Donald Rumsfeld's GQ moment

Last week, GQ magazine ran a story on Donald Rumsfeld's use of Christian scripture in official Department of Defense communiques. The author of the story, Robert Drapor, takes issue with Rumsfeld's actions. As Drapor put it, "one government official was disturbed enough by these biblically seasoned sheets to hold on to copies, which I obtained recently while debriefing the past eight years with those who lived them inside the West Wing and the Pentagon." In addition to reporting the story, GQ provided access to a small collection of the documents.

While the story is interesting, the context of it's presentation and the deep content they provided are particularly interesting to me. GQ, a publication known mostly for male fashion and provocative cover girl shots, is not your typical source for digital historical content. But, here it is, online, freely accessible and quite important with regard to understanding the execution of the Iraq War and the mind of Rumsfeld.

What this presentation illustrates is the diversity of outlets for historical information and the importance of cultural media for communicating historical interpretations and information.

The documents