A fairly large group of the religious right believe that the Bible indicates that Israel would be reborn and the Jews gathered back to the ancient land of Israel in the end times before the return of Christ. Most of these people also believe in the rapture-the LEFT BEHIND series of novels and films deal with this. Members of these groups are also often very fearful of the NEW WORLD ORDER, the U.N., the Illuminati and other threats to the U.S. evangelical Christian worldview.

These people fervently support the State of Israel in all that it does and its expansion into the entirety of the West Bank as a biblically mandated necessity- the land of Canaan was given to Abraham and his Jewish descendants in Genesis unequivocally and irrevocably in perpetuity. They see this return of Israel to the world stage as an imminent harbinger of the second coming of Christ and the dawn of the millenial age. They base all this on an interpretation of biblical texts.

Jewish people, inside and outside Israel have become increasingly familiar with these groups, and in a hostile and threatening world in which the United States is seen as their only truly reliable ally, they have increasingly embraced them out of political necessity and self interest.

Joe Lieberman, in his remarks about Abraham is merely reiterating a classic view of the promise of God in Genesis. His view of Israel as exceptional among the nations reflects the Torah position that Israel is to be a light to the nations and bring them to God. These same passages in scripture form the basis of the American idea of American exceptionalism, forged in a triumphalist evangelical protestant period of American history.

The problem with all this is the conflation of one interpretation of biblical texts with American public policy. For instance, some people referred to biblical texts about Babylon and the land of Shinar in the run up to the Iraq war. Likewise texts about Persia, modern Iran, indicating that they will attack Israel are now part of the strategic thinking on what America should do about Iran`s nuclear program.

Freedom of Religion is a wonderful thing. A political policy position based on a particular religious viewpoint is perfectly valid. But such policies need to be fully and openly debated in the marketplace of ideas when setting national policy- there must be full disclosure for full and informed decision making. For the great danger is that if American policy is clandestinely based on an erroneous reading of scripture the ensuing policy may be defective and disasterous.

I find it highly ironic that people who are so worried about the rise of a New World Order which will launch a massive assault on Christians and everyone else, bringing in a global dictatorship, are among the strongest supporters of George W. Bush who has done more to lay the groundwork for this sort of dictatorial executive power than any President in U. S. history. It reminds me of the supporters of the Inquisition who tried to ensure the triumph of Christ`s kingdom of love and peace by burning religious dissenters at the stake.

Discussions of Executive Privilege and the Constitution that I have seen so far ignore the English Common law foundations of American Law.

In England the common law Courts are still referred to as the Royal Courts of Justice. They have become increasingly independent of the monarch of the day over the course of the centuries.

The idea of the Crown as an institution separate and apart from the person holding it currently has been well and increasingly established for centuries. This was the great struggle of the English civil war in the 1640s and the Glorious Revolution of 1688, both essential precursors of the assertion of the rights of english heritage Americans in the War of Independence.

Without the common law constitutional concept of the independence of the Judiciary, even though acting in the name of the King, the rule of law is impossible.Without curbs and limits on Executive Privilege in America, the freedoms and liberties of the American people and the operation of the other institutions of the American Republic become equally impossible.

Its all about Spin. The Iraq war can not now have a successful conclusion truly favourable to the United States.

As a Victorian Poet once wrote, even though my quotation may not be exact:

Do not go gentle into that long night,

rage, rage against the dying of the light.

At the beginning of the First World War someone,perhaps the British Foreign Secretary,said:

The lights are going out all over Europe.

Today with George W. Bush, the neocons and the religious right in extremis the lights are in danger of going out all over America.

These extreme right wing people pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America while eagerly betraying the foundational values of the Republic for which it stands.

It is hard to believe such neo authoritarians not only exist in America but are also highly influential in government.

President Bush and his advisers succeeded in building a winning coalition of voters to win election. A substantial part of this coalition, the base, were people of faith alarmed by the significant social changes in the past fifty years.

Liberal voters see this era as one of great hope and the expansion of freedom; many religious voters see it as a slide into moral relativism and degeneracy. They looked to vocal leaders and the Republican Party to turn this around.

The religious voter has discovered that the march to a more liberal future is inexorable notwithstanding their best efforts. They have not yet realized that the moral positioning of the Republican elite is more about the will to power than the will of God. All they know at this point is the heartbreak of failing to achieve their faith based social policy goals as their Republican elite leaders propigate looming disaster for America.