WASHINGTON, 24 October 2003 — According to the “Pyramid Principle,” subordinates make decisions based on examples from their superiors. So what, in this case, should one make of three-star Gen. William Boykin, who has publicly described the war on terrorism as a Christian war against Satan — and who officials at the Defense Department say they will not fire?
President Bush distanced himself from the army general yesterday. “This just doesn’t reflect what the government thinks,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
But Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s chief of staff told reporters at the Pentagon that Gen. Boykin has had a distinguished military career and will not be asked to step down.
Gen. Boykin, an evangelical Christian who serves as deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and special operations, gained nationwide attention when NBC News last week aired videotaped segments of speeches he made at Christian functions while in uniform.
His tendency to frame the fight against terrorism as a religious battle contrasts with attempts by Bush and senior aides to avoid such language out of concern that it could sound inflammatory in the Muslim world and play into efforts by Islamic extremists to portray themselves as engaged in a holy war.
Furious about Gen. Boykin’s remarks, the Interfaith Alliance asked Bush to reprimand the general. The Council on American-Islamic Relations demanded that Boykin be reassigned.
“Putting a man with such extremist views in a critical policymaking position sends entirely the wrong message to a Muslim world that is already skeptical about America’s motives and intentions,” said Nihad Awad, the council’s executive director.
Congressmen have also voiced dismay over the general’s remarks: Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee, R-Rhode Island, said his remarks were “deplorable.” Sen. John W. Warner, R-Virginia, said the Armed Services Committee, which he chairs — and which recommended Boykin be confirmed for the Pentagon post — would examine the matter.
“It is very important that the administration and the department take very seriously Gen. Boykin’s statements,” said Representative Jim Turner, a Texas Democrat who just returned from Iraq.
