Rise of Christian Zionists in US government and collapse of chain of command

U.S. President Donald Trump listens as Vice President Mike Pence speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Monday, April 13. AP

By Emanuel Pastreich

The Trump administration makes policy and manages the federal government through the combined efforts of two distinct groups: a small group of the super-rich and a spreading network of radicalized Christian Zionists who appeal to a growing population of disaffected and alienated working-class whites in the United States.

Both groups have a shared interest in pushing forth a shift in the nature of government to a revolutionary policymaking structure dominated by a handful of people. This shift has been obscured from the view of the ordinary Americans because almost all media sources are essentially edited by the very same super-rich who are leading this progress.

The super-rich and the Christian Zionists, for all their close cooperation, diverge in their interests on many fundamental points.

On the one hand, we have a faction of the super-rich who have poured billions of dollars, seen and unseen, into an effort over the past 30 years to take apart the federal government, and to take over local government, so as to render it as a tool to collect money from taxpayers for the use of their corporations. Increasingly the favored approach is the creation of bogus or hyped crises that permit the massive transfer of funds to prop up the stock market. The "9.11 incident" and the corona terror are best representative of this approach.

In the 1980s, it was difficult for the super-rich to make government a means to enforce their will on the people. The Cold War structure in which there was a substantial media and intellectual debate in the world that addressed class issues and assumed economic equality as a goal had a real impact on the discussion even within conservative circles.

But slowly the super-rich bought and cultivated politicians, intellectuals and media figures and then used them to convince Americans that government is always harmful and deregulation (decriminalization) brings freedom. They promoted the myth that the super-rich have billions of dollars because they are innovative, entrepreneurial and that anyone who imitates then can be equally successful. This myth has been remarkably successful.

Starting with the election of George W. Bush, and then reaching a new summit under Donald Trump, a small group of the super-rich pursue their narrow interests at the cost of the entire planet and there is no longer any way to control them within the United States.

Moreover, the super-rich figures that have backed Donald Trump from the beginning are considered to be radical even among other rich people in the United States. They are also so rich that they have interests far beyond the United States. There are many among them who believe that they stand to make a fortune by tearing the United States apart and are cynical as to whether the policies they promote do anything other than generate profit.

The key figures around Trump are the multibillionaires Sheldon Adelson, Robert Mercer, Charles Koch and Betsy DeVos. They are distinct in that they promote Christian Zionism and other crypo-fascistic white nationalist movements and they care nothing for even the weak slogans of other billionaires like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett about "peace" and "entrepreneurship."

But there are other super-rich who maintain secret, but important ties to the Trump administration. They do so not because they think that Trump's policies are good for the United States, but because they believe that can increase their power if the U.S. government is destroyed and made a tool of the rich.

The most important billionaire to back Trump from early on was Peter Andreas Thiel. But we see indications that other billionaires like Jeff Bezos and the Walton family, although they not openly support Trump, liked the direction Trump's supporters were heading in ending the ability of the government to serve as a check on corporate power.

It is important to note that much of this policy is not about Donald Trump himself. Although he may be a bully and a narcissist, his demand for a real investigation of 9/11 and his demands that the United States pull out of the Middle East and recognize this scale of its mistakes suggest that he has a bravery as well not to be found among the other politicians.

This faction of the super-rich provides cash behind the scenes and it directs the corporate media to give the attention that Trump and his followers in Congress need to push forward. The point is not to make Trump look good, but rather to avoid any significant policy debate. In many respects, making Trump look foolish is a major part of their strategy.

Their cash is the reason that the Republican Party has become subservient to Trump's extreme policies ― although we still do not know the exact manner in which people have been bought off. What we do know is that the media itself has become such a part of the corporate world that it is easily bought off and is not capable of offering a critical analysis of what Trump is trying to do.

What we are witnessing today is a tiny handful of the super-rich trying to establish a shadow government that makes all actions: executive, judicial and congressional, a major part of their agenda to promote their own wealth. They are not necessarily the friends of Donald Trump and would throw him under the bus if it suited their purposes.

But although the super-rich now control the economy sufficiently to dominate what is presented in the media, and to force through unpopular laws that raise taxes for the working class while allowing the rich to avoid paying taxes at all, there are limits to what they can do with money alone.

They need a popular movement at the local level to carry out their will. That group must be well organized and motivated, and even willing to take serious risks. For this reason, the faction of the super-rich supporting Trump have aligned with factions of far-right Christian Zionists in the United States and together they form the skeleton of the shadow government that makes decisions under the name of Donald Trump on a daily basis. The Christian Zionists are the ones who work daily to neutralize opposition among government officials, and to alienate and drive out those who try to stop the efforts to promote the idea that government should represent the people.

It is important to note that many support the efforts to kill government in good faith, believing sincerely that government is evil and that evangelical churches offer a real alternative. They are not entirely wrong about the evils of corrupt government, but they do not understand how the churches they support are playing footsie with the devil.

It is essential that we understand how exactly these far-right Christians (whom Chris Hedges and others refer to as the "Christian Fascists") operate at the local level, in the federal government, and within the cabinet of the Trump administration if we hope to comprehend how policy is being made today.

As many of the players among the Christian fascists are not covered by the media at all, citizens have a difficult time figuring out what is going on. Trump is described as the bad man in the media and made the target of attack. He is vilified, but the major players among the super-rich and the Christian fascists remain virtually unknown to the public and their impact on Trump's policy is completely ignored.

The growing power of the Christian fascists, whose churches are sprinkled over much of rural and suburban America, can only be understood in the context of the ideological, economic and social collapse that is taking place across the country. There is no longer any vision for what the United States is and what its purpose should be. There is no longer any civil society, no town halls in which citizens meet together for a common purpose at the local level. There are no activities that affirm the commitment of citizens to each other or to society. All the media is focused on narcissism, consumption and the cult of the self.

This destruction of local communities has been combined with the destruction of local business, local industry and local farming by corporations, to such a degree that what were once strong communities offering mutual support are now cultural and social deserts.

This deep social and economic destruction offers Christian right-wing groups an opportunity to exploit people, especially poorly educated, impoverished whites in rural and suburban areas. The Christian Zionists, especially evangelicals, establish churches in these regions that provide the basic needs for education, economic opportunity, and a sense of meaning in the lives of these alienated citizens. These churches, often large, are becoming the effective government for large parts of the country, offering services that no one else will. It is also critical to note that the progressive and leftist discourse, and the wealthy liberal discourse in Boston or San Francisco, dismisses these people as stupid or crazy and makes no effort to engage them.

Ideology

The United States developed a modified capitalist system in the 1930s in which many socialist features such as state planning, the use of regulated monopolies, a strong role for government in promoting economic equality, and the promotion of ideological commitment to create a more fair society were made central to policy and political ideology.

At the same time, the United States retained certain key factors of the capitalist system like the stock market and private ownership of corporations in many sectors.

This system worked well, and it allowed for the ideas of freedom that were proposed in the constitution at the founding of the republic to be reinterpreted so as to apply to all citizens. This ideology of the "New Deal" promoted by Franklin Roosevelt survived in a modified form until the election of George W. Bush in 2000. But it had already been weakened considerably at that time.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, and the embrace of market policies by China, there was no longer pressure on the United States from without to protect ordinary citizens. That modified capitalist system that had worked well slipped back into ruthless capitalism of 100 years ago, and the domination of the government by the upper classes started again, much as had been the case under Vanderbilt, Carnegie and Morgan ―the problem was that no one survives who remembers what happened then.

There is an enormous ideological vacuum in the United States today. The country is dominated by corporations that ruthlessly exploit, and government, schools and civil society offer nothing to motivate citizens because they are not allowed to address real issues. This lack of direction has led to drug abuse, suicide and random killings, child abuse and the decay of families. Politicians give fancy talks on television but there is no way for ordinary citizens to reach them. The public facilities like libraries, public NGOs and places where citizens could gather with neighbors have vanished over the past 20 years.

The ideological and spiritual need for some organization to give meaning and direction to these groups of poorer whites in an age of tremendous wealth concentration and of the death of intellectual discourse, is filled by these churches, often set up like cinemaplexes.

Many poorer whites find that they have no option but to join up with these churches to survive economically and spiritually. The churches are run for profit like a McDonald's, and they control carefully what the members are told through teachings at churches and the television that they watch. The followers are told to support Republicans, and to give full support to Donald Trump, even though Trump has no interest in Christianity.

The actions of these churches are not entirely peaceful. According to friends, they are capable of threatening and silencing critics. There is reason to believe that the increasing number of attacks on Asians and other foreigners are not random at all but part of an organized campaign linked to these groups.

They are commonly evangelical, meaning that they take on an explicitly political role. The pastors tell their followers that they are at war against their enemies in government and elsewhere in the U.S. and the world. The enemies are described as the followers of the devil. The churches train their members for war, treating them like soldiers. They try to completely control their followers' lives and punish any interpretations of Christianity that do not follow the rules given from above. In many small towns, there is no opposition permitted to the political domination of these churches.

The teachings given out in these churches are a modified form of Christianity. They have removed from their teaching all the parts from Christianity about helping the poor and about creating an egalitarian society. In place of charity and grace, the Christian Zionists place an emphasis on preparing for a world war and destruction before the return of Jesus to save them, and promote explicit hatred for gays, blacks, immigrants and Asians. They also make opposition to abortion and the promotion of militarism central to their teachings even though there is no support for such ideas anywhere in what Jesus taught (see Chris Hedges' book "American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America"?for more detail on the manner in which these groups operate).

These churches provide economic opportunities for these poor white families, working for the churches or in the projects undertaken by the churches with private business. But the critical point for us is how the churches provide job opportunities for their followers in the police and in the military (or both).

The police system in the United States has been increasingly privatized, run for profit at a local level; even if it retains the name of government, there is no transparency or external review of internal policy.

This shift is a direct result of the collapse of an American ideology that supported service for country. Business interests have a big influence on police policy and the police departments in rural areas are linked to corporations, sometimes taking direct corporate funding for prisons, highway construction and other projects. Working for the police is the most stable and well-paid job that someone in these communities can hope to get. Thus the law and order demands of Christian Zionists are tied directly to actual jobs at prisons and in the police that they can offer their members.

Many prisons in the conservative rural regions are run by corporations, or in part by corporations. The United States has the largest prison population in the world, in part because of the profits made by locking people up. Often the prisoners are blacks from other poor regions far away from the largely white rural districts where they are located. The guards and other workers at the prisons are well paid. Connections to churches help to get those jobs at prisons.

This strange economic system has emerged because family farming has been destroyed by corporate farming and local small businesses have been replaced by Wal-Mart and other ruthless corporations. Local economies have been destroyed, leaving poor white communities open to this vicious deal with the devil of exploiting other poor communities for profit. Contracts for the imprisonment of a single person for a year are worth tens of thousands of dollars and the trade of these contracts is a major part of what real politics is about.

The frustrations felt by these poor whites are channeled by the churches into hostility at immigrants, rich liberals, gays and other groups, at people who are presented by the churches as the real enemy. Within the police forces, there are cells of police officers who hold prayer meetings, gather to affirm their loyalty to their churches and work to eliminate from positions of authority anyone who does not agree with their ideological position. These prayer meetings form an alternative chain of command.

The fundamentalist churches also push members to be active in local government and national government, supporting politicians who get government money to support their churches, to build of prisons and to increase the power and finances of the police and the military. These churches build up a new power structure and secret government in the United States and push an ideology that is effective at motivating members through fear and a sense of duty to wage war on evil outsiders.

The Christian Zionists in the military and intelligence

The military is the other path for power and money for the Christian Zionists of the evangelical strain. The U.S. military is enormous, and it contains so many factions, from the far left to the far right, that it is hard to make generalizations about its nature. However, we can say with some confidence that the Christian Zionist and white nationalist faction is increasing its power and is working to build cells not only in local police and in the FBI but also in all branches of the military and intelligence. These churches are looking to create an ideology and a military that is loyal to them, not to the U.S. and who take an oath to the Bible, not to the constitution.

These groups hold regular prayer meetings within the military, organize cells in the military and intelligence that report first and foremost to their church and carry out operations within the military to assure their dominance.

The Air Force contains the greatest number of these Christian Zionists, but they are everywhere. Also, although the CIA traditionally has harbored more leftists and other diverse intellectuals since the 1940s and was therefore a bit more resistant to these Christian groups, is also increasingly feeling their pull. By contrast, the FBI has been dominated by Christian groups from the time of its founding and increasingly these extreme groups can be found there (see Mark Riebling's book "Wedge: The Secret War Between the FBI and CIA" for a detailed analysis of this long-time struggle).

These Christian Zionists work to eliminate the Christian groups that oppose them in the military, and they attack minorities frequently (although most of these events are never reported).

The killing of the black Lt. Richard W. Collins in 2017 by a white supremacist is representative of how these groups attack minorities in the military. Collins was from an established black military family who was well on his way to playing a leadership role in the army. There can be no doubt that the killing was meant to intimidate minorities and was carefully planned.

We also have the case of the black CIA officer Jeffery Sterling who was subject to tremendous discrimination while serving in government. There is some evidence that the attacks on him and his ultimate dismissal were a result of efforts of white supremacist and Christian groups to make sure he did not reach any position of authority. The specific actions he took were far less important to them than the threat that a capable African American might play a role in the decision-making process.

He was eventually put in jail on a false charge. The point was that such professionals who are not members of the Christian Zionists, or obedient to corporate interests, can be destroyed at any time.

To say that these groups are "hawks" or "conservative" is not accurate. They follow a very narrow ideology in which it is assumed that those who push for extreme actions will be rewarded by God.

Some in the U.S. armed forces have gone as far as to issue notice that these extreme Christian groups are a "national security threat." We can see the makings of an internal struggle within the military about the future of the nation in the actions of these factions. But this conflict would never have emerged if there had not been such a serious ideological collapse.

Because the alternative to the Christian extreme tends to be only those moderates who are also promoted by the super-rich and corporations, the Christian groups are more convincing to many poorly educated members of the military.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation reports that Jews have been told they must believe in Jesus by superiors in the Air Force, and that the families of Muslim soldiers are constantly insulted. These evangelicals believe that they must serve Jesus, and must serve as Jesus' representatives in the military. The assumption in this alternative chain of command is that they do not serve the people and do not follow the constitution (but rather the Bible).

In fact, Christian Zionists assume that most people will be killed, and should be killed, in the coming end of the world. These groups speak of a "warrior Jesus" who leads them into a war with Islam. The militarization of religion is complete in their teachings. Currently, 84 percent of chaplains in the military are evangelicals. Many are linked to these Christian Zionist churches.

It is important to note here that there also exists within the military and intelligence powerful pockets of the far-left, such as those who produce the socialist WSWS.ORG and who protect other leftist news sources. Those leftist factions are the only ones capable of standing up to the Christian fascists. Mainstream politicians, academics, and other "liberals" are far too cowardly to confront these tough factions within the military and intelligence.

The factions of Christian fascists also wish to keep Asians out of the military, and also to keep out traditional liberal-minded figures from the Ivy League establishment as well. We must distinguish the rich liberals from Harvard and Stanford in the military and in intelligence from the tough white nationalist Christian evangelicals who are increasing their impact. The two groups may have "conservative" features, but their power bases are distinct and are hostile to each other ― granted, they both take favors from the super-rich.

Jews and Israel

The question of Jews in the military and intelligence is complex.

There are certainly Jewish figures who play central roles in security and who have been promoted (but many fewer in the police or in the prison-industrial system). The most successful Jew in foreign policy is Henry Kissinger, who continues to be hauled out at events in his feeble state. Eliot Cohen, dean of SAIS, has become immensely influential and has promoted foreign wars (Iraq and Iran) and militarism with great intellectual sophistication. Cohen goes along with the same policies on Israel and Iran as the Christian Zionist churches. However, Cohen is not part of these churches and they are not his friends.

What is the relationship between the Christian Zionist and the pro-Israel Zionist Jews in the governments of the U.S. and Israel?

To answer this question, we must first understand the religious teachings of the evangelical Christians. They believe that the end of the world is coming soon, in accord with the Book of Revelations, and that they must prepare for the "rapture," the moment at which the Earth is destroyed and only the few true Christians are saved by Jesus.

These evangelical Christians (best represented in the Trump administration by Mike Pompeo and Mike Pence, who make security policy decisions and then inform Trump of what they have done) believe that the Jews must return to Jerusalem, establish a powerful Israel there, and build a third temple there in Jerusalem and await the end of days. For them, the destruction of humanity is not only guaranteed, it is something to be welcomed, even to be sped up.

They believe that when Jesus returns to save them, the Jews who were necessary to build the temple to fulfill scripture will not be saved. Rather, although they served their purpose, Jews, and Israel specifically, will be tossed into Hell because they do not accept Jesus. Thus, although the cooperation with Jews and Israel is absolutely essential, there is a deep dislike of Jews that lies just beneath the surface of Christian Zionist thinking. Deeply anti-Semitic thought breaks through to the surface from time to time. There is an isolationist white racist faction that sees Jews as the source of all problems and that is deeply hostile to any work with Israel. There remains a deep ambivalence about the Jews among these factions which could come into the open at any time.

The most powerful Christian Zionist faction supported by these churches is the group known as "Christians United for Israel." Christians United for Israel claims a membership of 7 million, larger than any Jewish organization. This group also claims that "Christians have a biblical obligation to defend Israel." Christians United for Israel is run by John Hagee, the most powerful leader among the Christian Zionists and a visible figure in right-wing politics.

Hagee runs a mega-church in Texas and he uses this Christian Zionist network to take in funding and push a clearly defined ideology among his followers. He pushes for war on every front, working closely with the far right in Israel. His Global Evangelism Television (GETV) is the main source for news for most of these Christians. As a news source that glorifies war, that declares all enemies of Israel the enemies of God and that suggests that a world war focused on Israel is necessary to bring Jesus back for the rapture, it is a deeply disturbing source of propaganda. Needless to say, the mainstream media, and the progressive media, stay far away from this source of political power.

Hagee works with the Zionist billionaire Adelson to promote the war with Iran and continues to push for a militarized economy.

In the policy process, the evangelical Christian with closest ties to both Hagee (Christian Zionist) and to Adelson (Jewish Zionist) is Mike Pompeo, current secretary of state. Pompeo also derives much power from his ties to Charles Koch, who is not a Christian Zionist but finds their ideology helpful for his efforts to promote a catastrophic fossil fuel economy. Pompeo has been promoted in politics because of his support from these Christians and he has been absolutely loyal to them (see my article "Pompeo in Pyongyang"). Trump makes statements that are meant to appeal to the evangelical extremists, but he is not religious and does not control them.

If anything, Trump is increasingly a prisoner of their network. Pompeo, however, has worked with those groups from the beginning and he accepts the doctrine of the "rapture" that assumes that nuclear war or other destruction will bring the end of the world and then Jesus will come and save the chosen Christians. This twisted ideology is critical to convincing military officers to follow dangerous and irrational policies that promote the destruction of the climate and a drive for nuclear war.

Vice President Mike Pence is also a major player with the Christian Zionists and it is their wish that Trump will resign at the right time so that their chosen Christian leader can take over. Pence has regular Wednesday prayer meetings at the office of the Vice President to which the commanding evangelicals in the military are invited. It is clear that the members who attend the prayer meetings are first and foremost an "army of God" and that the constitution and the U.S. Army are not the priority at all. The members of these prayer meetings form the core of the alternative chain of command in the military and intelligence.

Besides the potential for corruption, and for launching a world war, this new line of command is dangerous because it undoes the non-religious scientific governance approach established at the time of the American Revolution.

There are numerous reports that it was the Christian evangelicals who pushed for Trump to take the extreme step of assassinating General Soleimani (and of threatening future attacks against Iran). Trump himself is not interested in this kind of extreme action against Iran, but he is pressured by Pence and his evangelical Christian network. The assassination made sense to Pence and his supporters within the extremist group because they believe in the "rapture" and thus hope that a world war will bring Jesus back to save them.

These groups make sure that the White House ignores all intelligence that gives a complex analysis of geopolitics. Instead, they prefer a simplistic opposition of good and evil in their analysis. Pompeo also worked closely with Secretary of Defense Esper (the two were classmates at the military academy) to promote this vision in policy. Many corporate media sources are happy to promote this vision.

Another important figure active in the White House is the powerful Christian evangelical, and adviser to Trump, Paula White. She is the chair of the "evangelical advisory board" that controls much of Trump's policy decisions on the Middle East. She works behind the scenes to coordinate with Pompeo and Pence (and their evangelical followers) to promote good vs. evil interpretation of Israel and U.S. expansionist policies in the Middle East. They are working together to take advantage of the current ideological chaos to create a "theocracy."

These Christians Zionists coordinate with Jewish Zionists even though the interests of both groups are often in conflict. Christians Zionists believe that the land of ancient Israel must be returned to the Jews and that the Jews must expand Israel to dominate the entire Middle East. They work closely with Jewish Zionists at every turn, for example Treasury official Sigal Mandelker, who has pushed for extreme sanctions on Iran, is Jewish. She seems to take her orders from Israel, specifically the far-right Zionists in Israel who are increasingly willing to work with clearly anti-Semitic groups around the world if they get support for their expansionist policies.

The in-depth book on Pence, "The Shadow President: The Truth about Mike Pence" (Michael D'Antonio & Peter Eisner), describes the specific branch of evangelicals known as "dominionists," to which he belongs, as being a powerful force in Trump policy. Dominionists believe that Christians should be deeply involved at all levels of politics and they interpret the Bible to say that that they, the faithful Christians, have a right to dominate the world and control all resources in the world. The "dominionism" interpretation of Christianity puts emphasis on the control of finance, land and military power. Pence sees religion as a highly political field and he expresses deep hostility to science and to scientific analysis.

The billionaires Betsy DeVos (Secretary of Education) and Eric Prince (head of the mercenary company Academi) are also evangelical Christians who derive their political power from the combination of financial assets with connections to these religious groups with cells throughout the entire government. DeVos is working hard to destroy public education so as to increase the power of the churches (as sources of information and education) and her brother Eric Prince is pushing for the privatization of the military so that it can be a source for profits for his company (and so that opposition to fascistic policies within the military can be eliminated).

These Christians also have control over William Barr, the Attorney General, who is the top person in the legal process. In fact, their support for him behind the scenes is the reason he has not been removed from office yet. They have given him lists of far-right evangelical Christians to be promoted to top judgeships in the federal government and he and his people do not dare ignore their requests. These evangelical judges are pushing for a radically limited interpretation of the rights of citizens that is based on their interpretation of Christianity. They are also very pro-business. They now control directly two members of the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, and there are four other conservative judges who cannot ignore the demands of these groups.

Space Command

The bizarre decision to create a new branch of the military in 2020 to be Space Command must be seen in the context of the rising power of these Christian Zionist groups. Space Command is dangerous in that it is pushing for the weaponization of space, which could bring about catastrophe, including nuclear war. But that would be fine with evangelicals in Space Command who are hoping the world will end soon.

Equally important is the lack of accountability of Space Command. As a new branch of the military that cannot be easily audited or inspected by outsiders and that will be dominated from the start by Christian insiders, it serves as the platform for building up sources of money and also semi-independent military units that do not have to follow the established chain of command.

The launch of the Space Command was most telling. Former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Larry Wilkerson described it thus:

"The Rev. Carl Wright, the Episcopal Church's bishop suffragan for the Armed Forces and Federal Ministries, offered the blessing as Maj. Gen. Steven Schaick, Air Force chief of chaplains, held the Bible which was designated for all swearing-in ceremonies for the new Space Force at the National Cathedral.

"There is no precedent for using a Bible to swear people for government office. It was clear that the point was to create legitimacy for the growing Christian evangelical factions within the military, and to push others out.

"The Air Force is full of these Christian Zionists at every rank from private to general. The process by which these Christians dominate starts at the Air Force Academy. Today, the Air Force Academy is the most corrupt academic institution in the United States. That is a result of the fact that the Air Force overall is far more corrupt than other commands and it is no surprise that it was the location for Space Command.

"The Christian politicians of the previous generation like Jerry Falwell figured out that the Air Force was so technologically oriented that there was not much thinking going on among its members. There were already a substantial number of fundamentalist Christians in the Air Force from the beginning. Out of the 15 chaplains in the Air Force today, there is one rabbi, and the rest are fundamentalist Christians.

"If you go into the senior dormitory at the Air Force Academy, where the senior cadets getting ready to graduate and be commissioned live, you will find Bible verses written on all the doors like a Christian school. And those Bible texts are inscribed in the walls, not stuck there temporarily. Four commandants have been relieved from their jobs at the Air Force Academy for their excessive Christian fundamentalist proselytizing, but the religious indoctrination goes on.

"Many parents come to the Air Force Academy and say, 'I'm taking my kid out.' We see such behavior by Jewish parents, but plenty of other Christians find the narrow ideology promoted at the Air Force to be offensive.

"The Air Force leadership knows how many of these fundamentalist Christians there are in the Air Force and how much strength they have in the Congress. Members of the Air Force leadership know that there is a real risk to their careers if they take efforts to limit this illegal promotion of religion. They just put off all action. Sometimes they will ask that a Bible from a display be removed, but it is just moved somewhere else."

Wilkerson also described the specific tactics for domination of the military by these Christian groups.

"These fundamentalist Christian groups are not limited to the South at all. We find them in Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois, regions that are thought of as liberal. People are looking for something substantial to justify their existence. In these confusing times, the more radical an ideology is, the more appeal it has, especially for those who do not have the education needed to see through the fraud.

"The fundamentalist Christians had influence on the torture programs undertaken by the U.S. overseas in the armed forces. Many of those involved in the torture were from these religious groups. And they used iconography from the Christian crusaders on their military vehicles. In Iraq there was a case in which the crusader crosses were painted on the tails of F-16s. This was allowed within the Marine Corps and they knew they were deploying to a Muslim country."

Christian Zionist as a new ideology

The greatest challenge in the United States today is not responding to the specific actions of Donald Trump or Mike Pompeo. The current pattern promoted by the corporate media of encouraging citizens to get mad at Trump for making statements that he is told to make and then promoting a deep sense of resignation and hopelessness in the face of "stupid" and "racist" people is not an accident. It is a purposeful effort to disenfranchise citizens.

What is required is an alternative ideology and the formation of organizations with at least the level of bravery and effectiveness as the Christian Zionists. As long as we are limited to complaints on social media, without the formation of deep institutions with a commitment to sets of values, the Christian Zionists, and other fundamentalist groups, will only grow stronger.