"A task from God"

Recent words from Sarah Palin, as referenced here: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080908/COLUMN0703/809080321/1049/OPINION

"In June, speaking to ministry students at her former church, she portrayed the war in Iraq as 'a task that is from God.' At the same time, she asked them to pray for a $30 billion natural gas pipeline in Alaska. 'God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built.'"

Even assuming we are even able to know or interpret the "will of God," I do not believe that any God would have as a "task" a war that has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis -- not to mention even more numbers of injuries, and millions of refugees and internally displaced -- in addition to the thousands of American casualties. Not to mention the thousands upon thousands that have died and suffered due to the neglect of human needs at both home and abroad as billions are spent on this immoral war: victims of the terror of lack of health care, the terror of joblessness, the terror of homelessness, of malnutrition, hunger, and preventable disease. Not to mention that the invasion and its aftermath was illegal in terms of international law, the U.N. Charter, the U.S. Constituation, and the Geneva Convention. Not to mention that the continued occupation flies in the face of the desire of a majority of the Iraqis, Americans, and the world for us to leave.

I agree with most of the thoughts expressed here:
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080908/COLUMN0703/809080321/1049/OPINION

I am also rather skeptical that God would sanction a pipeline that would continue our nation and the world on a path of destruction: dependence on fossil fuels; unhealthy pollution; damage of ecosystem in Alaska and around the pipeline; global warming, and; a way of thinking about energy policy that is rooted in both the past and dominated by the agendas of corporations, rather than forward-thinking and based on what is best for the people of American and the world.

In general, I find troublesome the idea that we can declare a knowledge of what is the "will of God." Especially in a public setting. Especially as a political statement. Especially from the mouth of a public official. I could also say it is offensive, simple-minded, arrogant, and self-centered. In addition, coming from someone that is a high-profile candidate on the national stage, it is especially unwise and insensitive in the current international political climate. Ongoing perceptions and misperceptions of Christian religious motivations in American foreign policy -- by Muslims in particular, but also by other countries and certainly our European allies -- dog this country, and can have continued negative consequences.