Bush's War against Evil--James Carroll

[Hand]

A very thoughtful, intelligent, passionate, and utterly devastating piece from a former Catholic seminarian:

"To address concerns about the savage violence engulfing "postwar" Iraq with a cocksure "Bring `em on!" as he did last week, is to display an absence of imagination shocking in a man of such authority. It showed a lack of capacity to identify either with enraged Iraqis who must rise to such a taunt or with young GIs who must now answer for it. Even in relationship to his own soldiers, there is nothing at the core of this man but visceral meanness."

Bush's War against Evil

[Paschall]

1. Important op-ed

The greatest power the earth has ever seen is now expressly mobilized against the world's most ancient mystery. What human beings have proven incapable of doing ever before, George W. Bush has taken on as his personal mission, aiming to accomplish it in one election cycle, two at most.

Too few people have really tackled this widget. Carroll's piece is a good one. Thanks for the link, Hand. And welcome to DU! :hi:

[PBinOregon]

2. Thanks

Great column, glad to have the chance to read it.

[teryang]

3. Good post!

Interesting use of the word selfless. I would say that rather than lacking a self, the man lacks character. In fact, he is just the opposite of a good leader which the spin machine falsely tries to portray- he is entirely lacking in character. His inveterate lying and manipulative behavior, ceaselessly seeking to avoid the consequences of his decisions, imply a serious character defect. Of course what else could one expect from the apex of a greedy society based upon privelege and inherited wealth, accumulated by any means possible. This man and this administration will do whatever the people let him get away with.

Only someone with an anti-social bent could not only preside over but relish the consequences of war and execution. As Lewis Laptham said last night on Jon Stewart, these men have nothing but contempt for the American people.

[Martin Eden]

4. Evil works in mysterious ways

Shrub believes that God is telling him what to do, when in reality his impulses originate from within his own limited and flawed character and through the manipulations of Rove.

The best thing he could do to rid the world of evil would be to remove himself and his entire cabal from authority and influence.