US Caused More Deaths in Iraq Than Saddam, Says Anti-War Tribunal
ISTANBUL - The World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI), a grouping of NGOs, intellectuals and writers opposed to the war in Iraq, on Friday accused the United States of causing more deaths in Iraq than ousted president Saddam Hussein.
“With two wars and 13 years of criminal sanctions, the United States have been responsible for more deaths in Iraq than Saddam Hussein,” Larry Everest, a journalist, told hundreds of anti-war activists gathered in Istanbul.
Founded in 2003, the WTI is modelled on the 1960s Russell Tribunal, created by the British philosopher Bertrand Russell to denounce the war in Vietnam. It has held about 20 sessions so far in different locations around the world.
A symbolic verdict was to be handed down on Monday by the 14 “jurors of conscience” — including the militant Indian novelist Arundhati Roy, winner of the 1997 Booker Prize for “The God of Small Things.”
The tribunal has for the past two years been gathering what it says is evidence that the war launched in March 2003 to oust Saddam was illegal, and it has also been gathering evidence of exactions allegedly committed by coalition troops.
Its verdict on Monday after its final session is expected to condemn both the United States and Britain.
Roy told the gathering here: “”The evidence collated in this tribunal should … be used by the International Criminal Court — whose jurisdiction the United States does not recognize — to try as war criminals George Bush, Tony Blair, John Howard, Silvio Berlusconi, and all those government officials, army generals, and corporate CEOs who participated in this war and now benefit from it.”
She added that the tribunal was “an act of resistance,” “a defense mounted against one of the most cowardly wars ever fought in history.”
Hans von Sponeck, former director of the UN’s so-called oil-for-food programme for Iraq, told the Istanbul gathering that the humanitarian programme “was totally irrelevant.”
Von Sponeck ran the programme until 2000 when he resigned because he said it failed to meet the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people.
The oil-for-food programme ran from 1996 to 2003. It allowed Baghdad to sell oil in exchange for humanitarian goods the country lacked due to international sanctions imposed in 1990 after Iraq invaded Kuwait.
Critics said the sanctions led to the deaths of tens of thousands of children and a drastic decline in living standards for almost the entire Iraqi population.
The Iraqi government under Saddam swindled millions of dollars from the 64-billion-dollar scheme, and the scandal has become a huge embarrassment for the United Nations.
“The UN handling of Iraq will be listed as a massive failure,” von Sponeck said. “We didn’t speak out despite knowing what the economic sanctions had created as a human disaster.”
He singled out the United States and British governments for allegedly blocking projects that would, he said, have allowed more people to survive.
Some 200 non-governmental organsiations — including the environmentalist group Greenpeace, the anti-globalization ATTAC and Vietnam Veterans Against the War — as well as a number of prominent intellectuals such as US linguist Noam Chomsky and Egyptian sociologist Samir Amin are involved in the WTI.
© 2007 PakTribune.com
“Militant Indian novelist Arundhato Roy.”
This statement expresses the IGNORANT, DISTORTED VIEW of this article. Those who challege the criminal and genocidal activities of the US, Britain, and the other western ROGUE COUNTRIES are labelled as “militantS”, but the criminals like Bush, Cheney, Blair, Howard…… are labelled as “liberators” “democracy promotors”.
SHAMELESS BASTARDS!!!!! SHAMELESS BLOOD-SUCKERS!!!!
Our goal was to beat Saddam, and sure enough we did.
Whatever way you look at it, we’ve won in Iraq. We’ve even won the contest for most civilian casualties and deaths.
If one begins counting casualties of US policy since the 60’s, we’ve killed more people than Hitler.
“we’ve killed more people than Hitler.”
You mean liberated them…
The poor people of Iraq are learning much about our modern Christian Crusaders. Americans are the most religious people in the western world but the lack of moral outrage in the U. S. A. about the slaughter in Iraq shows their religious beliefs to be garbage.
Heckuva job - mission accomplished!
Where are my neighbors and countrymen who had “proudly” displayed “Liberate Iraq” yard signs as the war of aggression has started and I had demonstrated on the streets?
Heckuva job, my fellow Americans - you too are complicit.
Someone who opposes militarization “Arundhoy Roy” is is termed a militant, whereas the US is the democracy exporting, benevolent country!
I agree. For the people in America who claim to be Evangelist and Christian, they sure as hell are showing that they really believe in nothing.
Except Gay marriage and Abortion. Because that’s really the cause of all the problems in this country. Tens of millions impoverished. tens of millions without affordable health care. tens of millions indebted to health care. Usury, famine, starvation, malnurishment here but mostly worldwide.
And to them it all comes back to Gay Marriage and Abortion. That’s what causes all the vices and problems in the world. If we would just stop abortion and gay marriage, all these terrible things would just go away.
it’s the same logic conservatives use to justify tax cuts for the wealthy, and government handouts to corperations…”If we just give the already well off and wealthy more money, and more benefits they’re just going to get tired of all that money and power, and throw us a few bones.” Please. Sad thing is, like a dog to his master, most Americans are right there to gravel, bow down, and beg to the master 1%.
LOL Mastershake, would you really expect anything less from simpletons? Simple people have simple answers, it’s so very..well, SIMPLE! Why would anyone expect any type of critical thinking from people that believe an old guy with a white beard who lives in the sky is in charge of the entire universe? These people will believe exactly what their keepers tell them to believe and scarier yet, they will gleefully kill anyone that is a threat to their keepers. I think we should start a “War on Christian Wing Nuts”, I’d actually feel safer then…
Two points:
1. The description of Arundhati Roy as “militant” is pretty mild, considering that the paper being quoted is published in Pakistan, and comparing that description to the way US media characterizes many foreigners who disagree with US policy. It may be a poor choice of words, but it is easily read as referring to strongly held opinions, not uniformed violence.
2. At least the Tribunal got farily informative coverage in Pakistan. When have you seen it even mentioned in the US mainstream media?
Hey, ___ why put up the score card now? This game ain’t over yet. The Iraqi government has also now backed off of tossing the Blackwater gang out, the count will go on and on and on. Don’t forget those that WILL die from inhaling nuclear waste. Within five years we can add another five million or more. Saddam was a forth string piker,___ Bush won.
And, then they write:
“Critics said the sanctions led to the deaths of tens of thousands of children and a drastic decline in living standards for almost the entire Iraqi population.”
Actually, most of the “critics” estimate at least 500,000 childern died from the sanctions. But I guess fifty of these “tens of thousands” is still “tens of thousands” I guess the number of atoms in the universe can also be said to be in the “tens of thousands”.
The first person to be convicted of a crime committed under the oil for food program was an American citizen.
And it’s ‘an embarassment for the UN’ but not for the US. Just business as usual.
We better have outscored the Butcher of Baghdad — our technology’s better.
As the conservatives say, life is grand in Iraq now that we’ve liberated. Forget the 500,000+ we’ve killed, and millions more permanently wounded. 4 million + refugees fleeing their homeland is proof enough that we’re obviously viewed as noble liberators in this country. We’ve liberated them from themselves!
We should then try and hang the perps like they did Saddam. Got any rope?
First of all, I’d like to state I’m not a Muslim. I’m studying a nonviolent religion and plan to convert from Christianity to the religion that is anti-war.
I do, however, have respect for Muslims as far as their strict sexual codes go. They are superior to Christians and Jews. When compared to the Christian country of America, Muslims have much better morals on this very important issue. Another thing — illegitimate babies are extremely rare in Muslim countries (I’ve never heard of any), unlike the United States where a large percentage of children are born out of wedlock. Alcohol is also forbidden in their culture.
My point is they can’t be all that bad. To use weapons of mass destruction — bombs — on them merely because they’re Muslims — is wrong — in fact it’s a war crime. Not all are extremists.
It’s high time for the chief architects of this imperialistic madness to be tried in an international court of law.
How many more must be killed or crippled before everyone agrees that enough is enough?
mastershake September 19th, 2007 12:26 pm wrote:
“we’ve killed more people than Hitler.”
You mean liberated them…”
I say: liberated them from their bodies.
What seperates us from animals is our ability to reason.
Mayhem, destruction, murder, war, etc. do not spring from reason. Masters of War have very primitive minds. It is a criminal mindset - “If he is my problem and I kill him then I won’t have any more problem.” - devoid of reason or any kind of humanitarian logic.
We attacked Iraq on the accusation that Saddam Hussein was developing and hoarding CBR weapons. He was also likely to supply terrorists with them. These accusations were false. There was NO MENTION of Saddam torturing or killing people. No word was mentioned about Iraqis needing to be liberated. Our attack was 100% about chemical weapons. Only after none were found did we invent a new lie and make him out to be a bad guy. In reality, Saddam Hussein ran Iraq better than any other Middle Eastern leader. Iraq had the highest education level and the most women’s rights. Iraq also had the least amount of terrorists and extremists. Abu Nidal was killed in Iraq (suspected by order of Saddam Hussein).
We have decimated that country. We’ve plunged Iraq into civil war and anarchy. Nothing was EVER this bad when Saddam Hussein was in power.
Please see the link:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9045.htm
First, though I agree with the article I wish they would have cited some numbers and their source for casualties. That said, the elephant in the room has always been war crimes as far as our immorally criminal government, our military and the UN are concerned. The preemptive attack on a sovereign nation is a war crime. Destroying civilian infrastructure (water, electricity & sewage systems, schools & hospitals)is a war crime. Using indiscriminate weapons (cluster bombs, DU, white phosphorous and arguably “errant” smart-bombs)is a war crime. Not to mention crimes against humanity, nature and peace and on and on. Guess we’re too busy with terrorists to worry about war criminals. But the decade of sanctions against Iraq were clearly a premeditated war crime.
http://progressive.org/0801issue/nagy0901.html
http://gulflink.osd.mil/declassdocs/dia/19950901/950901_511rept_91.html
Schwarzkopf and Powell were well aware of this and should be tried as traitors and war criminals. Oh, and lets not forget those who authorized their despicable deeds. What is the difference between a war crime and a terrorist act as far as the victims are concerned?
Iraq, a failed state because of the Neo-cons
Iran, the next failed state, because of the Neo-cons
America, the NEXT failed state, because of the Neo-cons
The Earth, the next failed PLANET, because of the NEO-CONS
What is it with these people, that they only know how to ruin, destroy, rape, murder, blowup, assasinate, smear, lie?
And smirk at us while they do it -
The US is number one. In outsourcing and making war.
Yup…we’re here to liberate ya’ll towel heads…like it or not! Oh, and did we tell ‘ya, we’re tak’en all ur oil!
WARS ARE US!! Warfare is how the US gets things done without resorting to euro-commie reason, cooperation, discussion, agreement.
The USofA does not kill people. Stuff happens.
And we always, always, try and keep the blast radius under 500 yards.
The USA is the world’s biggest mass murderer and terrorist. Our chief export is horror. The high ranking officials most responsible for the horror, ALWAYS cloak their dark efforts in fair words. They are masters of deception.
==========================
Dennis Kucinich for president! He can turn it all around.
Jaded Prole: “we’ve killed more people than Hitler.”
Mastershake: “You mean liberated them…”
Coyotita: “I say: liberated them from their bodies.”
TheLorax: “What seperates us from animals is our ability to reason.”
And the common theme seems to be: Irrational Christian Domination-&-Death-Fetish. Are we in the year 1007 or 2007?
Now maybe folks will understand why the democrats and republicans together constitute the Death Party. Likewise, “With two wars and 13 years of criminal sanctions,” Gore is certainly a defendent, and sooo many folks want to just forget all that, imagine he will do the right thing and promote him as presidential material.
Are you guys sure that Iraq is not just an elaborate deception to draw our attention awy from the reality that Bushco has made us safe by shredding the US Constitution and taking away our legal recourses while hiring Halliburton for $Megabucks to build concentr… er, I mean Illegal Immigrant Detention Centers for those who are here illeg… er I mean, here and voicing slander about the policies of war?
lillulu,
What, exactly, is an “illigitimate” baby. Are any humans to be considered not legitimite?
And, I’ve never exactly figured why so many believe that indulging in life’s pleasures, responsibly and moderately or course, is somehow evil and must be outlawed. I am aware that monastic, traditions in Catholic or Orthodox Christianity and Buddhism prohibit “pleasures of the flesh” as part of a personal spiritual pursuit - but they don’t force everyone to be a monk or a nun. And while the person who drinks alchohol excessively and uncontrollably must avoid alchohol, outside of certain alchoholism-prone nationalities like native Americans or the Inuit, most people don’t have probelms drinking in this manner.
Indeed, self discliplined pleasure-denyers, from Hitler, to Bush to Bin Laden seem to commit an awful lot of the evil in the world.
Look, you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.
And Iraq is a super size omelette, cooked in oil.
”The evidence collated in this tribunal should … be used by the International Criminal Court — whose jurisdiction the United States does not recognize — to try as war criminals George Bush, Tony Blair, John Howard, Silvio Berlusconi, and all those government officials, army generals, and corporate CEOs who participated in this war and now benefit from it.”
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/unsanam2
When God told George; ‘Attack Iraq, attack Iran”. He actually said ws ‘Attack Iraq? Attack Iran?’ incredulously. George didn’t get the nuance.
In the novel ‘Life and Fate’ by Vassily Grossman, the great war correspondent, who wrote first wrote of the terrying account of Treblinka (see his diaries) Ilkonnikov says You ask Hitler and he’ll tell you that even this camp was set up in the name of Good.’
Bush is a coward and avoided war now he has the world’s most powerful weapons in his hands and he believes that God is talking to him, pretty much what the fundamentalist enemy thinks, so two deluded mentalities are clashing and he and the US are high up in the mass murder ratings , below Stalin but still trying
Frankly Bush’s god delusion is certifiable and his desire to bomb Iran might get him top ratings after all.
He and Cheyney should be removed from office for their staged lies about WMD and brought to trial by the International Court.
See www.peacesource.net
Just a small clarification:
No need to get upset about the use of the word “militant” in describing Arundhati Roy.
The first and true definition:
–adjective 1. vigorously active and aggressive, esp. in support of a cause.
Militant does NOT have to mean violent.
This word is commonly misused to mean violent, but most peace activists (including myself) are militant, without being violent.
That’s all.
Soldiers or mercenaries, public or private sphere, they’re scared to death and shoot at everything in sight.
I’m sorry, but think that no matter how indigant we are, the actual catastrophe
is much, much greater than we imagine.
Why do I say this? Oh, just a movie, shown
by a Quaker group. The speakers in the movie
were American soldiers explaining how indiscriminate the killing habitually is.
A lofty view of the street showed a large
crowd walking along. It might have been
a conventional camera viewer we were privileged to look through. Only there were
calibration marks on the sides. The
order came, in an American voice, off to the
side.
All of the people blew up.
“strict sexual code” is a good thing? Uhm, so honor killings are cool as well? Making women where Burkas is also cool? Arranged marriages where the bride has NO choice is cool? You don’t hear about illegitimate children in Muslim countries? You didn’t hear about them in this country either when they’d ship the girl off, force her to have the child and put it in an orphanage. You are a moron and I’m being kind using that word. Go do some yoga and have a tofu sandwich after you pull your head up out of your ass. Organized religion is the scourge of this planet and will be the death of civilization before it’s all said and done…
Obviously their plan was genocide and destruction of the iraqi culture, nothing else explains this tragic statistic.
Nothing else explains destruction of their schools, workplaces, food crops, homes , infrastructure and lives.
So we have a great divide of people who think this is about taking them democracy and “freedom” and those who staring into the facts cannot help but assess this as the most tragic event ever in history of our nation.
In any other case we could have purchased with the twelve trillion spent in the last year ALOT of oil. Nope they wanted the native population sugjagated or dead, and they wanted to create justification for their excessively immoral and illegal actions.
Even as we destroy another country the hot spots in viet nam are still plaguing the people, dioxin doesn’t go away and like the DU will continue to poison people whatever else happens over there, absolutely unnecessary.
Iraq is a fantasy come true for the military industrial complex: unrestricted access to huge oil fields, huge profits from the military adventures, and an American public too intoxicated on saturated fats, television and sports to really notice the costs.
I have a hard time not being pessimistic, but here in Eastern Canada the evidence of meltdown in the U.S. is hard to ignore.
Fewer coastal properties are affordable for locals as wealthy Americans buy it up for their gated mansions. I guess they are afraid of us Canadians since we have public health care that works, we did not join in against Iraq as did the UK and Australia, and we have a three party federal political system.
If you can live here with the above conditions, then check us out. I believe the US has become a basket-case socially and politically. God bless America, Please!
Wll we the american people ever realize the pathetic little yellow weaseals are nothing more than corrupt murderers and should be tried before a world court and hung? THEN SEND THE HEADS TO THE MASS AND GRIND THEM UP IN A SAUSAGE MILL, SO THAT NO REPUG NEO-NAZI WILL EVER WANT TO SIT ON THE PUNKS THRONE AGAIN. cAN YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH IT WILL COST THE YAX PAYERS TO STEAM CLEAN THE CHAIR EVEN KING KILLER bUSHIE BOY SITS IN?
kristina40____ I believe you are a little over the top in stating that organized religion is the scourge of this planet and civilization. Most of the problems come not from the common believers, but from the radical despots at the top who are only after their own evil pursuits. This is true of any religion, Muslim, Christian, or other. Your theory is like saying democracy is the cause of all of the worlds problems, when in reality it is only the selfish, powerhungry, cruel, deluded mongrels that have managed to gain control.
I believe Kristina 40 may have meant, if one lives in an out house, they smell like an outhouse. When people join a church, it shouldn’t take long to figure out what it’s all about. A lot of people like the music though.
KEM___I am one of those who did like the music, but that has been sabotaged along with almost everything else in this country. Some of us used to feel that religion was helpful, but I am getting tired of waiting for the church people to get out of their comfortable stance that all is right with the world as long as we have a “Christian” in the white house. If they cannot throw their considerable power behind the anti-war effort, they are not doing their duty to uphold their faith.
CURMUDGEON
i don’t believe your theory about the deception (albeit a humourous one) but you can bet your ’sinking’ dollar we are all tagged on here and have places waiting for us in the concentr…er centres for illegitimate/illegal persons……….when the time comes.
BOTTLE
are you serious about this?
KRISTINA40
i agree with you wholeheartedly………..
KEM PATRICK
i hate that bloody music. why can’t they play ‘the grateful dead’ ? it would be more appropriate…………(joke everyone, joke.)
KERNEL
what democracy?
COCO…….. You must be one fun kid…..BTW, I fear BOTTLE was totally serious.
KERNEL….. That is what I meant. I agree with your comments there. I agree with Kristina also.
How abut some Yanni coco. Maybe Evis records, or Duke Ellington at the Newport Jazz Festival, that might get me to church.
What bloody hypocrites we Westerners are! But what goes around comes around and now…it is coming back to us. I don’t condone violence but we certainly deserve it. We pretend to be educated, civilized, modern and whatever other exquisite attribute we can bestow on ourselves…and all the while destroying, plundering, pillaging and stealing for the sole benefit of our ego and our bank accounts.
“Organized religion is the scourge of this planet and will be the death of civilization before it’s all said and done…”
couldn’t agree more.
Don’t forget that Hussein was a US chosen and supported despot, don’t forget that Bush Snr. encouraged the Iraq majority to rise up against Hussein then stood by while they got slaughtered. Don’t forget that the chemicals which Hussein used against the Kurds were supplied by the USA.
Every single death in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon are a direct result of US foreign policy, this crazy lust for blood in the name of democracy a commodity yet to be embraced in the USA.
Every foreigner is to blame for the world’s ills, China is blamed for an American toy manufacturers lack of quality control simply because that toy company choose to manufacture offshore, but these brainwashed Americans are so stupid they swallow it all hook, line and sinker.
There is some good news though. The death rattle of the American empire is being heard loud and clear. Saudi Arabia are about to quote oil prices in Euros and then the dominoes will fall very rapidly. Without cheap money the USA is done.
Please don’t refer to the genocide and armed robbery in the middle east as a war, it isn’t. Most of the bombs have been attributed to the so-called security people. Any nation or group of people who invade another nation or group of people without due cause is guilty of a crime against humanity.
The USA, UK, Australia, Spain, Italy and others have been party to this enormous crime, all in the name of god and profit.
I think Randy Newman should have the last word on the proper role of faith and religion in today’s world.
Randy Newman - God’s Song (Thats Why I Love Mankind)
Cain slew Abel, Seth knew not why
For if the children of Israel were to multiply
Why must any of the children die?
So he asked the Lord
And the Lord said:
Man means nothing, he means less to me
Than the lowliest cactus flower
Or the humblest Yucca tree
He chases round this desert
‘Cause he thinks that’s where I’ll be
That’s why I love mankind
I recoil in horror for the foulness of thee
From the squalor and the filth and the misery
How we laugh up here in heaven at the prayers you offer me
That’s why I love mankind
The Christians and the Jews were having a jamboree
The Buddhists and the Hindus joined on satellite TV
They picked their four greatest priests
And they began to speak
They said, “;Lord, a plague is on the world
Lord, no man is free
The temples that we built to you
Have tumbled into the sea
Lord, if you won’t take care of us
Won’t you please, please let us be?”;
And the Lord said
And the Lord said
I burn down your cities-how blind you must be
I take from you your children and you say how blessed are we
You all must be crazy to put your faith in me
That’s why I love mankind
You really need me
That’s why I love mankind
WmC____cute ditty, but it could be more dangerous to mock God than Bush.
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Same holds true for organized religion (any denomination). When you give someone the power to decide whether you are worthy of heaven or not, you have given them all the power they need to make you do whatever they want. This is a common thread in the fabric of all religions. I have no problem with anyone worshipping however they see fit, I do have a problem with people that feel the need to push that view on others either by coercion or the sword. All you have to do is look at the record of these so called preachers to get your answer. They are no more “holy” or good than any asshole off the street. In many cases they are much less “holy”. In short, they are hypocrites of the highest order…
I disagree with - TheLorax September 19th, 2007 3:41 pm
“What seperates us from animals is our ability to reason.
Mayhem, destruction, murder, war, etc. do not spring from reason. Masters of War have very primitive minds”
It takes a very logical mind to diabolically kill not for food or survival, but for money that you want only for score keeping. The wealthy have more money than they need. I do agree there is no reason involved. I always call it the greed disease. The power elite world wide would kill a baby at high noon on television just to intimidate a homeless person keeping them from stealing a moldy crust of bread.
I agree that this is the most cowardly war ever faught. And we can not win an unjustified war. President Bush was recently asked how he could continue the war in Iraq in view of the many failures. He said because he knew he was right. Since the justification for the war was WMDs and none were found, Bush has admitted that the justification for the war was a fraud. He was not right about the WMDs, so he must have had another reason for going to war in Iraq. Finding the real reason for this criminal war that has killed over 700,000 civilians is an important job for historians.
KEM PATRICK
elvis would do for me………
i think your previous musings about the depression may soon come to fruition: www.telegraph.co.uk click on business, left side column click on a-z of finance, go to right side bar and scroll down to most viewed. two top articles.
how about a little ELO too?
Evan: You are way out of bounds with that unprotected speech. Federal prosecutors monitor this site and you are begging to be arrested.
if you truly have a personal relationship with your god. what then is the neccesity of organized religion. i agree, organized religion is a scurge. the bain of mankind. spirituallity is not. believe what you like, as long as it is not detrimental to others. religion is filled with racism, violence, bigotry, fear and hate. greed, power, condecention, and holier than thou hippocrates. i could go on, but i will restrain myslf. peace to all that seek it.
Of course organised religion is nothing more than mob culture and very easy to subscribe to if you’re weak minded. Strong minded individuals think things through and act accordingly. How anybody can even contemplate god is beyond any logic in that every building consecrated in his name would be immune from damage through natural disasters but they’re not, are they.
A religious nutcase could excuse this phenomenon by deceiving themselves into blaming the devil or some other anti-christ figure and that is exactly what they do.
it seems incredible that so many can be deceived by religion. Are they all simpletons or are they just plain insane.
The common worshippers aren’t to blame?
Of course not. They just follow their great leaders - David Koresh, Marshall Applewhite, and Jim Jones. They’re a mindless group of zombies who wait for the next nutball to lead them to their ever approaching doom. The common worshippers are the ones blowing up trucks and shooting people. The big names don’t do that they just wind up the little toy soldiers and send them out. So don’t make out the ‘common worshippers’ as innocents. ALL religions have their robots. The programming is never beneficial so the conclusion can logically be reached that religion is the root of the problem.
VOA (20 September 2007) .. Bush blames Saddam for his failure in Iraq.
What does religion have to do with it? Shrub wouldn’t be the first mass murderer to hear a voice in his head that told him to smite the heathen. But that is a manifestation of mental illness, not religious conviction.
Bush can rest easy about his place in history. He will be remembered as one of the most heinous war criminals of our bloody past, if there is anyone left to record it.