[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 153 (Tuesday, October 28, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H9975-H9976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONDEMNING RELIGIOUSLY INSENSITIVE REMARKS OF GENERAL WILLIAM BOYKIN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, today 16 of my colleagues and I have 
introduced a resolution calling on the President of the United States 
to censure and reassign General Boykin for his religiously intolerant 
remarks against people of Islamic faith.
  As Members of Congress, we should all be embarrassed and disturbed by 
General Boykin's controversial remarks made in uniform over a period of 
time which includes such statements as, quote, ``Our spiritual enemy 
will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus.'' 
``I knew that my God was a real God and the Muslim God was an idol.'' 
``Islamic extremists hate the United States because we are a Christian 
nation.'' And, ``President Bush is in the White House because God put 
him there.''
  These remarks do untold damage to our efforts to reach out to the 
Iraqi people and the Muslim world and to battle terrorism.
  Last week the President rightly criticized the Prime Minister of 
Malaysia for his anti-Semitic remarks by telling him his comments were, 
quote, ``wrong and divisive,'' end quote. I agree with these 
criticisms, but the administration must show the world that it is 
willing to condemn all religiously intolerant remarks, including those 
that occur within our own military.
  President Bush's failure so far to criticize General Boykin's remarks 
make it imperative for Congress to demand action. Our Nation must show 
the world that we will not stand for the type of intolerant behavior 
exhibited by General Boykin.
                                         House of Representatives,


                                   Committee on the Judiciary,

                                 Washington, DC, October 17, 2003.
     Hon. Donald H. Rumsfeld,
     Secretary of Defense,
     The Pentagon, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Secretary: I am writing to express my extreme 
     displeasure over Lieutenant General William Boykin's remarks 
     about the war and the Muslim religion. Lt. Gen. Boykin serves 
     as deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and is 
     charged with heading a Pentagon office that focuses on 
     finding Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and other targets. 
     This is a critical policymaking position, and it is 
     outrageous that someone who holds such extreme, closed-
     minded, zealous views would be allowed such a prominent 
     position in our military.
       Lt. Gen. Boykin's remarks over the past few years, 
     including remarks that Islamic extremists hate the United 
     States because ``we're a Christian nation,'' that ``our 
     spiritual enemy will only be defeated if we come against them 
     in the name of Jesus,'' that President Bush ``is in the White 
     House because God put him there,'' and that Boykin's ``god 
     was a real god and [the Muslim god] was an idol,'' are 
     disgraceful and wholly inappropriate for a man in his 
     position. These remarks are inflammatory to Muslims in our 
     communities and abroad.
       While every American has the freedom to speak his mind and 
     express his opinion, it is essential that those who hold high 
     profile, policymaking positions in our government exercise 
     judgment in their public speaking. Lt. Gen. Boykin clearly 
     lacks such judgment. I urge you to reassign or reprimand him; 
     we cannot afford to have such an extremist speaking on behalf 
     of our nation and our military.
           Sincerely,
                                                 John Conyers, Jr.
     Ranking Member
                                  ____



                 lt. gen. boykin controversy chronology

       June 2002: William G. (``Jerry'') Boykin speaks from the 
     pulpit at the First Baptist Church of Broken Arrow, Okla., 
     describing photos that he had taken of Mogadishu, Somalia 
     from an army helicopter in 1993. He said that he noticed a 
     strange dark mark over the city and that he had an imagery 
     interpreter trained by the military look at the mark in the 
     photo. ``Ladies and gentlemen, this is your enemy,'' he said 
     to the congregation as he flashed the pictures on a screen. 
     He continued, ``It is a demonic presence in that city that 
     God revealed to me as the enemy.''
       January 2003: Boykin tells the following story in a speech 
     at a church in Daytona, Fla.: ``There was a man in Mogadishu 
     named Osman Atto,'' whom Boykin described as a top lieutenant 
     of Mohammed Farah Aidid. When Boykin's Delta Force commandos 
     went after Atto, they missed him by seconds, he said. ``He 
     went on CNN and he laughed at us, and he said, `They'll never 
     get me because Allah will protect me.' '' ``Well, you know 
     what?'' Boykin continued. ``I knew that my God was bigger 
     than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an 
     idol.''
       June 2003: Pentagon announces that Secretary of Defense 
     Donald Rumsfeld has nominated Boykin for a third star and 
     names him to a new position as deputy undersecretary of 
     defense for intelligence. Boykin's duties include 
     reinvigorating Rumsfeld's ``High Value Target Plan'' to track 
     down Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Mullah Omar and other 
     terrorist leaders. Boykin speaks from the pulpit of the Good 
     Shepherd Community Church in Sandy, Ore., displaying slides 
     of Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and North Korea's Kim 
     Jung I. He asks the congregation, ``Why do they hate us? The 
     answer to that is because we're a Christian nation. . . .We 
     are hated because we are a nation of believers.'' Our 
     ``spiritual enemy,'' Boykin continued, ``will only be 
     defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus.''
       October 15, 2003: Audio and videotapes of Boykin's 
     appearances before religious groups while wearing his Army 
     uniform over the last two years surface and are reported on 
     by NBC News on the ``Nightly News with Tom Brokaw.''
       October 16, 2003: Rumsfeld declines to criticize Boykin's 
     remarks and praises the general's military record. Gen. 
     Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, issues 
     a statement that he did not think Boykin broke any rules.
       October 17, 2003: Pentagon officials confirm General 
     Meyers' assessment and report that lawyers in the Department 
     of Defense General Counsel's office found no legal grounds 
     for action against Lt. Gen. Boykin after a preliminary review 
     of Boykin's reported remarks. Rep. John Conyers, Jr. sends a 
     letter to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld calling for him to 
     reassign or reprimand Boykin, arguing that ``While every 
     American has the freedom to speak his mind and express his 
     opinion, it is essential that those who hold high profile, 
     policymaking positions in our government exercise judgment in 
     their public speaking. Lt. Gen. Boykin clearly lacks such 
     judgment.'' Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John 
     Warner joined the ranking minority member of his committee, 
     Sen. Carl Levin, in asking Defense Secretary Rumsfeld to 
     refer this matter to the Department of Defense Inspector 
     General to conduct an investigation into the conduct and 
     remarks made by Boykin and asking that Boykin be reassigned 
     while the investigation was pending. Boykin issues an apology 
     to ``. . . those who might have been offended by [his] 
     statements . . .'' and denied he was anti-Islam.
       October 20, 2003: In response to a statement made by 
     Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad that ``the Jews 
     rule the world by proxy'' and that Islamic nations should 
     unite against being ``defeated by a few million Jews,'' 
     President Bush takes Mohamad aside during the economic summit 
     in Bangkok and tells him that what he said was ``wrong and 
     divisive,'' and that ``it stands squarely against what I 
     believe in.''
       October 21, 2003: Rep. Conyers issues a statement to 
     Rumsfeld arguing that the ``Inspector General review of 
     General Boykin's statements . . . is insufficient to deal 
     with the growing controversy.'' Rep. Conyers continues, 
     ``What we need from the Administration now is a clear and 
     resolute condemnation of remarks which are hateful and racist 
     in nature and content. The fact that General Boykin, our lead 
     military official in charge of rooting out terrorism, can be 
     permitted to spew invectives which undermine not only our 
     friends and allies, but millions of our own citizens without 
     being reassigned from his sensitive position is shameful.''
       October 22, 2003: President Bush is asked by reporters 
     about Gen. Boykin's comments during his trip to Asia. Bush 
     says that the subject had come up during his meeting with 
     Muslim leaders from Asian countries and offers a mild rebuke 
     of Gen. Boykin's controversial statements: ``I said, [Boykin] 
     didn't reflect my opinion . . . it just doesn't reflect what 
     the government thinks.'' Bush goes on to say that Gen. Boykin 
     will not be reassigned as a result of his controversial 
     remarks.

                              H. Res. 419

       Whereas Lieutenant General William Boykin, United States 
     Army, who is currently serving as Deputy Under Secretary of 
     Defense for Intelligence and War-Fighting Support, has 
     recently made a number of intolerant remarks against people 
     of the Islamic faith while wearing his military uniform 
     during numerous public addresses;
       Whereas those remarks by Lieutenant General Boykin include 
     the following: Islamic extremists hate the United States 
     because ``we're a Christian nation''; ``Our spiritual enemy 
     will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of 
     Jesus''; President Bush ``is in the White House because God 
     put him there''; ``I knew that my God was a real God, and 
     [the Muslim God] was an idol''; ``The enemy that has come 
     against our nation is a spiritual enemy'' named Satan;
       Whereas Islam is a monotheistic faith, a faith whose 
     followers are an integral part of the social fabric of 
     America and many other countries;

[[Page H9976]]

       Whereas the position currently held by Lieutenant General 
     Boykin requires him to interact routinely with Muslims from 
     all over the world;
       Whereas Lieutenant General Boykin has failed to retract his 
     remarks or to issue a full apology for those controversial 
     and divisive statements;
       Whereas the remarks made by Lieutenant General Boykin have 
     impaired the image of the United States worldwide and 
     threaten to endanger United States forces in Iraq and 
     Afghanistan; and
       Whereas such remarks by a high-ranking military official 
     undermine the war on terrorism by insulting Muslim allies of 
     the United States and Muslim citizens of the United States, 
     including those Muslim citizens in the United States Armed 
     Forces: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) condemns bigotry and intolerance against any religious 
     group, including people of the Islamic faith; and
       (2) calls on the President--
       (A) to clearly censure Lieutenant General William Boykin, 
     United States Army, for his religiously intolerant remarks 
     against people of the Islamic faith; and
       (B) to reassign Lieutenant General Boykin to a new position 
     in which his views will not impact United States Government 
     policy decisions toward Muslims.

                          ____________________