National vs. Spiritual

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was interviewed by Bill O'Reilly on his show that aired 15 December 2005. Rumseld, in talking about developments in Iraq, made a point that caught my attention. He said:

"And what we've got to count on is that the Iraqi people are, even the Shia, are more Iraqi than they are Shia and that they're not going to want Iran influencing their elections."

Did he really mean to say that he hopes that Iraqi citizens affiliate more closely with their national identity than with their spiritual identity?

Can you imagine asking Christians in America to consider themselves first and foremost Americans -- and then Christians?

Oh, wait. We have asked them to do that by respecting the First Amendment's mandate that government not be used to endorse or establish a national religion. And the religious right roundly rejects that they should honor that mandate.