General Rebuked For Talk Of God
Speeches Tied War, Religion
By Bradley Graham
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 17, 2003; Page A24
Remarks by a three-star U.S. Army general casting the war on terrorism in religious terms drew rebukes yesterday from politicians and military specialists and calls from religious groups for the officer to be reassigned or reprimanded.
But the Pentagon's top military commander defended the officer, Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin, saying he did not think any military rules had been broken.
The controversy followed reports Wednesday on "NBC Nightly News" and yesterday in the Los Angeles Times citing Boykin, who is an evangelical Christian, speaking in uniform to church audiences over the past two years. He spoke of Islamic extremists hating the United States because "we're a Christian nation" and added that our "spiritual enemy will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus." He said that President Bush "is in the White House because God put him there," and that "we in the army of God . . . have been raised for such a time as this."
Discussing a U.S. Army battle against a Muslim warlord in Somalia in 1993, Boykin told one audience: "I knew my god was bigger than his. I knew that my god was a real god and his was an idol."
A much-decorated veteran of covert military operations, Boykin took over in June as deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, heading a new Pentagon office focused on hunting al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and other high-profile targets.
His tendency to frame the fight against terrorism as a religious battle contrasts with attempts by Bush and senior aides to avoid such language out of concern that it could sound inflammatory in the Muslim world and play into efforts by Islamic extremists to portray themselves as engaged in a holy war.
"The lesson here is not whether someone has a constitutional right to say what he wants," said Peter Feaver, an associate professor at Duke University specializing in civil-military affairs. "The lesson is how things spoken in one context will be interpreted differently in another."
Outraged by Boykin's remarks, the Interfaith Alliance appealed to Bush to reprimand the general. An Islamic rights group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, demanded that Boykin be reassigned.
"Putting a man with such extremist views in a critical policymaking position sends entirely the wrong message to a Muslim world that is already skeptical about America's motives and intentions," said Nihad Awad, the council's executive director.
Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R-R.I.) called the reported remarks "deplorable," and Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.) said the Armed Services Committee, which he chairs -- and which recommended Boykin be confirmed for the Pentagon post -- would examine the matter.
But at a Pentagon news conference, Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that "at first blush" he did not think Boykin's remarks had violated any military rules.
"There is a very wide gray area on what the rules permit," Myers said, noting that he also had spoken at a prayer meeting in uniform.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, appearing with Myers, offered no opinion on Boykin's comments but praised the general as "an officer that has an outstanding record in the United States armed forces."
Even with such backing, however, Boykin indicated that he had learned a lesson, telling NBC News that he will be curtailing his speechmaking. Said Feaver, "This is the kind of thing that's corrected within minutes of being made aware of."
© 2003 The Washington Post Company |
