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Although the George W. Bush administration has utilized religion to support its foreign policy agenda & advocacy of global democracy, it is stressed that previous administrations have utilized religious rhetoric & metaphors to advance the international spread of liberty. Three religious features of US religious rhetoric are identified: the US is a chosen nation; the US possesses a mission to transform the world; & the US represents the forces of good in the struggle against evil. The origins of US religious rhetoric in national politics & foreign policy are traced back to 17th century Protestant millennialism imported from Western Europe; even though Protestant millennialism is grounded upon an apocalyptic religious mentality, scrutiny of historical US foreign policy demonstrated that success in international relations & foreign policy was frequently predicated on an non-cataclysmic understanding of the US's position within the global order. It is subsequently asserted that the Bush administrations foreign policy agenda has embraced a millennialist mentality but that this perspective has failed to achieve democratization via apocalyptic confrontation throughout the Middle East. The consequences of the Bush administrations inability to recognize its foreign policy failures are also pondered. J. W. Parker

Describes the French Law of 22 Prairial that was adopted by the National Convention on 10 June 1794. Maximilien Robespierre, president of the National Convention & dominant figure of the Committee of Public Safety (CPS), encouraged French citizens to "purify the earth that (the tyrants) have soiled." The law of 22 prairial radically reformed the revolutionary tribunal by denying the accused right to legal counsel; allowing the prosecution to present "moral" proofs of guilt in the absence of (or in addition to) material evidence; & accelerating the judicial process. It is noted that the new law initiated the period known as the "Great Terror" in which 1,400 people were sentenced to death within the space of seven weeks. Possible motives for the CPS to turn the tribunal into a killing machine & to depart so radically from more enlightened norms of judicial processes are considered. Particular attention is given to the natural right theory upon which the legal process of the 22 prairial law is based. J. Lindroth

Issues dealing with the business, distribution, and production of government information in the United States.