President Bush has distanced himself from comments made by senior military intelligence official Army Lt. Gen. William Boykin. Boykin, an evangelical Christian who serves as deputy undersecretary of defense, made comments at some church functions that sparked international controversy when they were made public last week. Boykin’s comments surfaced when NBC News broadcast videotapes of him giving speeches while wearing his Army uniform at various Christian functions.
In one speech, Boykin referred to a Muslim fighter in Somalia who said U.S. forces would never catch him because Allah would protect him. “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,” Boykin said.
Boykin said in a statement Friday he was “neither a zealot nor an extremist.” He added he was “not anti-Islam or any other religion,” and offered an apology to those offended by his remarks.
President Bush said in comments on Wednesday, ‘He didn’t reflect my opinion. Look, it just doesn’t reflect what the government thinks,” Bush told reporters.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced Tuesday that the Pentagon would launch an internal probe into speeches given at churches and prayer breakfasts by Boykin.
It is a sad day for America when freedom of speech does not apply to comments made at church functions.
