I think maybe Bush was chosen by Allah

[gulliver]

That would explain a lot. Whose prayers seem to have been answered since Bush "took office?"

[neoblues]

1. And Assisted by the Servants of Allah; the Bin Laden's...

they (the Bin Laden family, Saudi Arabia) saved his financial arse while he was being groomed for future political office--and who knows what else since.

[CJCRANE]

2. Well

it wouldn't surprise me if he was secretly working for the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia. I know that sounds counter-intuitive but he does seem to want wars with their regional military/political rivals (Iran, Iraq, Syria).

Of course the question is "why does he tacitly build-up all this hatred and islamophobia"? But the truth is that he directs that hatred militarily only against particular countries (such as the ones already mentioned) - and notice that the countries he chooses had nothing to do with 9/11. The countries that did have something to do with 9/11 - Saudi Arabia, UAE, Pakistan - have all benefitted financially from neocon policies and are their "allies".

(NB: I don't believe this 100% but it's entirely feasible within a "divide and conquer" strategy).

on edit: not to mention the bankrupting of America, stripping away civil liberties and attempting to turn America into a Christian fundamentalist version of Saudi Arabia. (The gap between a christian fundamentalist and an islamic fundamentalist is actually quite small if you strip away the language difference).

It is probably most likely that was he heavily influenced by and jealous of the power that his buddies have in Saudi Arabia and wanted that kind of power for himself (probably Poppy Bush also has a lot to do with it).

[InkAddict]

4. Why?

Peak Oil?

Survival of those that are in possession of what's left of the oil and the corporate "stockholders" that can facilitate "business" until THE END?

[CJCRANE]

6. As per what I put on edit -

I think it's most likely that Poppy and Junior learnt a lot from their Royal Saudi buddies about how to gain and keep absolute power.

As for your conjecture about Peak Oil, I think that's part of it. Also, they're doing it because they can.

It's hard for a normal person to understand the motives of a psychopath. Serial killers often never admit their guilt or reveal their motives, that's why it's best just to stop them and lock them, and try and rationalise their behaviour later.

[jobycom]

3. Nah, he was chosen by the Devil--meaning Antonin Scalia and his puppies.

I wouldn't blame any higher power for Bush's existence. If anything, he confirms my atheism.

I understand the satire in your post, and you probably know this already, but "Allah" simply is the Arabic word for "God." It's even the same god, from the same religious traditions, as the God of the Jews and Christians, as acknowledged by the Qur'an. Your post could be taken as in implication that Islam's Allah is somehow a bad or fake God, whether that's your intention or not. I assume not. Just sayin'.

[gulliver]

7. It's supposed to be satire. Not dissing Allah.

It's mainly just a play on Bush being supposedly chosen by "God." But it is also fun thinking about the deeper implications, either seriously or as a thought experiment. :-)

[pagerbear]

8. "What, don't you have a sense of humor?"

Yeah, the cop-out of lots of folks who are more offensive than humorous.

[TheFriedPiper]

5. If there was an allah, there would be no bush

Prayer is the silliest thing.

Supposedly this fictional god is perfect and has a perfect plan. And yet, he is supposed to entertain suggestions from mere mortals on how to alter his plan?

[Boojatta]

9. Refusal to admit imperfection of plans is a human failing.

Supposedly this fictional god is perfect and has a perfect plan. And yet, he is supposed to entertain suggestions from mere mortals on how to alter his plan?

You assume that this fictional god is very confident that he/she/it has a perfect plan. I would consider a god who entertains suggestions from mere mortals to be superior to a god who doesn't.

[TahitiNut]

10. I personally reject "Dear Santa" prayers

For me, the only valid 'prayer' is one of gratitude. :shrug: (Funny how so many don't "get it.")

[Boojatta]

11. Well, I suppose that "thank you for not littering" messages are like

prayers rather than like gratitude. After all, they are printed because of a littering problem. Twenty-dollar bills don't say "thank you for not littering" on them.

[TahitiNut]

18. There's a reason I used the word "gratitude" and didn't use "thanks"

In the pantheon of corrupted language, "thank you" has a pedestal of honor in the alcove to Cynicism and Hypocrisy. From the presumptuous "thank you for not smoking" signs to the "thank you for not littering" messages to the "thank you" decals emblazoned on the doors to mini-temples to consumerism, "thank you" has become iconic of an antithesis to 'heartfelt' - paired with its fork-tongued offspring: "havaniceday."

Thanks anyway. :hi:

[many a good man]

12. Many Native Americans thought their defeat was due to the superior God

of their conquerors. Maybe we really are the unwitting pawns of superpowerful gods who are battling it out here on earth. The Christ god demolished Atzlan in the 16th century. Maybe now the Mohammed god will have his comeuppance. When the hell is Buddha's turn?

[Cleita]

13. Allah, means God in Arabic.

The God of the Muslims is the God of Abraham, the same God of the Jews and Christians. Try a different metaphor.

[gulliver]

15. Of course. That's part of the point.

The idea is a play on the idea of Bush being chosen by God. My point is that he is not the answer to America's prayers. If anything Bush is an answer to the prayers of those who want to see the U.S. lose.

We could go into whether people who pray to God/Allah for the destruction of others are really praying to the same God, but let's not. That's a different thread.

[many a good man]

16. No, they're different.

Don't you know there are two kinds of facts: true facts and false facts. You are using false facts while I am using true facts. My god is true and your god is false.
:woohoo:

[Cleita]

20. I hope you are joking however if you are not, I have in

the past worked with many Persian Muslims and getting to know their religion and their God taught me that their God wasn't any different than ours. They just pray to Her/Him in a different way than we do.

[stepnw1f]

14. What a Disgustingly Bigoted Thing to Say

... "and Timothy McVeigh was chosen by God."

Come one...

[gulliver]

21. I can see why you might think that, of course.

But the point was meant to be taken in parallel with the silly right-wing insanity that Bush was chosen by (some version of the Christian) God. I'm not talking about the good God/Allah. I'm talking about the radical one(s) that people pray to for the destruction of their enemies.

Arguably, the Allah prayed to by OBL is a different Allah than the usual one. The same is true of the God that "chooses" George W. Bush to be president. I tend to view the radical God and radical Allah as being different "Gods," despite their name, despite their historic origin as the same God. Not very good Gods either.

The bitter center of the intended "humor" is that Bush was not chosen by any God that had the best interests of the United States at heart. The counterpart to the radical "Christian God" who would choose a Bush to help the U.S. is a radical Islamic "Allah" who would choose Bush to hurt us. I'm "quipping" that Bush seems to be chosen by the latter.

No one said anything about any God choosing registered Republican Timothy McVeigh, by the way.

Anyway, that's my explanation. Maybe it's not good enough. The idea that God chose Bush is a breathtakingly offensive idea. To get at it, I went into a touchy area. If that makes me a bigot in your eyes, even after my explanation, then there is not much more I can do about it.

[stepnw1f]

23. Thanks for the Clarification

sorry for jumping down your throat.

[TexasLawyer]

17. I think he was chosen by the Chinese Central Committee

Bush has run this country into the ground economically, bogged down the military in a pointless and distracting war, and has lain the framework for the destruction of the US middle class.

The US is morphing into a corrupt banana republic while China is prospering, investing in infrastructure, educating scientists and engineers by the hundreds of thousands, and gaining military superiority by the day.

Talk about Manchurian Candidate! And the Chinese did not have to lose a thimblefull of their own blood to bring America down.

So I'll take Buddha, or whoever Chinese atheists pray to, over Allah.

[Boojatta]

19. Chinese atheists pray? e.o.m.

[gulliver]

22. Even those who just meditate without a deity in mind ...

... about achieving victory over the United States get a boost from Bush. His destructive affect on the United States transcends religion.