I mentioned this quote to Bob a few days ago. It comes from an article I read over the summer from Ha'aretz.com, a Jewish publication. It took a little digging to find it again.
The writer is not directly quoting Bush, but someone who talked to Bush, and I think it's interesting. I don't think it sounds like Bush, but it might not be far off. I've included Bush's full quote, and you can link to the whole story by clicking on it:
Notice, Bush DIDN'T say GOD instructed him to solve the problem in the Middle East, only 'I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East.'
I don't how I came across this site or article. I never visited it before or since. For some reason, I feel like I was supposed to read this. I think (and I'm not alone) our current actions in Iraq are setting the tables for actions in other parts of the region, and the snowball effect could lead to a peace agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis in the forseeable future.
Many Jewish/Non-Jewish scholars argue that God brought on the Holocaust in order to gain international support for the post-Holocaust creation of the Israeli state in 1948. I'm not sure I agree. But I'm also not sure I don't.
What's seemingly crystal clear to our eyes and ears can often serve as a smokescreen to an alternate purpose that we will never know about until it hits us right in the face.