They made a desolation and called it Peace

The quote above is the epitaph of the Punic Wars. I was reminded of it because today, George W. Bush prayed for peace.

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) - President Bush prayed for peace Sunday at an Easter service during a visit to an Army post that has sent thousands of soldiers to war in Iraq.

``I had a chance to reflect on the great sacrifice that our military and their families are making,'' Bush said outside the chapel after the service. ``I prayed for their safety and I prayed for their strength and comfort, and I prayed for peace.''

He took no questions from reporters.

We should remember that, for many of Dubya's supporters, their version of peace involves armaggedon first and a massive clash of civilizations between the forces of "good" and those of the "beast. That's why the secular neocons - who want an American hegemony and see the Middle east as the major theatre for estabishing that hegemony - and the extremist Christian Right have been able to make common cause for so long.

This is what their peace would look like.

Fanatics are dangerous no matter which flavor they come in, and in denying the common origins of all religion they find it easy to justify atrocities.

I'll leave the rest of the explanation in the capable hands of the folks at Hullabaloo.