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| Report on general gratifies Muslims |
| 2004-08-21 |
| American Muslim groups on Thursday welcomed initial results of an internal Defense Department probe that concluded that Army Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin violated Pentagon rules when he spoke before Christian groups and cast the war on terror as a battle between Judeo-Christian values and Muslim warriors influenced by "a guy named Satan." A draft report expected to be released as soon as next week by acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee has concluded that Boykin, who as deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence is in charge of the hunt for al- Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, violated three regulations, according to senior defense officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. They said Boykin failed to clear his speeches with the Pentagon, did not give audiences a required disclaimer saying he was not speaking for the military and failed to report a travel reimbursement from a religious group. Dressed in his Army uniform, Boykin told an Oregon religious group in June 2003 that radical Islamists hate the United States "because we're a Christian nation ... and the enemy is a guy named Satan." He told an audience in Florida in January 2003 that a Muslim Somali warlord was captured because "I knew my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol." The United States' "spiritual enemy," Boykin told the Oregon group, "will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus." Boykin's comments, made to 23 mostly conservative Christian religious groups after January 2002, drew the ire of Muslim groups, who considered them inflammatory and anti-Islam. Some of those same groups on Thursday praised the findings by the Pentagon inspector general's office, as described in news reports. "We welcome the Pentagon's report and urge that any disciplinary action be commensurate with its findings," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). "General Boykin is free to hold whatever views he wishes, no matter how stereotypical or inaccurate. But he should not use his position of respect in our nation's military to promote those views." Pentagon officials considered the violations minor, a senior Defense official said on condition of anonymity, and noted that he did not violate any regulations by wearing his uniform at the events. The general wrote an apology in October to those his remarks might have offended. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to comment on the specific findings until the report is released. Another Pentagon spokesman said Boykin would not comment on the findings. Boykin faces punishment that is unlikely to exceed a written reprimand, a second senior defense official said. The report also is expected to say Boykin should be credited with having repeatedly sought advice on the speeches from Pentagon lawyers. |
| Posted by:TS(vice girl) |
| #4 thanks ex-lib! And it's even more interesting that the LLL hates the Christians--mostly because of the charlatans masquerading as such, but sometimes because the real ones call them to accountability so true! They also hate all Christians because Christians are all so intolerant and bigoted. :-) |
| Posted by: B 2004-08-21 6:12:38 PM |
| #3 Your posts yesterday and today totally rock, B! At least someone has the guts to state the obvious. The fact of the stability/values of our country CAN and SHOULD be traced to the origins and roots of said stability/values. In the post-modern/post-Christian age, it's incredibly important to have some understanding of this--so that we don't go off trying to reinvent the philiosophical/societal/spiritual "wheel." Additionally, I find it quite interesting that the people who personally hold to the last vestiges of the values based on the (true) Christian faith (as opposed to religiosity, which actually gave rise to the current LLL), don't have a clue as to where the "trickle down" came from in the first place. And it's even more interesting that the LLL hates the Christians--mostly because of the charlatans masquerading as such, but sometimes because the real ones call them to accountability. They don't like that at all. If one looks at the tenets and structures--comparing Islam and Christianity--well, it's no contest. Thanks again.. |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2004-08-21 5:35:57 PM |
| #2 well..as I ranted yesterday, I think it's time western people stopped being so terrified of being accused of proselytizing anytime they point out this obvious fact: The moral aspect of Western Civilization is based on Judeo/Christian values. It's not the other way around. It's the values of faith, hope, charity, forgiveness that were drilled into us as children that makes up the underpinnings of this country great. These are not values that are genetically passed down like the ability to suck on a bottle. They are learned traits. I've worked with Muslim children and they don't grasp these ideas unless they are of Christian heritage. Are they any different than us physically? No. Am I saying they are incapable of learning these values? No. I'm just saying they are taught to value completely different things. We learned to value these traits because our parents dragged us to Sunday school or otherwise taught us to vaule them. You don't have to be a holy roller to grasp this concept. Nor should we be afraid to admit it. |
| Posted by: B 2004-08-21 12:11:59 PM |
| #1 Well, uh, it does seem to be that way - but the Muslims more frequently cast it in that light than we do. They think we're a Christian nation, influenced by the Zionist(TM) Jooos, and that we're the Great Satan. They're free to say that . . . I'm of a mixed mind as to whether we should have the same viewpoint, though. There's a religious undertone to this, from both our history (as a nation founded on Judeo-Christian principles) and the language of our enemies, and said Judeo-Christian background gives us a good moral basis, but the fight's bigger than that . . . it's Western civilization versus an aggressive seventh century religion suffering from multiple complexes, with a Ack, I'm going off on all sorts of random ramblings today. Time to kick myself and get some morning tea, I think . . . |
| Posted by: The Doctor 2004-08-21 11:40:15 AM |