Today has seen a variety of diaries here and elsewhere about the cover sheets that Rumsfeld approved and carried to the President, as well as some commentary about how dumb those sheets were. I wanted to speak, though, on the nature of what those sheets might mean to some of the many Americans who did not vote for Barack Obama.
Just as many here hold that elected officials do not have the right to impose their beliefs in the public sphere, many others believe that the weighty decisions of a public official demand thoughtful prayer and guidance. How an elected official comes to a decision is a matter that all should consider in their own ballot - it is ultimately no violation of the separation of church and state to pray on a hard decision, such as a Governor's pardon or even going to war. While you may find that frame of mind stupid, I believe its constitutional.
The mistake made in these cover sheets is far more insidious, and goes far beyond praying to God for guidance. These sheets have images of tanks described as God's armor, of bullets as holy arrows, of the US described as a "righteous nation," and of our troops as warriors of God. These descriptions go far beyond praying to God for guidance - the make the assumption that God is on our side.
Psalms 73:
6 Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.
8 They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.
We do not know this. We cannot know this. If anyone of faith cognitively knows of God without his or her heart, I do not think that we can describe it as faith any longer. Your fellow citizens might endorse praying for God's blessing on America's actions, but remember that to presume that blessing is folly.
This is the argument that must be used in public discussion about these sheets.
Behind this idea is a disconnect between the managers and the troops. From the perspective of the Pentagon, war can look pretty nice - lots of nice photos of tanks and soldiers working together. The people on the battlefield know differently. This same disconnect allowed a turf war to become more important than adequately dispatching the duties of the Secretary of Defense - our military leaders forgot that their job was to make the troops as able as possible to enact the orders from above, and started to see themselves as both the deciders and the warriors.
The true test of leadership is whether you can remember the realities of those whom your orders affect, be that in business management, military leadership, or national governance. These people seemed to forget the reality that "War is a terrible thing."
As it has been said before, pride goeth before the fall.