It is not only because of insatiable greed for oil, or
because of America's addiction to war or because of
Bush's obvious mental instability that America and its
allies now seem hell-bent on attacking Iran, although
these factors are certainly important. Equally
crucially, the current wave of fervent war-mongering
in the West directed against Iran owes to the enormous
clout wielded by Wes More..tern Christian fundamentalist
organizations who, following the invasion and
destruction of Iraq, which they had so fervently
abetted, are now calling for a repeat performance,
this time in Iran. These blood-thirsty votaries of the
cult of unmitigated violence consider Iran to be the
major challenge to American and Zionist imperialism,
which they regard as enjoying divine blessing.
Insisting that America and Israel should invade Iran
at once, they regard this as a Christian necessity.
They also believe that this would herald a global war
of cosmic proportions that would, so they believe,
usher in the end of the world and Jesus' Second
Coming, something that they passionately await.
A key American Christian fundamentalist ideologue is
the Texas-based televangelist John Hagee. He is no
insignificant crank, although his views are, to put it
mildly, wildly outlandish. He is said to be close to
top leaders of the American Republic Party as well as
Israeli intelligence officers and politicians. He is
the pastor of The Cornerstone Church based in San
Antonio, and also heads the multi-million dollar
Global Evangelism media company that broadcasts his
daily programmes on 172 television and 82 radio
stations throughout the USA and around the world. His
fervent appeals to Christian simplicity obviously are
not intended to apply to himself: he is said to be one
of the wealthiest men in his city, and the trust that
he has named after himself, The John Hagee Rabbi
Trust, includes among its various assets a ranch
spread over almost 8000 acres.
Hagee is one of the principal ideologues of what is
called Christian Zionism, which is said to be the
fastest growing religious cult in America today. Hagee
is known for his fervent support for Israel, for he
considers this a Biblical duty binding on Christians,
and has been opposed to any peace deal that might
cause Israel to give up back any occupied land to the
Palestinians. He works closely with several American
and Israeli Jewish groups, and is one of the
architects of a Christian evangelical-Zionist
alliance. Recently he was in the news for bringing
together 400 Christian evangelical leaders,
representing as many as 30 million Christians, for a
'Summit on Israel', which resulted in the formation of
a new pro-Israeli lobbying group called Christians
United for Israel, which intends to establish a
50-state rapid-response network that aims to reach
every senator and congressman in America.
