US military finds itself under harsh spotlight

The words of US Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin continue to create problems for the White House. Mr. Boykin, an evangelical Christian, in a speech to a church group last year, attacked Islam, said the US was engaged in a holy war, and made several statements about the role of God in US politics that are directly at odds with positions taken by the Bush administration. (According to The Nation, this is not the first time that Mr. Boykin has been involved in these sort of incidents, but it wasn't until last Friday's story in the LA Times, and on NBC, that they have been focused on by the wider media.)

Sunday the Bush administration distanced itself from Boykin's remarks, but did not publicly reprimand him. Religious conservatives were quick, however, to defend Boykin's remarks. ABCNews reports that Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., drafted a letter Monday asking Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld not to discipline Boykin, saying that elected officials and military leaders have talked about God and spiritual matters throughout US history.

On Tuesday at the APEC summit in Thailand, President Bush took aside Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad to tell him how much he disagreed with Mahathir's remarks last weeks about Jews "running the world by proxy." But an editorial in the Washington Post argues that perhaps Mr. Bush should have shown the same indignation at Boykin's remarks.

But from the Bush administration, there has not been a syllable of criticism. Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday that it didn't seem Gen. Boykin had violated any rules. "We're a free people," said Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. On ABC's "This Week" Sunday, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice ducked the question – twice. The president ought to be forthright about comments that are wrong and divisive – whether they're uttered by a foreign leader or by one of his own generals.

more