To the editor:
A mask was donned by President Bush on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, one whose implications are far more dire and disturbing. Bush was there to tell the world that combat operations in Iraq had ceased. He did not go so far as to declare victory. Such a declaration would have required, under the Geneva Conventions, the release of POWs and the withdrawal of American forces. The banner hanging across the control tower -- "Mission Accomplished" -- said all that needed to be said.
In his remarks, Bush closed with a paraphrasing of Isaiah: "To the captives, 'come out,' and to those in darkness, 'be free.'"
It has been oft-reported that Bush came to believe that God himself, and not the Supreme Court, put him into the presidency for the sole purpose of pursuing this war against terrorism.
We have witnessed the failure of every rationalization for making war on Iraq and are left with the rhetorical argument that we did the whole thing to save the Iraqi people. Ergo, Bush positioned himself on the deck of that aircraft carrier as a savior.
We are talking about a man who wears masks for the sake of political opportunism and to survive moments when he has to address himself in the bathroom mirror.
Does this newest mask have Bush taking on the mantle of Jesus Christ?
Is Bush savior to the Iraqi prisoners -- both male and female?
REBECCA MOHAMMADI
Jackson
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