In past columns, I have written about President Bush and his rather bizarre relationship with God. Reports of Bush claiming to receive his instructions directly from the Almighty are distressingly easy to find.

In one example, Bush reportedly said, "God told me to strike at al-Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did." Most recently, while addressing an Amish audience this July, Bush asserted, "I trust God speaks through me."

The mental illness from which Bush apparently suffers may help explain his unwarranted arrogance and certainty in his decisions. Questioning the correctness of your actions is unnecessary if God speaks through you. God can't be wrong. By logical extension, those who are critical of your decisions must be evil or treasonous.

In recognition of Bush's confidence that he's God's mouthpiece and Earthly representative, it appears our president isn't simply dishonest, inarticulate and unintelligent - he's also deranged, batty and - quite possibly - freakin' nuts.

Capitol Hill Blue, a Web site covering beltway news, published a disturbing column on June 4, "Bush's Erratic Behavior Worries White House Aides." The story alleged that "aides privately express growing concern over their leader's state of mind. . . the President goes from quoting the Bible in one breath to obscene tantrums against the media." According to the column, Bush also, "declares his decisions to be 'God's will.'" Regrettably, based on Bush's past statements, this report seems quite plausible.

My views on religion are no secret. I consider organized religion - particularly the Abrahamic varieties - to be dangerous, combative and intrinsically authoritarian with natural tendencies toward fundamentalism. However, the Bush problem isn't an atheism issue. In the case of Bush and his certainty, he's become a divine radio tuned to "Radio God: the station that puts God in your head." Everyone should be distressed by his lunacy.

Bush commands the world's sole superpower. That's not an ideal position of responsibility for a religious zealot with delusions of grandeur.

The voices in Bush's head seem to prevent him making rational judgments and assessments. For example, he habitually insists the Iraq war has made the world safer, when the reverse is clearly true. Bush's actions have put us in far greater danger, and the reasons why are obvious.

Hatred is a key ingredient is sustainable terrorism. In the case of Muslim extremists, the hatred is rooted in the perception that American infidels are occupying the holy lands, and represent a threat to their culture and religion. The war in Iraq intensified this belief and confirmed to many moderate Muslims what extremists have been saying all along.

Bush's policies have generated more hatred and more terrorists.

In 2002, the Pew Research Center found that "favorable opinions of the U.S. had plummeted." Perhaps most disturbing was the predictable reaction in the Muslim world: "The opinion many Muslims have of the United States has gone beyond mere loathing."

Pew recently reported that "A year after the war in Iraq, discontent with America and its policies has intensified rather than diminished."

One positive finding was that "solid majorities in most countries blamed the president, not America."?This confirms my own sense of attitudes during my last trip overseas. The Europeans I spoke with recognized Bush didn't win the 2000 election - thus, they don't blame Americans for his policies.?

That's why, among myriad other reasons, it's vitally important we elect John Kerry this fall. Worldwide anti-American attitudes will significantly worsen if Bush is elected this time.

The Iraq war is a mistake with long lasting repercussions, and represents an enormous setback in the struggle against terrorism.

A recent MotherJones magazine cover story by Peter Bergen drives that point home. In "The Wrong War: How the war in Iraq has fueled Al Qaeda and ignited its dream of global jihad," Bergen quotes a "former senior counter-terrorism official at the FBI" who says, "The Iraq war is a public relations bonanza for Al Qaeda."

In a leaked memo, even Donald Rumsfeld recognized that our actions might be creating terrorists faster than they can be killed. Rumsfeld writes, "We lack metrics to know if we are winning or losing the global war on terror. Are we capturing, killing or deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrassas and the radical clerics are recruiting?"

With reference to the mounting worldwide disdain for America, and relating to Rumsfeld's concerns, Bergen notes, "the war against bin Laden is in large part a war of ideas - and on that front, the war in Iraq has damaged the United States' cause and broadened the pool of Al Qaeda recruits."

Bergen argues, "The administration's focus on the war in Iraq has not only caused it to shortchange the hunt for Al Qaeda in Afghanistan - it has also undermined the war on terrorism around the world."

Richard Clarke, the former White House terrorism adviser, similarly assessed Bush's actions and remarked, "I think he's done a terrible job on the war against terrorism."

The conclusion of the MotherJones article is grim and disquieting: "What we have done in Iraq is what bin Laden could not have hoped for in his wildest dreams." We have "provoked a 'defensive' jihad that has galvanized jihad-minded Muslims around the world. It's hard to imagine a set of policies better designed to sabotage the war on terrorism."

Blind to reality, Bush continues to recite his mantra, "We are safer." Bush has the temerity to make this claim despite all the evidence to the contrary, including a report from his own State Department that ominously documented a "sharp increase" in worldwide terrorism, and warnings from his own homeland security chief that terrorists might attempt to disrupt our elections.

I'm sick of watching our clearly delusional leader ravage the reputation, security, environment and economic future of the country I love. Happily, many Republicans who voted for Bush in 2000 claim they are sick of it, too.

Bush is dangerous in every respect of the word - he needs to go before his administration causes more danger to all of us.

John Bice is a faculty member for the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development. He can be reached at bice@msu.edu.