It has for some time been obvious to me that the Bush foreign policy in the Middle East is driven by irrational and often puzzling considerations. But I hadn't stopped to consider, until Perlstein's excellent piece, that the White House is trying to bring about an apocalypse that would hasten Christ's return. And a damn fine job they're doing of it, if that's what they are up to. Why the place is more apocalyptic every day. The one downside for Bush is that he is beholden not just to the far right Christian looney fringe but also to Wall Street, and the latter can't actually be very happy with the roller coaster ride his policies are producing for their investments. Unlike poor people, moreover, the monied both vote and give to political campaigns.
Juan Cole post
Well, some of us have thought for quite some time that Bush's looney policy can be seen as making sense only in the context of an attempt to bring about "the Rapture".
Perlstein's piece* is in regard to another one of those famous memos that keep turning up lately.
*Bush White House checked with rapture Christians before latest Israel move: The Jesus Landing Pad
