A while ago, I speculated on what a certain kind of Christian,

...the kind that expects the world to end soon, and doesn't much mind --- the buyers of books like "The Late Great Planet Earth", and more recently, the "Left Behind" series of novels by LaHaye and Jenkins, which can only be described as apocalypse porn

might favor in terms of policy, with the goal of doing what they see as G-d's work by bringing about the apocalypse. The answers had a disturbingly familiar look.

Now, it turns out that the Apocalypse Nerds have actually been getting detailed briefings from Dubya's crew:

The e-mailed meeting summary reveals NSC Near East and North African Affairs director Elliott Abrams sitting down with the Apostolic Congress and massaging their theological concerns. Claiming to be "the Christian Voice in the Nation's Capital," the members vociferously oppose the idea of a Palestinian state. They fear an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza might enable just that, and they object on the grounds that all of Old Testament Israel belongs to the Jews. Until Israel is intact and David's temple rebuilt, they believe, Christ won't come back to earth.

Abrams attempted to assuage their concerns by stating that "the Gaza Strip had no significant Biblical influence such as Joseph's tomb or Rachel's tomb and therefore is a piece of land that can be sacrificed for the cause of peace."

Why they'd take Abrams's word about the second coming is a bit of a poser -- last I checked, he was Jewish, and so wasn't much expecting it to happen in the first place. Or so one presumes.

But perhaps one shouldn't get too worked up over all this. Just because Dubya's crew is talking to these guys -- over and over and over -- doesn't necessarily mean they buy into their agenda. So look on the bright side. It may be just pandering.

More: Further commentary here and here, from the Slacktivist...