HOLY WARS AND IMPERIALISM

QUESTION: Who watches C-Span, PBS, Washington in Review or any speeches by prominent politicians?

ANSWER: Nobody. They listen to the most charismatic and likeable newscasters' opinions.

QUESTION: Why does the rest of the world think the U.S. is a bully and an imperialist country?

ANSWER: Because it is........... by definition.

The military of the United States is deployed in more than 150 countries around the world, with 763 bases and 369,000 of its 1,379,551 active-duty troops serving outside the United States and its territories.

Ever since former president George W. Bush, widely and fondly referred to in the Middle Eaast as "Ebin al Sharmota" (loosely translated as "The Lion of Democracy") referred to the war on terror as a “crusade” in the days after the September 11 attacks, many have charged that the United States was conducting a holy war, pitting a Christian America against the Muslim world.

That perception grew as prominent military leaders such as Lt. Gen. William Boykin described the wars in evangelical terms, casting the U.S. military as the "Army of God."

Although President Obama addressed the Muslim world this month in an attempt to undo the Bush administration's legacy of militant Christian rhetoric that often antagonized Muslim countries, several recent stories have framed the issue as a wider problem of an evangelical military culture that sees spreading Christianity as part of its mission.