Chapter 6: From Funeral Oration to Holy War

It's rare to wage war without getting God on your side, so even more than military strategists, it's preachers who invade our TV sets. They all interpret the attacks as a divine message, calling upon America to mend its ways. "Almighty God has taken his protection away from us," writes Rev. Pat Robertson, leader of the influential Christian Coalition, "because we're wallowing in material possessions and sex." [[These and the following quotes from Robertson and Falwell are my own translations of Meyssan's translations, not exact quotes.]]

On his influential TV show 700 Club (Fox Channel [[sic]]), pastor Pat Robertson welcomes his guest, his friend the pastor Jerry Falwell. The two televangelists analyze the events which have just plunged America into mourning [God Gave Us "What We Deserve," John Harris, Washington Post, 14 September 2001]. "God will keep on raising the curtain and allowing America's enemies to inflict the punishment on us that we probably deserve," declares Falwell. "Jerry, that's what I think, too," Robertson replies. "I think we just discovered only the antechamber of this terror. We haven't even started to see what they can do to most of our population."

Falwell then blames the ACLU, federal tribunals, and all who are "chasing God out of the public sphere… The abortionists need to take their part in the blame, too, for God will not be mocked," he continues. "And when we destroy 40,000,000 innocent babies, God is enraged. I am convinced that atheists, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians who are actively promoting their alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, the People for the American Way, all who have tried to secularize America—I point to them and I say: You let this happen."

In this context, where religious rhetoric serves political and military interests, President Bush, posing as the spiritual leader of America and the civilized world, issues the following proclamation:

On Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked America in a series of despicable acts of war. They hijacked four passenger jets, crashed two of them into the World Trade Center's twin towers and a third into the Headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense at the Pentagon, causing great loss of life and tremendous damage. The fourth plane crashed in the Pennsylvania countryside, killing all on board but falling well short of its intended target apparently because of the heroic efforts of passengers on board. This carnage, which caused the collapse of both Trade Center towers and the destruction of part of the Pentagon, killed more than 250 airplane passengers and thousands more on the ground.

Civilized people around the world denounce the evildoers who devised and executed these terrible attacks. Justice demands that those who helped or harbored the terrorists be punished -- and punished severely. The enormity of their evil demands it. We will use all the resources of the United States and our cooperating friends and allies to pursue those responsible for this evil, until justice is done.

We mourn with those who have suffered great and disastrous loss. All our hearts have been seared by the sudden and sense-less taking of innocent lives. We pray for healing and for the strength to serve and encourage one another in hope and faith.

Scripture says: "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted." I call on every American family and the family of America to observe a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance, honoring the memory of the thousands of victims of these brutal attacks and comforting those who lost loved ones. We will persevere through this national tragedy and personal loss. In time, we will find healing and recovery; and, in the face of all this evil, we remain strong and united, "one Nation under God."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Friday, September 14, 2001, as a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims of the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001. I ask that the people of the United States and places of worship mark this National Day of Prayer and Remembrance with noontime memorial services, the ringing of bells at that hour, and evening candlelight remembrance vigils. I encourage employers to permit their workers time off during the lunch hour to attend the noontime services to pray for our land. I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us in these solemn observances.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-sixth.

GEORGE W. BUSH

[Proclamation by the President of the United States of America, 13 September 2001, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010913-7.html]

An unprecedented ceremony takes place at the National Cathedral. President and Mrs Bush, four former presidents (Clinton, Bush père, Carter, and Ford), almost all of the Senate and the House of Representatives gather together for prayer. A cardinal, a rabbi, and an imam each take a turn at leading the ceremony. The world's most famous televangelist, the pastor Billy Graham, who converted George W. Bush 15 years ago, pronounces a homily:

President and Mrs. Bush, I want to say a personal word on behalf of many people. Thank you, Mr. President, for calling this Day of Prayer and Remembrance. We needed it at this time.

We come together today to affirm our conviction that God cares for us, whatever our ethnic, religious or political background may be.

The Bible says that He's "the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles."

No matter how hard we try words simply cannot express the horror, the shock, and the revulsion we all feel over what took place in this nation on Tuesday morning. September 11 will go down in our history as a day to remember.

Today we say to those who masterminded this cruel plot, and to those who carried it out, that the spirit of this nation will not be defeated by their twisted and diabolical schemes. Some day those responsible will be brought to justice, as President Bush and our Congress have so forcefully stated.

But today, we especially come together in this service to confess our need of God. We've always needed God from the very beginning of this nation, but today we need Him especially. We're facing a new kind of enemy. We're involved in a new kind of warfare and we need the help of the Spirit of God. The Bible's words are our hope: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea" (Psalm 46:1,2, NIV).

But how do we understand something like this? Why does God allow evil like this to take place? Perhaps that is what you are asking now. You may even be angry at God. I want to assure you that God understands these feelings that you may have.

We've seen so much on our television, heard on our radio, stories that bring tears to our eyes and make us all feel a sense of anger. But God can be trusted, even when life seems at its darkest.

But what are some of the lessons we can learn?

First, we are reminded of the mystery and reality of evil.

I have been asked hundreds of times in my life why God allows tragedy and suffering. I have to confess that I really do not know the answer totally, even to my own satisfaction. I have to accept, by faith, that God is sovereign, and He's a God of love and mercy and compassion in the midst of suffering. The Bible says that God is not the author of evil. It speaks of evil as a "mystery." In 2 Thessalonians 2:7 it talks about the mystery of iniquity. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah said, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" He asked that question, "Who can understand it?" And that's one reason we each need God in our lives.

The lesson of this event is not only about the mystery of iniquity and evil, but secondly, it's a lesson about our need for each other.

What an example New York and Washington have been to the world these past few days! None of us will ever forget the pictures of our courageous firefighters and police, many of whom have lost friends and colleagues, or the hundreds of people attending or standing patiently in line to donate blood. A tragedy like this could have torn our country apart, but instead it has united us and we've become a family. So those perpetrators who took this on to tear us apart, it has worked the other way. It's backlashed, it's backfired. We are more united than ever before. I think this was exemplified in a very moving way when the members of our Congress stood shoulder to shoulder the other day and sang, "God Bless America."

Finally, difficult as it may be for us to see right now -- this event can give a message of hope -- hope for the present, and hope for the future.

Yes, there is hope. There's hope for the present because I believe the stage has already been set for a new spirit in our nation.

One of the things we desperately need is a spiritual renewal in this country. We need a spiritual revival in America. And God has told us in His Word, time after time, that we are to repent of our sins and we're to turn to Him and He will bless us in a new way.

But, there is also hope for the future because of God's promises. As a Christian, I have hope, not just for this life, but for heaven and the life to come. And many of those people who died this past week are in heaven right now, and they wouldn't want to come back. It's so glorious and so wonderful. And that's the hope for all of us who put our faith in God. I pray that you will have this hope in your heart.

This event reminds us of the brevity and the uncertainty of life. We never know when we too will be called into eternity. I doubt if even one of those people who got on those planes, or walked into the World Trade Center or the Pentagon last Tuesday morning thought it would be the last day of their lives. It didn't occur to them. And that's why each of us needs to face our own spiritual need and commit ourselves to God and His will now.

Here in this majestic National Cathedral we see all around us symbols of the Cross. For the Christian, I'm speaking for the Christian now, the Cross tells us that God understands our sin and our suffering, for He took upon Himself in the person of Jesus Christ our sins and our suffering. And from the Cross, God declares, "I love you. I know the heartaches and the sorrows and the pains that you feel. But I love you."

The story does not end with the Cross, for Easter points us beyond the tragedy of the Cross to the empty tomb. It tells us that there is hope for eternal life, for Christ has conquered evil and death, and hell. Yes, there is hope.

I've become an old man now and I've preached all over the world and the older I get the more I cling to that hope that I started with many years ago and proclaimed it in many languages to many parts of the world.

Several years ago at the National Prayer Breakfast here in Washington, Ambassador Andrew Young (who had just gone through the tragic death of his wife), closed his talk with a quote from the old hymn, "How Firm a Foundation ... ."

We all watched in horror as planes crashed into the steel and glass of the World Trade Center. Those majestic towers, built on solid foundations, were examples of the prosperity and creativity of America. When damaged, those buildings eventually plummeted to the ground, imploding in upon themselves. Yet, underneath the debris, is a foundation that was not destroyed. Therein lies the truth of that old hymn that Andrew Young quoted, "How Firm a Foundation ... ." Yes, our nation has been attacked, buildings destroyed, lives lost.

But now we have a choice: whether to implode and disintegrate emotionally and spiritually as a people and a nation -- or, whether we choose to become stronger through all of this struggle -- to rebuild on a solid foundation. And I believe that we are in the process of starting to rebuild on that foundation. That foundation is our trust in God. That's what this service is all about and in that faith we have the strength to endure something as difficult and horrendous as what we have experienced this week.

This has been a terrible week with many tears but also has been a week of great faith. Churches all across the country have called prayer meetings and today is a day that they are celebrating not only in this country but in many parts of the world.

And in the words of that familiar hymn that Andrew Young quoted -- it says:

"Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand."
My prayer today is that we will feel the loving arms of God wrapped around us, and will know in our hearts that He will never forsake us as we trust in Him.

We also know that God is going to give wisdom and courage and strength to the President and those around him. And this is going to be a day that we will remember as a day of victory.

May God bless you all.

[Billy Graham's Message, 14 September 2001, http://www.billygraham.org/newsevents/ndprbgmessage.asp]

President Bush steps up to the lectern and he, too, pronounces a homily. His homily was prepared by his assistant, the Biblical fundamentalist Michael Gerson:

THE PRESIDENT: We are here in the middle hour of our grief. So many have suffered so great a loss, and today we express our nation's sorrow. We come before God to pray for the missing and the dead, and for those who love them.

On Tuesday, our country was attacked with deliberate and massive cruelty. We have seen the images of fire and ashes, and bent steel.

Now come the names, the list of casualties we are only beginning to read. They are the names of men and women who began their day at a desk or in an airport, busy with life. They are the names of people who faced death, and in their last moments called home to say, be brave, and I love you.

They are the names of passengers who defied their murderers, and prevented the murder of others on the ground. They are the names of men and women who wore the uniform of the United States, and died at their posts.

They are the names of rescuers, the ones whom death found running up the stairs and into the fires to help others. We will read all these names. We will linger over them, and learn their stories, and many Americans will weep.

To the children and parents and spouses and families and friends of the lost, we offer the deepest sympathy of the nation. And I assure you, you are not alone.

Just three days removed from these events, Americans do not yet have the distance of history. But our responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil.

War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder. This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others. It will end in a way, and at an hour, of our choosing.

Our purpose as a nation is firm. Yet our wounds as a people are recent and unhealed, and lead us to pray. In many of our prayers this week, there is a searching, and an honesty. At St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York on Tuesday, a woman said, "I prayed to God to give us a sign that He is still here." Others have prayed for the same, searching hospital to hospital, carrying pictures of those still missing.

God's signs are not always the ones we look for. We learn in tragedy that his purposes are not always our own. Yet the prayers of private suffering, whether in our homes or in this great cathedral, are known and heard, and understood.

There are prayers that help us last through the day, or endure the night. There are prayers of friends and strangers, that give us strength for the journey. And there are prayers that yield our will to a will greater than our own.

This world He created is of moral design. Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time. Goodness, remembrance, and love have no end. And the Lord of life holds all who die, and all who mourn.

It is said that adversity introduces us to ourselves. This is true of a nation as well. In this trial, we have been reminded, and the world has seen, that our fellow Americans are generous and kind, resourceful and brave. We see our national character in rescuers working past exhaustion; in long lines of blood donors; in thousands of citizens who have asked to work and serve in any way possible.

And we have seen our national character in eloquent acts of sacrifice. Inside the World Trade Center, one man who could have saved himself stayed until the end at the side of his quadriplegic friend. A beloved priest died giving the last rites to a firefighter. Two office workers, finding a disabled stranger, carried her down sixty-eight floors to safety. A group of men drove through the night from Dallas to Washington to bring skin grafts for burn victims.

In these acts, and in many others, Americans showed a deep commitment to one another, and an abiding love for our country. Today, we feel what Franklin Roosevelt called the warm courage of national unity. This is a unity of every faith, and every background.

It has joined together political parties in both houses of Congress. It is evident in services of prayer and candlelight vigils, and American flags, which are displayed in pride, and wave in defiance.

Our unity is a kinship of grief, and a steadfast resolve to prevail against our enemies. And this unity against terror is now extending across the world.

America is a nation full of good fortune, with so much to be grateful for. But we are not spared from suffering. In every generation, the world has produced enemies of human freedom. They have attacked America, because we are freedom's home and defender. And the commitment of our fathers is now the calling of our time.

On this national day of prayer and remembrance, we ask almighty God to watch over our nation, and grant us patience and resolve in all that is to come. We pray that He will comfort and console those who now walk in sorrow. We thank Him for each life we now must mourn, and the promise of a life to come.

As we have been assured, neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, can separate us from God's love. May He bless the souls of the departed. May He comfort our own. And may He always guide our country.

God bless America.

[President's Remarks at National Day of Prayer and Remembrance, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010914-2.html]

The Washington Post subsequently prints an analysis of George W. Bush's metamorphosis: "For the first time since religious conservatism became a political movement, the President of the United States has become its de facto leader, an achievement which even Reagan, who was adulated by religious conservatives, was never able to perform. Christian magazines, TV and radio, show Bush in prayer while preachers declare from the pulpit that his leadership is an act of Providence. A procession of religious leaders who have met with him bear witness to his faith, Web sites encourage people to fast and pray for the President." [Religious Right Finds Its Center in Oval Office, Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 24 December 2001.] [[The above is my translation of Meyssan's translation, not a direct quote.]]

At noon on 14 September, the 43 EU states (including Russia) [800 Million Europeans in Mourning for Victims of US Attacks, and many other countries on all six continents, following the American president's prayer, observe three minutes of silence in memory of the attack victims. Thus they all also demonstrate their tacit acceptance of an inspired fundamentalist's leadership, a leader who has just announced to them that he intends to involve them in a "monumental struggle against evil." [Remarks by the President in Photo Opp with the National Security Team, 12 September 2001, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010912-4.html] Is the televangelists' politico-mystical delirium contagious?

Neither psychological shock nor the respect one could feel for the fallen victims can explain this intense religious fervor. Even if the United States was originally a theocracy founded by Puritans who were fleeing the British Crown's religious intolerance, it's still, for all that, not this bigoted nation where televangelists take the place of military strategists. There has never been any historical precedent of an American president declaring war inside a cathedral.

George W. Bush's call to "all the people of the world who share our sorrow to join in these solemn observations [religious ceremonies]" was observed even in secular France. So, the two chiefs of the executive, President Chirac and Prime Minister Jospin, signed a decree on 12 September which stated: "Thursday, 14 September 2001, is hereby declared National Day of Mourning in Honor of the Victims of the Attacks Committed on the USA on 11 September 2001" [Decree NOR:HRUX0101919D, Official Journal of the French Republic, 13 September 2001, page 14582]. Accompanied by a cohort of elected officials and ministers, they had gone the evening before to attend an ecumenical service at the American Church in Paris. In unison, they had intoned the famous canticle "God Bless America" ! [God Bless America is a canticle which Irving Berlin composed during WWII. It has become a sort of official national hymn.]

These prayers, imposed by decree, sparked lively polemics here and there. Some dissenters noted that this national gesticulation seemed to lend weight to the idea that that the thousands of American victims were worth more than all the victims of recent genocides, to whom no one ever paid any kind of similar tribute. Let's view this controversy as a refusal to let religious sentiment be manipulated by politics. Three minutes of silence to become aware that conflicts can be resolved peacefully, without recourse to terrorism, is what everyone agreed with, not a prayer for the only victims of terror on American soil. These ceremonies do not express a collective hope for peace, but serve to justify the upcoming vengeance.

This moment of prayer is a turning point in history. The United States has gone to war while the national hymn reverberated in the cathedral, the Washington Post later wrote [War Speech in a Cathedral: A Steadfast Resolve to Prevail, Balz/Woodward, Washington Post, 30 January 2002]. This observation could be enlarged upon: the world has gone to war via association with the American mourning.

From then on, let's ask ourselves how this unanimous tribute was organized. Unlike mobilizing military alliances, there's no international treaty that obligates one to stand in silent remembrance while the USA is in mourning. It was nevertheless easier and quicker to decree an international day of mourning than to put the NATO, ANZUS, and OAS treaties into action [ANZUS is Australia, New Zealand, and the US; OAS is the Organization of American States]. Looking at it more closely, you'll notice that the French decree was signed by Chirac and Jospin on 12 September, that is, before George W. Bush called for the American day of mourning. For an operation like this, of such scope, there needs to be a powerful network of influence that can put pressure on just about all the governments of the world. Above all, this political operation has a political goal: by manipulating religious feelings, the American government has made their version of events just as sacred as the victims of the attacks. Henceforth, any questioning of the official version will be looked upon as sacrilege.

The system that was used to impose this international mourning was formalized in secret in October 2001. The Office for Strategic Influence [the creation of this office is the end result of a long-term study of the American armed forces; see Information Dominance by Martin C. Libicki in issue 132 of Strategic Forum: http://www.ndu.edu/inss/strforum/forum132.html] was created at the Pentagon and placed under the command of Gen. Simon Pete Worden, former leader of the US Space Command. This body is explained in the State Department's International Information Programs [official website http://www.state.gov/r/iip/], who control the radio transmissions of Voice of America, by the intermediary of Col. Brad Ward's International Military Information Group. It will work henceforth at top speed to manipulate public opinion and Western governments.

[[END OF CHAPTER SIX]]