Posted on 10/30/2003 3:01:25 AM PST by kattracks
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 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.
"Why do they hate us? Why do they hate us so much?" Boykin asked at the Good Shepherd Church of Sandy, Ore., in June 2003. "Ladies and gentlemen, the answer to that is because we're a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christian. Did I say Judeo-Christian? Yes, Judeo-Christian."
That same month, Boykin told congregants at the First Baptist Church of Broken Arrow, Okla., that President Bush was "a man that's in the White House today because of a miracle.
"You think about how he got in the White House. You think about why he's there today," Boykin said. "As Mordecai said to Esther, 'You have been put there for such a time as this.' And this man has been put in the White house to lead our nation in such a time as this."
In the biblical story of Esther, a young Hebrew girl became the wife of a pagan king and, as a result, was able to derail a scheme by one of the king's chief advisors to destroy her people. In Esther 4:14b, her uncle tells her: "[W]ho knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this."
Earlier, in January 2003, Boykin spoke to the congregation at the First Baptist Church in Daytona, Fla. The general shared his reaction to a Somali Muslim terrorist's publicized claim that the U.S. could "never get me because Allah will protect me."
"Well, you know what? I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol," Boykin said, adding that, when the man was captured by U.S. Special Forces only three days later, Boykin told him personally: "You underestimated our God."
Boykin also described the war on terror in spiritual terms, declaring that Osama bin Laden is not America's primary enemy in that battle.
"But who is that enemy? It's not Osama bin Laden," Boykin said. "Our enemy is a spiritual enemy because we are a nation of believers."
Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), ranking minority member of the House Judiciary Committee, accused Boykin of "religiously intolerant remarks against people of the Islamic faith.
"As members of Congress, we should all be embarrassed and disturbed by Gen. Boykin's controversial remarks, made in uniform, at repeated appearances over a period of more than a year," Conyers charged. "These remarks do untold damage to our efforts to reach out to the Iraqi people and the Muslim world in general in the battle against terrorism."
Ohio Democrat and presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich called Boykin's remarks "bigoted and offensive.
"The remarks came at an especially inopportune time, when many around the world already regard the United States' war on terrorism as a religious crusade against Islam," Kucinich charged. "Religious extremists will most certainly use these remarks as fodder for their recruitment."
Conyers and Kucinich led 15 of their colleagues in introducing House Resolution 419 Tuesday night, "Condemning religiously intolerant remarks and calling on the President to clearly censure and reassign Lieutenant General Boykin for his religiously intolerant remarks."
The resolution claims that Boykin's remarks "have impaired the image of the United States worldwide and threaten to endanger United States forces in Iraq and Afghanistan." The cosponsors demand that President Bush "reassign Lieutenant General Boykin to a new position in which his views will not impact [sic] United States Government policy decisions toward Muslims."
Tom McClusky, director of government affairs at the Family Research Council, believes the Democrats' reaction to Boykin's comments "will have a chilling effect.
"Because it's not just about the general, it's about Christians being stripped of the right to speak freely," McClusky said. "It's astounding to think that the general is facing so much criticism while radical Muslims are infiltrating our military and influencing our own troops, as we've seen in Guantanamo recently."
Dr. James Dobson, psychologist and founder of Focus on the Family, issued a press release last week declaring his "outrage" over the initial reaction to Boykin's statements.
"Since when does a man not have the right to express his private religious views in the company of fellow believers?" Dobson asked. "Does a man forfeit his freedom of speech when he becomes a military leader?"
Dobson noted that Boykin's remarks were made to audiences comprised exclusively of Christians, who he said "clearly understood the meaning" of Boykin's message.
"Every conservative Christian would understand the language that Gen. Boykin used to describe what is known as spiritual warfare," Dobson argued. "His words were consistent with mainstream evangelical beliefs, and he had a right to express them."
Dobson was particularly angry with those in the establishment media, who he believes keyed in on Boykin's remarks due to their "antagonism toward Christians in the public square.
"Gen. Boykin was speaking about terrorists with no regard for human life, not peaceful Muslims. Nothing in the excerpts of his speeches can even remotely be construed as an attack on Islam," Dobson surmised. "Yet, his critics are all too eager to draw inferences that don't exist.
"These diatribes against Gen. Boykin are consistent with the denigration of anyone in public life who has the temerity to speak openly about his faith," Dobson concluded. "This is nothing more than an assault on the Christian faith, which is becoming a very common occurrence in the mainstream media."
See Earlier Story:
Pentagon General, Under Fire, Agrees to Curtail Rhetoric About Islam (Oct. 17, 2003)
Listen to audio for this story.
E-mail a news tip to Jeff Johnson.
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Oh, but if he came out and announced he was a "butt pirate" he would be praised for his courage and bravery.
pathetic...
R O F L M A O
We certainly wouldn't want to call a spade a spade, would we? We might get the Islamikazi's mad at us. Then, who knows what they'll do? Why, they might even try to blow up New York City and Washington if we insult them!
Screw Conyers and the rest of these Islamic sympathizers! They are all cut from the same satanic mold - none of it good.
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