29-06-2003 01:42									#1
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.

quote: According to Abbas, immediately thereafter Bush said: "God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them."

This is an UNCONFIRMED quote from GWB. The source is the Prime Minister of the PLA, M Abbas. I can't confirm it as true - this thread is more "Do you think Bush is motivated this way?"

Original source - Haaretz from Israel

What do you reckon? Going from past gaffes he has made, it could be true... I have my doubts

	29-06-2003 01:47									#2
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Where's the gaffe?

	29-06-2003 01:49									#3
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"God told me to do it".

Now which other murderer said that?

	29-06-2003 01:51									#4
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It is more probable that he said "The big banana told me to do so".....

	29-06-2003 01:53									#5
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Many people I know are motivated by this. For those of us left out of the revelation stakes .. it can seem kind of scarey, a kind of self justification by convincing yourself God has told you. For those that have had a revelation, they will likely be convinced that such things truelly did come from God.

As for GWB ?? I have no idea if he said this. The president may have faith that God told him, but without the support of the American people, he could not have done any of it, so kind of pointless how he arrived at the decision.

	29-06-2003 01:53									#6
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It would seem more likely to me to be a slight mistranslation from English to Arabic and back.

Bush has said before that he has prayed for guidance, and saying "God told me to ..." doesn't seem that far out of what you'd expect.

	29-06-2003 01:53									#7
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No but really..Bush is a great guy, and will serve eight years in office.

	29-06-2003 01:55									#8
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I'm pretty sure I caught a glimpse of Bush's car the other day. It had one of those bumper stickers that said "I do what the voices in my head tell me to do." Guess it's true then.

	29-06-2003 02:09									#9
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quote: No but really..Bush is a great guy, and will serve eight years in office

Hitler was a nice guy in person and he was in office for 12 years, doesn't make his policies any less vile. hitlers probably a bad example for bods

	29-06-2003 02:13									#10
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Come on people, Are we really going to trust the words of the Palestinian Prime Minister? This is ridiculous!

	29-06-2003 02:18									#11
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Diplomat, that wasn't really the question... Do you think he could have said it?

Whether he did or not is moot (no evidence).

	29-06-2003 02:20									#12
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thats not very diplomatic , The Diplomat

I don't believe you can judge an individual based on his allegence to some nation.

However, if we want peace, you have to trust him, and let his deeds be the judge.

It really doesn't matter if GWB had received words from God or not, he could do nothing without the support of the American people.

	29-06-2003 02:35									#13
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quote: Originally posted by The Viceroy thats not very diplomatic , The Diplomat

Well, sometimes even in diplomacy you have to know when to just say it like it is.

quote: I don't believe you can judge an individual based on his allegence to some nation. However, if we want peace, you have to trust him, and let his deeds be the judge.

I wasn't trying to make a statement about the Peace Process. My point is that we are getting this quote from a secondary source, and one that may not necessarily be pro-US. So, I am questioning the accuracy of the quote.

	29-06-2003 02:36									#14
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I agree, its really not possible to say if its true or not .. my point was, it didn't matter if it was.

	29-06-2003 02:45									#15
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I can see him saying it. I can't see him saying it more than once.

	29-06-2003 02:46									#16
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Ofcourse he could have said it, he is afterall a christian fundamentalist.

	29-06-2003 02:48									#17
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Ive met Muslims that say it .. and Ive met Christian fundamentalists that don't ..

more scarey are the athiests that say it .. cos you know they don't mean it

Anyway .. I just don't think you can say its true, because you judge him to be a fundamentalist.

	29-06-2003 03:00									#18
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Well, he has said wackier things:

quote: Americans are a free people, who know that freedom is the right of every person and the future of every nation. The liberty we prize is not America's gift to the world, it is God's gift to humanity. We Americans have faith in ourselves, but not in ourselves alone. We do not know -- we do not claim to know all the ways of Providence, yet we can trust in them, placing our confidence in the loving God behind all of life, and all of history. May He guide us now. And may God continue to bless the United States of America.

So I consider it quite possible

	29-06-2003 03:05									#19
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Why do you think this is wacker ?? (just interested)

	29-06-2003 03:08									#20
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I wouldn't be really surprised if he would've babbled something like that, but I'm more sceptic from the "source's" motives -- so no, I don't believe that Bush has said that.

quote: Come on people, Are we really going to trust the words of the Palestinian Prime Minister? This is ridiculous!

MarkG isn't probably too far from the truth, either.

	29-06-2003 03:16									#21
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confirmed ---> "My mother always said when you're eating pretzels, chew before you swallow.''

now figure.

	29-06-2003 03:17									#22
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but don't inhale .. I think GWB should have taken Clinton's advice on that

	29-06-2003 03:17									#23
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I'm reminded of what Ivanova said just before her last battle in Babylon 5:

GOD SENT ME.

	29-06-2003 03:18									#24
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I was rather shocked to read the following phrases:

God "giving" liberty to mankind

"loving God behind all of life, and all of history"

"May He guide us now"

This sounds like a very extreme thing to say, especially for the most important political figure of the US (and the world)

	29-06-2003 03:20									#25
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I think it may have been an attempt to say, in languge they would understand and no uncertain terms, that he would be relentless.

	29-06-2003 03:21									#26
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I think for us Euro's, it certainly would be shocking to hear our leaders say such things, but religion is part of the mantle peice of American politics.

The American founding fathers probably did believe that all men have "God Given" rights to freedom , and so he is playing the patriotic note.

	29-06-2003 03:51									#27
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quote: I think for us Euro's, it certainly would be shocking to hear our leaders say such things, but religion is part of the mantle peice of American politics.

One of the less clear themes of American history until the 20th century was its isolation. Ignoring some skirmishes with Mexico and England, America's focus was inward. In fact, the watershed event in American history was our own Civil War.

Culturally, America's religious beliefs developed very differently than Europe's. I believe this is partly because of our isolation. From the Puritans to the Calvinists to the Baptists to the Mormons, we've developed some truly fundamentalist theologies. Without the isolation, I very much doubt such extreme fundamentalism could have survived.

Today we are the inheritors of these beliefs that have so thoroughly permeated our culture. It is a truism that a man like Bush simply could not have been elected unless he invoked God from time to time. We prefer our leaders to spout our own American brands of theology and we're suspicious of those who don't. One of the biggest issues with John F Kennedy as a candidate was that he was Catholic - an old European religion.

	29-06-2003 04:24									#28
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quote: Originally posted by The Viceroy I think for us Euro's, it certainly would be shocking to hear our leaders say such things, but religion is part of the mantle peice of American politics. The American founding fathers probably did believe that all men have "God Given" rights to freedom , and so he is playing the patriotic note.

If this is true, why doesn't he say it on a broadcast on TV? Rather than say it in a private meeting...

I'd agree with MtG - seems a case of faulty translation that freaked out the Palestinian PM.

Mind you, if he really is like that... we're in trouble.

What if God tells him to invade North Korea, stage a land war in India or just press the button so God can start again?

	29-06-2003 04:34									#29
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quote: Well, he has said wackier things:

It doesn't seem wackier to me. In fact it seems very moving and touching... and I sure ain't no Christian .

	29-06-2003 05:55									#30
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It wouldn't surprise me one bit... although, I tend to think that Bush uses the religion card only to relate to religious conservatives.