"Smiting the infidels" . . . by Sidney Blumenthal . . .

Gen. Boykin, the Bible-thumping crank who said Bush "was appointed by God," was sent to Iraq to "Gitmo-ize" Abu Ghraib.

by Sidney Blumenthal
salon.com
May 20, 2004

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2004/05/20/boykin/index.html

Saving Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin seemed like a strange sideshow last October. After it was revealed that the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence had been regularly appearing at evangelical revivals, preaching that the United States was in a holy war as a "Christian nation" battling "Satan," the furor was quickly calmed. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld explained that Boykin was exercising his rights as a citizen: "We're a free people." President Bush declared that Boykin "doesn't reflect my point of view or the point of view of this administration." Bush's commission on public diplomacy had reported that in nine Muslim countries, just 12 percent of people believed that "Americans respect Arab/Islamic values." The Pentagon announced that its inspector general would investigate, though he has yet to report.

Boykin was not removed or transferred. At that moment, in fact, he was at the center of the secret operation to "Gitmo-ize" Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. He had flown to Guantánamo (known as "Gitmo") in Cuba, where he met with the commandant of Camp X-Ray, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, ordering him to extend his methods to the Iraq prison system, orders that had come from Rumsfeld. While Boykin weathered his public storm, he remained the operational officer overseeing Miller's new assignment.

(snip)

Boykin had already received his new commission. There could be little doubt that he envisioned the "Global War on Terrorism" (the official name stamped on medals given to soldiers for service in Iraq) as a crusade. With the Geneva Convention apparently suspended, international law was supplanted by biblical law. Boykin was in God's chain of command. President Bush, he told an Oregon congregation, is "a man who prays in the Oval Office." And the president, too, is on a divine mission. "George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the United States. He was appointed by God."

Boykin is not unique in his belief that Bush -- and we -- are God's anointed against evildoers. Before his 2000 campaign, Bush confided to a leader of the religious right: "I feel like God wants me to run for president. I can't explain it, but I sense my country is going to need me. Something is going to happen."

- more . . .

http://www.salon.com/opinion/blumenthal/2004/05/20/boykin/index.html

One wonders how much time Syd spends on obscure DBs fishing for compliments from a bunch of nobodies....

I'd wager none. I hope he continues his great work!

Julie

This God business getting into every thing has me up-tight. Reason goes out the window and we end up with some very odd 'faith' to run the country by. This country was not set up like that. Our founders came from the thinking of the Enlightenment.To think God gave some second rate man God like power to rule us is just about enough to make me blow my top.I thought we learned that in King George's day?

article. http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0420/perlstein.php

This is clearly an apostolic evangelical "christisn" "holy" racial war. These people will not let Bush lose. They have no problem "exporting violence" to every corner of the globe - why would they have a problem with rigged elections. If they believe so ffirmly that God wants them to succeed then why should some man-made secular rules keep them from their goals.

They need to destroy the enemy in Babylon (Iraq), make sure the Jews control Jerusalem (no Palestinian state) and finally rebuild David's Temple and then Jesus will come back in the rapture and us poor secularists will be left behind.

The ends justify the means no matter how bloody.

dumbfounded that this country would be stupid enough send a rabid fundamentalist Christian to oversee detention facilities in a Muslim country . . . since Muslims are, by his creed, infidels unworthy of salvation . . . "They will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus," he says . . . how do you think this resonates with Muslims, who are just as devout in their faith as he is in his (and who's to say who's right?) . . . and what kinds of parameters do you think he'll employ in the warehousing and interrogation of this "human waste?" . . . this truly is FUBAR -- Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition! . . . the more I think about it, the more surreal it all becomes . . . there is no doubt in my mind that these people are absolutely, positively, certifiably insane! . . . and that they really do want another world war to bring about the end times prophesies . . . God help us all! . . .

the ONE GOOD THING out of all the crap that's happened is that we know these self righteous fools are cowards....they know they're breaking laws and they cannot stop each other from barrelling ahead, while the country watches them with growing disgust......'they're hyperventilating in the oval office' as we speak....
"What a tangled web we weave, when we practice to deceive"

I think it is time we all got out of this movie.