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President Obama's pick to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations is facing under-the-radar opposition that could flare during Wednesday's confirmation hearing. While hawkish senators like Republican John McCain have come out in support of Samantha Power, more than four-dozen former military leaders,national security officials and conservative political groups are now asking senators to reject Power’s nomination. … Power,a former White House adviser and longtime Obama friend, once likened U.S. foreign policies to those of the Nazis. … Retired Lt. Gen. William G. 'Jerry' Boykin,who is behind a movement to block Power's confirmation,agrees. “We should be proud to...

The U.S. Military Academy pressured a retired U.S. lieutenant general to withdraw from speaking at a West Point prayer breakfast after Muslims and atheists complained, Fox News & Commentary has learned. Retired Lt. Gen. William Boykin was scheduled to deliver a speech at West Point on Feb. 8. But late Monday, the military academy released a statement saying he had decided to withdraw from speaking and would be replaced with another speaker. However, a source close to the controversy told Fox News & Commentary that Boykin was pressured to withdraw. “It was very clear they wanted General Boykin to withdraw,”...

WASHINGTON -- A Senate Republican wants an Army general who drew criticism for church speeches casting the war on terrorism in religious terms to lead the U.S. special operations command. In a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Sen. George Allen, R-Va., recommended Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin, now the Pentagon's deputy undersecretary for intelligence, for the post at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. The current commander, Army Gen. Bryan "Doug" Brown, is retiring. In 2003, Boykin gave speeches at evangelical Christian churches in which he painted the war on terror as a Christian fight against Satan and...

WASHINGTON, March 3 - The Pentagon general who likened the war against Islamic militants to a battle against Satan violated several Pentagon rules in delivering a series of speeches at religious-oriented events, according to an inspector general's report made available on Thursday. The report, issued last August but not previously released, recommended that the officer, Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin of the Army, be subjected to "appropriate corrective action." The Army said in October that it had taken action against General Boykin, but it declined to provide details or to say what rules he had violated. General Boykin, the deputy...

Lieutenant General James Mattis recently made comments at a forum in San Diego that are now pervading the news; he said, "It's fun to shoot some people... You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." So of course, liberals have now become frantic in their revolted outrage. As the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Nihad Awad, said, "We do not need...

On September 2, eleven members of Congress, led by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), submitted an official 'Dear Colleague' letter to President Bush calling on the dismissal and firing of Lt. Gen. William Boykin as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence for his anti-Muslim remarks made while in official military uniform...The other honorable signatories included Rep. James McDermott (D-WA), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rep. Martin Meehan (D-MA), Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Rep. Fortney Pete Stark (D-CA)..."

A colleague had a chance to hear the new Chief of Staff of the Army (GEN Schoomaker, Shinseki's replacement) speak (I'm not sure of the forum). He summarized the talk into a memo, which was distributed to the chain. Sorry about some of the jargon. I don't know it all myself. I can't vouch for the accuracy of the review, other than to say the source is credible. So inaccuracies, if any, are mistranscriptions, and not fabrications. Here is what it said: Subject: New CSA's Comments Some of the highlights of what the CSA said: 1. He had no idea...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army has taken action against Lt. Gen. William Boykin, who embarrassed the Bush administration by giving speeches in which he described the war on terrorism as a Christian battle against Satan. Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody declined to give any details of the action taken in response to Boykin's remarks, which violated Pentagon (news - web sites) rules, but said it was not "significant." "I took the appropriate action based on the recommendations of the Inspector General," Cody told Reuters while attending the annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army....

Gen. says he didn't mean to malign Islam WASHINGTON -- The three-star U.S. general who made church speeches casting the war on terrorism in religious terms said Wednesday he did not mean to denigrate Islam. "I'm not anti-Islam, I'm not anti-Allah," Lt. Gen. William Boykin said in an interview broadcast on CBS' "60 Minutes." Boykin, a senior intelligence official, stirred controversy with speeches he made at evangelical Christian churches. He said that America's enemy was Satan, that God had put President Bush in the White House and that one Muslim Somali warlord was an idol-worshipper. A Pentagon investigation concluded last...

On September 2, eleven members of Congress, led by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), submitted an official 'Dear Colleague' letter to President Bush calling on the dismissal and firing of Lt. Gen. William Boykin as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence for his anti-Muslim remarks made while in official military uniform. The letter reads, in part: "One such step…is for you to dismiss Lt. Gen. William Boykin as the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. We were appalled when we learned of the comments General Boykin had made invoking religion in an inflammatory and inappropriate way while in uniform. Many of...

WASHINGTON - A group of congressional Democrats is asking President Bush (news - web sites) to dismiss a senior military intelligence officer who made church speeches that included inflammatory religious remarks while discussing the war on terrorism. In a letter to Bush released Thursday, Rep. Barney Frank (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., and 10 others said action in the matter of Lt. Gen. William Boykin is long overdue, and he must be removed from his post as deputy undersecretary for defense. A Pentagon (news - web sites) investigation concluded that Boykin violated regulations by failing to make clear he was...

WASHINGTON (BP)--Army Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin, who came under fire last year for comments he made about his faith to church groups, has been cleared of the most serious accusations against him, The Washington Times reported. An investigation, the newspaper reported Aug. 19, found that Boykin, an evangelical Christian, did not misuse his Army uniform, violate travel regulations nor use improper speech. The investigation did, however, find that Boykin -- a top Pentagon intelligence officer -- should have received clearance before delivering the speeches, should have told the groups that the comments were his own and should have filed...

The Pentagon's chief intelligence official violated military procedures while giving controversial religious speeches, an internal investigation has reportedly found. News organizations reported Aug. 19 that the Pentagon inspector general's office had given lawmakers a long-anticipated report on Army Lt. Gen. William Boykin. Boykin angered Muslim-Americans and many supporters of church-state separation in October, after news reports revealed comments he had made in a series of speeches to Christian groups. Among the most controversial of Boykin's statements were comments casting the war on terrorism in spiritual terms, referring to the United States as "a Christian nation," saying Muslims worshiped an "idol"...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Army general violated Pentagon rules by failing to properly clear speeches in which he described the war on terror as a Christian battle against Satan and should be punished, according to an inspector general's report obtained by Reuters on Wednesday. The Department of Defense's watchdog agency said Lt. Gen. William Boykin, a top-ranking intelligence officer, used official data in some of the 23 religious-oriented speeches he gave after January 2002 which should have been cleared. Boykin touched off a firestorm last October after giving speeches while in uniform in which he referred to the war...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Army general violated Pentagon rules by failing to properly clear speeches in which he described the war on terror as a Christian battle against Satan and should be punished, according to an inspector general's report obtained by Reuters on Wednesday. The Department of Defense's watchdog agency said Lt. Gen. William Boykin, a top-ranking intelligence officer, used official data in some of the 23 religious-oriented speeches he gave after January 2002 which should have been cleared. Boykin touched off a firestorm last October after giving speeches while in uniform in which he referred to the war...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army general under investigation for anti-Islamic remarks has been linked by U.S. officials to the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal, which experts warned could touch off new outrage overseas. A Senate hearing into the abuse of Iraqi prisoners was told on Tuesday that Lt. Gen. William Boykin, an evangelical Christian under review for saying his God was superior to that of the Muslims, briefed a top Pentagon (news - web sites) civilian official last summer on recommendations on ways military interrogators could gain more intelligence from Iraqi prisoners. Critics have suggested those recommendations amounted to a...

People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf--Attributed to George Orwell             Orwell surely had men like Lieutenant General William “Jerry” Boykin in mind when he spoke those words.  Though the recent controversy surrounding Lt. Gen. Boykin’s faith-inspired remarks has died down, those who will decide Boykin’s fate should keep Orwell’s words in mind.  Although Boykin’s comments were insensitive (isn’t “rough” an antonym for “sensitive”?), they should not be cause for relief or dismissal.  Instead of calls for his firing, this general deserves respect for his continuing service...

<p>WASHINGTON — An Army division commanded by Wesley Clark supplied some of the military equipment for the government's 51-day standoff with a religious sect in Waco, Texas, and Clark's deputy, now the Army Chief of Staff, took part in a crucial Justice Department meeting five days before the siege ended in disaster, according to military records.</p>

Retired Army lieutenant colonel, popular author of “Private Sector” and news commentator Brian Haig tells NewsMax that the pillorying and investigation of beleaguered Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin is “a waste of time” as well as a tragic fate for one of the country’s greatest living warriors. Several Islamic and other groups criticized Boykin, the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence, last month when reports surfaced of comments he made during speeches at evangelical Christian churches. Among other things, Boykin said the enemy in the war on terrorism was Satan and that God had put President Bush in the White...

Apology to Muslims and censure of Boykin: Resolution H. Res. 419, introduced by Rep. John Conyers Please write your congressional representative about Resolution H. Res. 419, introduced by Representative John Conyers (D-MI). Click here for the Congress.org link. The language concerning “religiously intolerant remarks” amounts to censorship of Christian, as well as other beliefs. The resolution is a knee-jerk reaction to Lieutenant General William “Jerry” Boykin’s exercise of Free Speech and Freedom of Religion in his own church. Proposing such a bill is the worst kid of appeasement to a group that is aggressively intolerant to non-Muslims around the...