William G. Boykin

Boykin, a born-again Christian with right-wing political views, has gained attention for his use of religious imagery to comment on political and social issues over the years; some of his public remarks, which cast the War on Terror in religious terms, generated considerable controversy.[12]

In an October 2003 speech to a community church in Oregon, Boykin was recorded stating that Islamic extremists hate the United States "because we're a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christians. ... And the enemy is a guy named Satan."[12][13] William Arkin, military analyst for NBC News,[14] was the source of the video and audiotapes of Boykin. The following day the Los Angeles Times ran a piece on Boykin. Among several quotes, the article revealed Boykin giving a speech about hunting down Osman Atto in Mogadishu: "He went on CNN and he laughed at us, and he said, 'They'll never get me because Allah will protect me. Allah will protect me.' Well, you know what? I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."[15] Boykin later clarified this statement, saying that he was implying that Atto's true "god" was money.[16]

Boykin's remarks were denounced—Arab and Muslim organizations within the US were highly critical of the comments. James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute,[17] the Council on American-Islamic Relations, and a number of commentators called for his resignation.[18] Several publications, such as Newsweek,[19] similarly carried articles calling for his resignation. Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) were quick to denounce the remarks. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-VA) and Democrat Carl Levin both urged Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to launch an investigation.[17] Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and 26 supporters put forward H. RES. 419 "Condemning religiously intolerant remarks and calling on the President to clearly censure and reassign Lieutenant General Boykin".[20]

President George W. Bush distanced himself from the statements, saying that Boykin didn't "reflect my point of view or the point of view of this administration."[21] Donald Rumsfeld defended Boykin, describing him as "an officer that has an outstanding record in the United States armed forces", and that the War on Terrorism was "not a war against a religion".[22]

Marine General Peter Pace, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that Boykin was later "sad...that his comments created the fury they had," and expressed his belief that Boykin "does not see this battle as a battle between religions; he sees this as a battle between good and evil, the evil being the acts of individuals."[23]

Boykin issued a public statement: "My comments to Osman Otto in Mogadishu were not referencing his worship of Allah but his worship of money and power; idolatry. He was a corrupt man, not a follower of Islam. My references to Judeo-Christian roots in America or our nation as a Christian nation are historically undeniable."[16] CNN later revealed that several parts of his statement were removed on the advice of Pentagon attorneys. Among the parts removed was Boykin's assertion that "the sensitivities of my job today dictate that further church speeches are inappropriate", and "As a Christian, I believe that there is a spiritual war that is continuous as articulated in the Bible. It is not confined to the war of terrorism."[24]

Boykin then requested an investigation by an inspector general into the allegations.[23] A ten-month investigation carried out by the Department of Defense concluded in August 2004 that Boykin had broken three rules in giving the speeches: that he did not clarify that he gave the remarks in a private capacity, that he hadn't received clearance for making the remarks, and that he hadn't declared the reimbursement of travel funds given to him by one of the religious groups hosting the speaking events. However, the report made no comment on the actual remarks made, and little action was taken against Boykin.[25] An anonymous senior Pentagon official said that the infractions were relatively minor and rarely led to prosecution.[26] The report defended the decision not to comment on Boykin's actual comments for several reasons, primarily because "freedom of expression considerations under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution apply in this case."[27]

On September 26, 2009, Boykin gave an address at a How to Take Back America Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, hosted by the Eagle Forum. According to the Canada Free Press, Boykin asked the audience: "What are you prepared to give up for America? Are you willing to pay the ultimate price?" and said, "there is no greater threat to America than Islam".[28]

In 2010, Boykin was one of two "team leaders" of Team B II which released a report entitled Shariah: The Threat To America: An Exercise In Competitive Analysis, published by the Center for Security Policy, which William Arkin and Dana Priest have described as "a Washington-based neoconservative think tank."[29] The other team leader was Harry Soyster, a retired lieutenant general and former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; that team included R. James Woolsey, Jr., former CIA Director; and CSP President Frank Gaffney, Jr., former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy (Acting).[30]

The book "describes what its authors call a 'stealth jihad' that must be thwarted before it's too late," and argues that "most mosques in the United States already have been radicalized, that most Muslim social organizations are fronts for violent jihadists and that Muslims who practice sharia law seek to impose it in this country."[29] According to an opinion piece in the Washington Post, "Government terrorism experts call the views expressed in the center's book inaccurate and counterproductive."[29] Boykin has been described as part of the counter-jihad movement.[31]

On July 16, 2012, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins announced that Boykin had been named the group's Executive Vice-President.[32]

Boykin is listed as a board member of The Oak Initiative, a conservative Christian group that describes itself as "a grassroots movement to Unite, Mobilize, Equip, and Activate Christians to be the salt and light they are called to be by engaging in the great issues of our time from a sound biblical worldview."[33] Other board members include Rick Joyner, founder of Morningstar Ministries and Heritage International Ministries; and Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition.

Boykin is listed as the Grand Chancellor of the Knights Hospitallers of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta, a self-styled order of chivalry claiming relation to the historical Knights Hospitaller.[34]

In January 2013, the retired general received a letter of reprimand from then-Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army Lloyd Austin for disclosing classified information in his book Never Surrender: A Soldier's Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom.[35]

In February 2014, Boykin said in a speech that he believed that Jesus will return to Earth carrying an AR-15 assault rifle. Alluding to a biblical passage in which Jesus says, "I came not to bring peace but to bring a sword",[36] Boykin said, "I believe now that the sword he'll be carrying when he comes back is an AR-15."[37]

In another 2014 speech, Boykin said Jews are the "cause of all the problems in the world", which the Southern Poverty Law Center characterized as "an awkward attempt at humor". During that speech, he also asserted President Barack Obama had sent "subliminal messages" to Muslims during his 2009 A New Beginning speech in Cairo.[38]

During the 2016 presidential election campaign, Boykin first advised Sen. Ted Cruz.[39] Then, on September 6, 2016, he endorsed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.[40]

On April 11, 2021, Boykin was one of 124 retired U.S. military flag officers who signed the "Open Letter from Retired Generals and Admirals" that raised concerns of the survival of the United States as a constitutional republic. The letter claims that the country "has taken a hard left turn toward Socialism and a Marxist form of tyrannical government."[41][42][43][44]

Boykin has endorsed the conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was rigged to favor Joe Biden and claims that the United States "has taken a hard left turn toward Socialism and a Marxist form of tyrannical government."[41][42]

The New York Times reported on March 18, 2006, that, when asked by Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen Cambone to "get to the bottom" of abuses committed by an elite counterinsurgency task force, Boykin found no pattern to them, despite ample evidence to the contrary.[45]

A December 9, 2003, item in The Guardian connected Boykin with secret Israeli counterinsurgency assistance in Iraq, allegedly including assassination squads.[46] In another Guardian article, Sidney Blumenthal, President Bill Clinton's former senior adviser and current Washington bureau chief for Salon.com, claimed that towards the end of 2003, it was Boykin who, under Donald Rumsfeld's orders, advised then Camp X-Ray head Major General Geoffrey Miller in Guantanamo to transfer the same Camp X-Ray methods to Abu Ghraib and the Iraqi prison system.[47]

In 2003, Seymour Hersh claimed in the New Yorker that Boykin was a key planner, along with Stephen Cambone, behind Rumsfeld's Special Forces approach to fighting the War on Terror.[9] Furthermore, when Boykin was questioned in a congressional inquiry regarding similarities between current War on Terror special operations and U.S.'s Phoenix Program during the Vietnam War, he said, "I think we're running that kind of program. We're going after these people. Killing or capturing these people is a legitimate mission for the department. I think we're doing what the Phoenix Program was designed to do, without all of the secrecy."[48][49]

In 2005, Hersh claimed that the U.S. had begun to undertake secret, off-the-books, covert missions in Iran to identify key targets for possible strikes in destabilizing its nuclear facilities, and against the larger War on Terror, with the chain of command for the commando operations falling to Rumsfeld, Cambone, and Boykin.[50]