation. Talk has been ::rife here that the US may even sever its ties with the Palestinian leadership. ::The single-mindedness of the American president and his unabashed support of ::the hawkish Israeli government has puzzled many observers here. An intriguing ::report circulated by the Religion News Service may shed new light on this ::mystery. ::There are an estimated 98 million Christian evangelicals in the United States, ::but of concern here is its sub-group, known as Christian Zionists. They :believe ::that Jews are God's chosen people and have a divine deed to their contested ::land, in accordance with a covenant described in the first book of the Bible. ::But Christian Zionism is about more than private belief. “Its `anything for ::Israel' theology has the potential to affect US foreign policy in the same way ::that the Christian Right has influenced (US) domestic issues through political ::pressure,” the lengthy feature, written by Mark O'Keefe, pointed out. ::“One intriguing question, posed frequently in Israeli government and US ::evangelical circles,” O'Keefe continued, “is whether President Bush, who has ::been outspoken in his evangelical beliefs, privately holds Christian Zionist ::views.” ::“It's one of the common explanations (of) ... why and how Bush is sympathetic ::to Israel and its cause,” Moshe Fox of the Israeli embassy admitted to ::O'Keefe. “I haven't had a chance to talk to the president about this, but that ::view is out there, and it is quite common.” ::The White House would not comment on whether Bush's religious beliefs might ::affect his actions towards Israel, insisting that he makes policy ::decisions “based on policy factors”. ::Bush's single-track approach does not sit well with many former officials. For ::one, Robert Malley, who was special assistant for Arab-Israeli affairs in ::President Clinton's White House, has described current US policy vis-ı-vis the ::Palestinian-Israeli conflict as a “recipe for catastrophe”. ::He wrote in The New York Times last Friday: “Of course, the United States is ::justified in pressuring Chairman Arafat to act against Palestinian terrorists. ::But so, too, must it admonish Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to cease those ::policies that inflame the Palestinian public and paralyse its security :service: ::the targeted assassinations, home demolitions, suffocating closures and ::creeping reoccupation.” ::He added: “By his actions ... Mr Sharon has done all in his power to make it ::unfeasible for (the Palestinians) to meet their obligations.” ::The point here is that the more the US and Israel humiliate the Palestinian ::leader, now confined to his headquarters compound in Ramallah, the more the ::Palestinian people are likely to rally to his support. In other words, ::dismissing the Palestinian leader as “irrelevant”, a point now adopted by some ::key American politicians, only underlines the empty-headedness of these :Israeli ::copycats. ::One is tempted to echo the remarks of the Swedish foreign minister, Anna :Lindh, ::who described Bush's policy as “stupid” and “crazy”. Regardless, isn't it :quite ::obvious that neither the Bush administration's threats, which in its latest ::manifestation has only yielded some foul and inelegant language against the ::Palestinian leader from the new American peace envoy, nor the Israeli stress :on ::security above everything else has produced a workable solution. This Israel ::rendition has actually camouflaged Zionist expansionist objectives; since ::assuming office a year ago, Sharon has reportedly established 26 illegal ::settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. ::In their upcoming get-together, the fourth in a year, both Bush and Sharon :need ::a good dose of sober-mindedness or else hell may break loose. ::

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