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October 17, 2003
Boykin Update
I'm going through the new article on Lt. Gen. Boykin that is being published in tomorrow's Washington Post. It's got a few additional quotes from some of his speeches that help show exactly why they've become controversial.
[...] 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.”It also tells us what his job is:
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.Given this, I feel even more strongly that he should resign or be removed. His views make him entirely unsuitable for any job where he would have a significant role in the War or Terror - and if he's going to be in charge of the search for important War on Terror targets, he's going to have some influence there.
As Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said:
“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."Requests have been made that he either be reassigned or reprimanded, but I believe the harsher step of resignation or removal is more appropriate, because as I noted earlier, not only do his views send the wrong message to the rest of the world, they also send the wrong message to our troops - and that's of critical importance, too.
Posted by thorswitch at October 17, 2003 02:39 AM
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Comments
No wonder they haven't caught them yet.
Posted by: Harald at October 17, 2003 06:12 AM
Boykin reminds me of John Bolton, just more "out front" about his beliefs.
More evidence of the Bushies stacking the deck with their kind only.
Posted by: Rayne at October 17, 2003 07:53 AM
This guy reminds me of Sterling Hayden's General Ripper in Dr. Strangelove, except more unhinged. Let's hope God didn't tell Boykin about a secret plan to preserve the integrity and vitality of our precious bodily fluids.
Posted by: Norbizness at October 17, 2003 10:05 AM
Oh come on, let's face it - it IS a religious war. You think when Bush said "Crusades" that was just an uninformed slip? I bet he meant it, and just didn't realize he wasn't supposed to say it out loud. And really, the only reason he can't is because of being "politcally correct"... which I'm sure you know, some conservatives see as an infringement on free speech. And what's the real difference between saying terrorists hate us for our freedom and way of life, and saying they hate us for our religion? Not everyone has the same way of life in the U.S., after all.
And I think that many feel it's completely okay to view this as a religious war.
But with things like the Halliburton thing going on, I think it's ridiculous to focus on a wacky general. I think people need to start paying more attention to the real issues, like following the money, rather than the issues of who believes what.
Posted by: Chloe at October 17, 2003 06:46 PM