The Blue Angels? The U.S. Air Force Academy is targeted by secularists.

Barry Lynn is the top guy at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and a cartoonish presence on talking head television, ever-ready to declare the imminent threat of theocracy in the land. It should come as no surprise to anyone, then, that the organization Lynn leads last week leveled a series of very serious charges against almost everyone at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The report, available here in PDF, is among the worst examples of McCarthyism since Joe McCarthy stood up on February 9, 1950, and declared that "I have here in my hand a list of 205 that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy of the State Department."

Lynn and his gang of wreckers are not rooting out Reds, of course, but something far more dangerous in their eyes: evangelical Christians, from the Commandant of Cadets General Johnny Weida to the head football coach Fisher DeBerry to Air Force "Chaplain of the Year" Major Warren Watties.

The "report" from Americans United's legal director and assistant legal director concludes with the breathless and bold-typed exclamation: "We have concluded that both the specific violations and the promotion of a culture of official religious intolerance are pervasive, systemic, and evident at the very highest levels of the Academy's command structure."

Unfortunately, the acting secretary of the Air Force quickly established a task force to investigate the report's allegations before considering whether the group issuing it was worthy of trust on such a matter, whether the specific charges can be considered to have risen to a level worthy of further investigation, and whether the appropriate response might not have been a demand of Americans United for their sources before launching such a high-profile, well, we can't quite call it a "witch hunt," can we?

Even a cursory review of AU's "report" reveals it is built on multiple levels of undocumented hearsay. Over and over again the phrase "we have been informed" introduces an allegation of misconduct, or "we have received a host of reports" leads to a serious charge. There are zero footnotes and zero affidavits attached to the report. Not even amazing charges such as the assertion that "General Weida has established a system of code words that he shares with evangelical Christian cadets in order to provide them with opportunities to proselytize others in the Cadet Wing" raised eyebrows with the acting secretary. When Barry Lynn's staff charges "egregious violations of the Establishment Clause," the Pentagon should know that this is like Peter crying wolf for the ten thousandth time.

Lynn's zealots could be expected to claim that their "sources" could not be revealed for fear of retribution, but offers of third party review by non-Air Force experts would have at least guaranteed career officers who have served this country for decades would have been spared this legitimization of purple charges already being carried like a virus into the mainstream media.

It is still not too late for Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to act to assure that the officers and cadets of the Air Force Academy are not subjected to an unnecessary inquisition prompted by a band of hard-left ideologues. There are times when the fever swamp deserves to be called just that, rather than credited with an authority or objectivity they have never earned and certainly don't deserve in a context that sees them sliming real public servants.

Put the task force on hold, and ask for the back-up. If there are credible assertions, determined as such by credible third parties skilled in Establishment and Free Exercise Clause doctrine, then quietly empanel an investigation. Asking "how high" when Barry Lynn says jump is a terrible decision.

From his blog :

This column had already been filed when a 2004 graduate of the Academy, who participated in a "Protestant chapel service during Basic Cadet Training" referred to in the document and in a general assembly of all cadets flatly contradicted one the most serious charges leveled at Commandant of Cadets General Johnny Weida --that he had developed a "system of code words" for communicated secretly with evangelical Christian cadets (p. 6 of the "report.") This pilot was certain that the authors had combined two events into one and used that convenient lumping to conjure up this absurd charge against the very popular and widely admired Weida. Other callers pointed out that there are 4,000 cadets at the Academy, and yesterday's Boston Globe's assertion that the Americans United investigators had "talked with about 15 cadets and staff" underscored just how thin this gruel is. Others could not believe that the report had attacked head football coach Fisher DeBerry (p. 8 of the "report") who is heading into his 23rd season at the Academy. Another caller drew my attention to the schedule of graduation services, which included baccalaureate services reflecting the religious diversity of the Academy.

An e-mailer provided me with the memo that followed the one week visit of the "Yale Divinty School team" in July, 2004, a team that consisted of Dr. Kristen Leslie and some graduate students. The Americans United "report" launches its attack on Major Warren Watties based upon this "team's" observations. I reproduce the memo below, and while this team's members may have brought the necessary background to provide the Academy "USAFA/HC chaplains rigorous assessment and advanced training in specialized pastoral care to victims of sexualized violence and practical methodologies for the prevention of sexual assault," the team's critique of the protestant chapel services and their "stridently Evangelical themes" seems like an intolerant and ideological slam at a theology and worship style the team did not embrace.

Rather than some serious debate over whether these charges from Yalies spending a week on campus and a collection of hearsay anecdotes from hyper-ideologues in Barry Lynn's shop should be considered "evidence" of anything, the Acting Secretary of the Air Force Michael Dominguez instead jumped as high as Lynn wanted, and announced a task force to investigate, headed by Lt. Gen. Roger Brady, with other members soon to be announced. Even if the report dismisses the charges as baseless --a very difficult political choice even if true given the claim of "whitewash" that would follow-- a message has already been sent to everyone at the Academy and indeed throughout all the services to watch how you pray or else Barry Lynn will issue a "report" that no matter how thinly sourced or blatantly political will trigger "task forces" and inquiries.

The Acting Secretary ought to have stood up for his team, or at least demanded the sources for the allegations before launching an investigation that presumes there is some level of merit to the charges. (My column, btw, incorrectly states the Americans United report has "zero footnotes." There are "footnotes," but none go to the issue of the sources of these allegations.)

If you are concerned that the accused receive a fair hearing, contact your congressman and senators via the Congressional switchboard at 202-225-3121 and ask them to relay to the Acting Secretary their concern that hard-left ideolouges not be allowed to damage either the Aademy or its leadership with a round of religious McCarthyism.

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