BOYKIN'S BLUNDER

progressreport.org
3/4/2005

BOYKIN'S BLUNDER

Remember Gen. William Boykin, the James Dobson of the U.S. Army? In late 2003, Gen. Boykin made headlines when tapes showed him describing the war on terrorism as a battle between a "Christian nation" -- the United States -- and Satan. During one talk, he recalled a Muslim fighter in Somalia, saying, "I knew that my God was
a real God, and his was an idol." At the time, Defense Secretary
Rumsfeld defended the remarks, saying Boykin was just exercising his rights
to free speech and " that's the wonderful thing about our country
(http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/10/16/rumsfeld.boykin.ap/) ." According to
the New York Times, however, the Army's inspector general felt
differently. A report completed in August 2004 found Boykin had " violated
several Pentagon rules in delivering" the speeches, and recommended the
officer be subjected to "appropriate corrective action.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/04/politics/04boykin.html?pagewanted=print&position=)
" An Army representative told the Times "that it had taken action
against General Boykin, but it declined to provide details or to say what
rules he had violated."