What is equally bad is propagandizing the private expression of religion. This seems to be rampant on the anti-war, anti-Bush side. There is a definite party line being peddled here that religion (especially Christianity of a certain stripe) is per se evil. As a pretty non-religious person myself, the level of religious intolerance this displays is simply stunning. This party line of organized intolerance causes people to make a ridiculous song and dance about the most absurdly trivial things.

We have no evidence, other than this Australian TV journalist's word, that there ever were pamphlets given to the troops. But so what if there were? Troops receive all kinds of things. Is it evil for a private group (as this certainly would have been) to sent them something in the mail? What do you want, censorship so that people with an agenda don't find things to write about?

Most soldiers in my experience are about as religious as the average American of their age. In other words, they are a heck of a lot less devout than the anti-religionists fear. Most of them probably threw the pamphlets away. I dare say more than a few probably laughed at the idea of praying for their commander in chief. But perhaps a few of them appreciated the gesture. I dare say many were just happy to get [isomething[/i] in the mail. They did not give up their right to the free expression of religion, and to receive religious information just because they put on a uniform. And it ill behooves this journalist to think that they should.