Free Republic

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - A small group of liberal House Democrats announced a resolution Wednesday condemning remarks by a U.S. Army general that they believe were "religiously intolerant." The group is demanding that President Bush censure the frequently decorated special operations veteran and reassign him from his current position as deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and war fighting support at the Pentagon. U.S. Army Lt. Gen William Boykin can be seen in a number of videotaped speeches given in Christian churches across the U.S. expressing his personal opinions about the war on terrorism and the Islamist extremists behind the...

President Bush said Tuesday that controversial remarks by Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin about Muslims and Islam do not "reflect my point of view, or the view of this administration" — sharp language from an administration that tends to circle the wagons when a member is under attack. Bush's move to distance himself from the outspoken general was the strongest administration response to date to disclosures of Boykin's frequent appearances before religious groups at which he characterized the war on terrorism as a battle between Judeo-Christian tradition and "Satan." His remarks have put the president in a difficult spot.

<p>President Bush yesterday reiterated his position that the comments of Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, who has spoken at Christian gatherings about a religious dimension to the war on terrorism, do not represent the views of the administration.</p> <p>Citing the review of the highly decorated three-star general by the inspector general of the Defense Department, Mr. Bush said Gen. Boykin "doesn't reflect my point of view or the point of view of this administration."</p>

<p>Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee "agree to disagree" over whether Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin should resign temporarily while his actions are under review, says an official close to Mr. Rumsfeld.</p>

Could the Boykin problem really have been a surprise? The remarks that landed Lieut. General William "Jerry" Boykin in so much trouble last week —his attaching a Christian mission to the war on terrorism—were part of a message he has been delivering in his dress uniform for more than a year. And one signal that these views could trip him up as the man charged with pursuing Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein came only six months ago. As Pentagon leaders were busy directing U.S. tanks into downtown Baghdad last April, Boykin planned to play host to a gathering of...

Their Finest Hour Lieutenant General “Jerry” Boykin has been battered with unprecedented criticism for his description of the War on Terror as a battle between Christianity and Satan. Most notably (and most hypocritically, for a group that promotes a fundamentalist religious agenda) CAIR is demanding his dismissal and/or reassignment, so that he can’t bring this conviction to bear against their terrorist masters.Reader Daniel A. sent me a very interesting email, pointing out that in World War II, military and political leaders frequently used strongly religious imagery and references when speaking about the conflict, and no one thought twice.For example,...

Is this how the Bush White House hopes to win hearts and minds in the Islamic world? By supporting a small-minded general with a schoolboy's view that his God can beat up their God? The Bush administration's hatchet men (and women) have been quick to browbeat critics of the reckless invasion of Iraq -- questioning their patriotism and even accusing them of treason. But there has been no reprimand of Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin, a high-ranking Pentagon official who has ridiculed Islam as "Satan" and dismissed Muslims as idol worshippers. Instead, defense chief Donald Rumsfeld is conducting a low-profile...

LIEUTENANT GENERAL William Boykin, deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and a highly decorated officer, has intimated that the United States is a Christian country and that he is, himself, a Christian. Journalists across the nation are shocked and horrified. Apparently the general has been traveling around the country speaking in churches, and has gone so far as to suggest that all religions are not equivalent and that, while he relies on his own God, the one bloody-minded terrorists praise and celebrate must be a different and a false one. Naturally he has apologized (to "those who have been offended...

Lt. Gen. William Boykin, the officer leading the hunt for Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, told evangelical Christian audiences last week that God was on the side of America's war on terrorism and said that Muslims worship an "idol." And that the Muslims' God is not a real God. I know, being a Muslim myself, that I don't worship an idol, and my God is the same God who created us all. And I don't think that God all of the sudden has taken sides in killing and slaughter done in his name. Only people with serious delusions and...

<p>Sooner or later, we're going to have to get serious about the war against terrorists.</p> <p>That means, as painful as it may be for this president or whoever follows after, to take an unflinching look at the enemy, and recognize him for who he is. We should show our own troops the respect we pay to those, such as our Saudi "allies," who only pretend to be our friends.</p>

The Witless Battle Over General Boykin By David Kelley TOC Executive Director dskelley@objectivistcenter.org The crackle of small-arms fire you hear about General William Boykin is the sound of the latest skirmish in America’s culture wars. Boykin is the Pentagon’s head of intelligence in the war on terrorism. He is also an evangelical Christian who has told church groups that Muslim terrorists hate the United States because it is a “Christian nation,” that our real enemy is not Osama bin Laden but Satan, and that we will prevail only if “we come against them in the name of Jesus.” It gets...

CORRECTION ON BOYKIN [NR Editors] National Review, in the issue out today, runs an editorial paragraph that it did not mean to run. We had a debate among the editors--as we debate many things--about Gen. William Boykin, who recently made some highly provocative remarks about the war on terror. Some editors felt that he should be fired forthwith; others demurred. A draft editorial paragraph was prepared, stating the position that Boykin should be fired; at just about the last minute, we decided to withhold judgment--to see how the investigation into the general’s behavior proceeded, and to reach a conclusion then....

Everywhere we turned this week, religion was on the front burner. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was chastised by President Bush for saying that Jews run the world. The Supreme Court is preparing to decide whether the words "under God" should be excised from the Pledge of Allegiance. And a general in the Army, William Boykin, was pilloried for his comments to religious groups in Oregon and elsewhere that militant Islam has it in for the U.S. because America is a "Christian nation." When it comes to drawing outrage, Christians take the cake from Jews, Muslims and atheists nearly every...

An Army general is under attack from the media. His offense: saying God deals in the affairs of man. Lt. General William G. Boykin, a decorated U.S. Army officer, is in trouble for remarks he made about Islam and Christianity. The media have stirred up a firestorm of criticism against Boykin, a strong evangelical Christian, who is quoted discussing a 1993 battle with a Muslim militia leader saying, "I knew my God was bigger than his." American Values President Gary Bauer called the media attack nothing less than religious persecution. "He talked about the War on Terrorism in terms of...

This week Democratic senator and presidential wannabe Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut told a captive audience of Associated Press writers and editors in Washington that Army Lt. Gen. William Boykin, deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, should be reprimanded for his so-called criticism of Muslims. Lieberman is the latest political figure to pile on Boykin following a report last week by the Los Angeles Times that the general had the audacity to say the current battle with Islamic fanatics is a battle between Christianity and "a guy named Satan." There was little new in Lieberman's attack. He was using a tired,...

Osama and Saddam pose real threats, but the Bush administration may be too incompetent -- and too arrogant -- to stop them. Editor's note: National security expert William M. Arkin delivered this speech on Sept. 25 to the U.S. Naval War College. Oct. 11, 2002 | Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said last week that those who know about the war plan for Iraq aren't talking, and those who are talking don't know. So I'm grateful to be invited here to deliver this first lecture at the Naval War College tonight. I guess the Secretary was busy. Rumsfeld has more...

The Daily Imus Democratic Presidential Candidate and Senator Joseph Lieberman will join Imus at 7:29am ET. This will be a must-see interview. Senator Lieberman is in the headlines for comments he made about a top Army general. Senator Lieberman said Lt. General William Boykin should be reprimanded for criticizing Muslims. Gen. Boykin, the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence characterized the war on terror as a battle between Christianity and “a guy named Satan.” Besides calling for a reprimand of the general, Senator Lieberman also said President Bush was slow to respond to Boykin’s comments. Hear the Senator’s own...

Just what did Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin say that he should be apologizing for? Just what did the former commander of the Delta Force say that he should be investigated for? Just what did the military leader of the mission to find Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden say to warrant so many calls for his ouster from that position? I'll tell you what he did: He gave speeches representing a mainstream, evangelical worldview. And that is his "rime." I see the attacks on Boykin as another manifestation of anti-Christian persecution and bigotry rampant through the elite cultural...

Is President Bush Really "One Of Us?" By Chuck Baldwin Food For Thought From The Chuck Wagon October 24, 2003 As Jimmy Carter had done before him, G.W. Bush won the White House, in part, due to his Christian profession. Christians nationwide regard President Bush as "one of us." They believe that he shares their Christian principles and values. Why, then, does President Bush use the power of his office to publicly condemn those Christians who courageously champion Christian principles? Time and again, President Bush has publicly repudiated the statements or actions of principled Christians as they attempted to stand...

In an emerging scandal, NBC News has produced tapes proving beyond deniability that the new deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence is ... a Christian. Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin has been captured on a series of grainy tapes, attesting to his faith at churches and prayer breakfasts. Having driven the Judeo-Christian value system out of the public square, the classrooms and the Alabama Supreme Court, liberals now want to drive it out of church. In one "inflammatory" remark, Boykin said that the enemy was not Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein, but "is a spiritual enemy. He's...