GQ magazine has published a slideshow of some of the covers of the Secretary of Defense Worldwide Intelligence Updates that were prepared during the invasion of Iraq and delivered by then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to then-President George W. Bush.  The covers show dramatic (or artistic) photos of military personnel and equipment in Iraq, or entering Iraq, along with Biblical quotations that are (depending on your point of view) inspiring, creepy, blasphemous, or funny.

I looked up some of the Biblical quotations to see how out-of-context they might be, because I was pretty sure that the Bible didn't have much to say about Saddam Hussein, weapons of mass destruction, or invasions of Iraq, and found two quotations that were both contra-indicated and somewhat disturbing.

(In the quotations below, I am using the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, which is somewhat different from the version of the Bible quoted by the Secretary of Defense, which I cannot identify.)

One cover showed a tank backlit with a rising (or setting) sun, along with a quotation from Ephesians 6:13:

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."

But the preceding sentence makes it clear that the battle is spiritual and not human or earthly:

"For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

Another cover showed a picture of Saddam Hussein giving a speech on television, along with a quotation fromr 1 Peter 2:15:

"It is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men."

But the next sentence is telling:

"As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as pretext for evil."

So exactly how tractable was George W. Bush?  Was he really so simple-minded that he could be manipulated with some glossy photos and pseudo-righteous out-of-context Bible verses?

Bush should have remembered what Jesus explained in the Sermon on the Mount, in Mark 7:15-16:

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits."

Vice President Cheney and the neocons brought war and torture, the spiritual forces of evil, and the pretext for evil.  Those were their fruits, and that is how Bush should have known them.