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April 04, 2006

A Rogue in Charge of Special Ops?

Sen. George Allen, a Republican from Virginia, says he wants Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin, now the Pentagon's deputy undersecretary for intelligence, to lead the U.S. special operations command, now that the current commander, Army Gen. Bryan "Doug" Brown, is retiring.

General William G. Boykin has a history of saying some pretty outrageous things about terrorism and the War in Iraq:

- “The enemy is a spiritual enemy. He’s called the principality of darkness. The enemy is a guy called Satan.”

- Terrorists are out to destroy the United States “because we’re a Christian nation.”

- Allah is “an idol” and his god is “a real God.”

- Bush was not elected by the voters, but by God. He is “in the White House because God put him there for a time such as this.”

No doubt, most of the attention given to Sen. Allen’s suggestion that Boykin be given the U.S. special operations command position will be focused on his extreme religious views. Boykin himself recognized that when he told NBC News that he would be refraining from giving religious speeches because “I don’t want to come across as a right-wing radical.”

But what worries me is the fact that Boykin often made statements like these while dressed in full Army uniform and implied to his listeners that what he was portraying was an officially sanctioned position when, in fact, he was going rogue.

I have had the pleasure of working with numerous individuals who are fairly high-level federal government officials in recent years and not a one of them will ever give a public statement without the proper clearance (a lengthy and painstaking process) to ensure nothing they say presents an incorrect impression of the federal government’s position. They are professionals through and through and understand the importance of their position in service to the interests of this country.

Boykin does not appear to understand the gravity of his government position or the fact that when speaking he is perceived as a voice of government. That is very worrisome, and it speaks volumes about his professionalism and discretion. Someone who is so philosophically driven that he speaks in such a rogue manner is likely also to behave in a rogue manner and certainly should not be given a position of authority over something as delicate and dangerous as special operations.

Posted by Becky at April 4, 2006 09:44 AM