Before his invasion of Iraq, Bush was working to enroll
world leaders. Here, Kurt Eichenwald
reports on a phone conversation between President Bush and French President
Jacques Chirac in his book, 500 Days.
Bush wasn’t listening to him, Chirac thought. Instead, he was jumping all over the rhetorical map in search of the magic words that would win him over. Saddam was lying; the UN had to prove itself; the allies had to work together. Perhaps, but all beside the point if illegal armaments weren’t found. What if, in fact, Saddam was telling the truth? …
Bush veered in another direction.
“Jacques,” he said, “you and I share a common faith. You’re Roman Catholic, I’m Methodist, but we are both Christians committed to the teachings of the Bible. We share one common Lord.”
Chirac said nothing. He didn’t know where Bush was going with this.
“Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East,” Bush said. “Biblical prophecies are being fulfilled.”
Gog and Magog? What was that?
“This confrontation,” Bush said, “is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase His people’s enemies before a new age begins.”
3 comments:
Imagine how vain George has to be to believe that God was depending on HIM!
Seriously? Haven't read the book, and will look for it at B&N.
What page is the noted text on?
Unbelievable!
Anon - indeed.
Other anon - look on page 459. The more extended version - in which Chirac aides find a scholar who explains Gog and Magog is pretty fascinating as well. Turns out that Reagan had a similar conviction, but thought that it related to Moscow, not Baghdad.
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