U.S. General Violated Rules with 'Satan' Speeches

[Nambe]

WASHINGTON (Reuters)

A U.S. Army general violated Pentagon rules by failing to properly clear speeches in which he described the war on terror as a Christian battle against Satan and should be punished, according to an inspector general's report obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.

The Department of Defense's watchdog agency said Lt. Gen. William Boykin, a top-ranking intelligence officer, used official data in some of the 23 religious-oriented speeches he gave after January 2002 which should have been cleared by the Pentagon. ..

At the time, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld praised Boykin's "outstanding record" and refused to reprimand the general, who played a role in a 1993 clash with Somali warlords and the ill-fated hostage rescue attempt in Iran in 1980.

Ride Don’t Drive * * It’s Global Cool

[wtmusic]

1. Classified data on Satan

or a hotline to his office?

[truthisfreedom]

2. yawn. too late. too little. idiots, as usual...

[MO_Dem]

3. I hope this story

gets some attention!

[daleo]

4. I wonder if the Pentagon would have cleared these speeches if asked

It seems to me that, if they did, it would mean the U.S. was officially at war with Satan. And that would just be too strange.

[liveoaktx]

5. Sheesh! That was almost a YEAR ago

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/10/16/rumsfeld.boykin.ap/index.html

[joefree1]

10. What's new is he's used data not cleared by Pentagon

The Department of Defense's watchdog agency said Lt. Gen. William Boykin, a top-ranking intelligence officer, used official data in some of the 23 religious-oriented speeches he gave after January 2002 which should have been cleared by the Pentagon.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6013165

Whoops, a religious nut with loose lips.


Seating now available in the Smoking Section:
Politics, humor, death and the Devil - http://www.eDiablo.com

[symbolman]

6. Take a look at the history of this guy

HE was part of the ABUSE and in charge of some of the prisons in IRAQ---

Check it out, this is cover to get him out of ABUSE and WAR CRIMES charges..

[AndyTiedye]

7. Probably Torturing Them To Try To Force Them To Convert to Xtianity

[RivetJoint]

9. I don't think

he was in charge of any of the prisons. The guy is a deputy on a policy staff...he has nothing to do with operations.

[struggle4progress]

11. He's undersecretary of defense for intelligence and ...

... the Administration put pressure on Abu-Ghraib to develop more intelligence data; torture followed. And Boykin was in the loop:


Major General Geoffrey Miller files a classified report at the end of his 10-day visit (see August 31, 2003-September 9, 2003) to Iraq, demanding that Iraq's detention camps be used to collect “actionable intelligence” and that the military police at Abu Ghraib be trained to set “the conditions for the successful interrogation and exploitation of internees/detainees.” “Detention operations must act as an enabler for interrogation ... to provide a safe, secure and humane environment that supports the expeditious collection of intelligence,” he writes. He leaves a list of acceptable interrogation techniques—based on what has been used in Guatanamo—posted on a wall in Abu Ghraib which says that long-term isolation, “working dogs,” sleep disruption, “environmental manipulation” and “stress positions” can be used to facilitate interrogations, but only with the approval of Lieutenant-General Ricardo Sanchez on a case-by-case basis. He also suggests that the military close Camp Cropper in southern Iraq. Miller's recommendations are included in a memo that is sent for review to Lieutenant-General William Boykin, the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence (see May 1, 2003).
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/entity.jsp?entity=william_boykin

[RivetJoint]

16. Still doesn't mean

he had any say in actual operations; he didn't. He was OUT of the loop on that aspect.

[struggle4progress]

17. Oh? Here's a link to a Newsweek article that indicates Boykin ...

... was directly involved in efforts to squeeze Abu-Ghraib harder:

The Roots of Torture
By John Barry, Michael Hirsh and Michael Isikoff
Newsweek International
May 24 Issue
<snip>
Rumsfeld pointed out that Gitmo was producing good intel. So he directed Steve Cambone, his under secretary for intelligence, to send Gitmo commandant Miller to Iraq to improve what they were doing out there. Cambone in turn dispatched his deputy, Lt. Gen. William (Jerry) Boykin - later to gain notoriety for his harsh comments about Islam - down to Gitmo to talk with Miller and organize the trip. In Baghdad in September 2003, Miller delivered a blunt message to Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who was then in charge of the 800th Military Police Brigade running Iraqi detentions. According to Karpinski, Miller told her that the prison would thenceforth be dedicated to gathering intel. (Miller says he simply recommended that detention and intelligence commands be integrated.) On Nov. 19, Abu Ghraib was formally handed over to tactical control of military-intelligence units.
<snip>
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=9&num=4503


Boykin's an anti-Islamic fanatic, who was involved in the machinations that lead to MI control of AG and subsequent torture. He
may not be among those who are immediately and locally responsible for the Abu-Ghraib problem, but he seems to have a direct connection. The history certainly doesn't say "out of the loop."

[RivetJoint]

18. It doesn't say "operational authority" either

Boykin is a staff officer...has no control over what happens in the field. Yeah, he may be a dirtball, but he didn't control what went on at AG.

[struggle4progress]

20. He reportedly had enough operational authority to order changes:

The religious warrior of Abu Ghraib
An evangelical US general played a pivotal role in Iraqi prison reform
Sidney Blumenthal
Thursday May 20, 2004
The Guardian

<snip>
Boykin was not removed or transferred. At that moment, he was at the heart of a secret operation to "Gitmoize" (Guantánamo is known in the US as Gitmo) the Abu Ghraib prison. He had flown to Guantánamo, where he met Major General Geoffrey Miller, in charge of Camp X-Ray. Boykin ordered Miller to fly to Iraq and extend X-Ray methods to the prison system there, on Rumsfeld's orders.
<snip>

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1220781,00.html


That sounds "in the loop" to me.

<edit:> But, for good measure, let's just make sure we all really understand who Miller is and what Boykin's contact with him meant:

Bush, Torture and American Values in Iraq
June 18 2004
Counterbias.com
by Frank Wallis

<snip>
Techniques include keeping prisoners naked; inmates being forced to crawl on a leash; forced to masturbate in front of a female soldier; mimic oral sex with other male prisoners; and form piles of naked, hooded men; hooding; sleep deprivation; time disorientation; and depriving prisoners not only of dignity, but of fundamental human needs, such as warmth, water and food.

The US commander in charge of military jails in Iraq, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, confirmed use of fifty techniques used against prisoners. Miller, who ran the prison camp at Guantánamo, said his main role was to extract as much intelligence as possible. British intel officers were stationed at Abu Ghraib, and members of British MI6 visited the prison regularly in 2003 when the most flagrant abuses took place.
<snip>

http://www.counterbias.com/054.html


Oh, poor misunderstood Boykin!

[PurityOfEssence]

8. Unfortunately, the term "The Children's Crusade" has already been used

Now we need to hear some action on Boykin's input on the treatment of prisoners, too.

Do they have absolutely no concept of how the rest of the world views us, or is it just immaterial to think of the opinions of inferiors?

[struggle4progress]

12. General's Speeches Broke Rules (WP)

Report Says Boykin Failed to Obtain Clearance
By R. Jeffrey Smith and Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, August 19, 2004; Page A23

A Defense Department investigation has determined that Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin, the Pentagon's senior military intelligence official, violated three internal regulations while delivering controversial speeches that linked the war on terrorism to what he depicted as an enduring battle against Satan, according to a copy of the probe obtained yesterday by The Washington Post.

The 10-month internal investigation, conducted by the department's deputy inspector general for investigations, confirmed news accounts that Boykin said in his speeches that President Bush had been placed in his post by God, that radical Muslims hate America because it "will never abandon Israel" and that the U.S. military is recruiting a spiritual army that will draw strength from a greater power to defeat its enemy.
<snip>

Boykin should have obtained clearance for his remarks, the report said, partly because his remarks were drawn from information he acquired on the job, what he said was potentially of wide interest and relevant to national security policy, and his uniform and title could have induced listeners to believe he was acting as an official department spokesman.
<snip>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14262-2004Aug19.html

[hatrack]

13. Look! It's the Page A-16 News Ranger riding to the rescue!

This information will explode across seldom-viewed corners next to bra and transmission service advertisements in newspapers across America!

[TahitiNut]

14. He's one of Rumsfeld's Feith-based Krusaders.

Total "Gott Mit Uns" fascist stormtrooper.

[struggle4progress]

15. kick

:kick:

[Swamp Rat]

19. Boykin is a fucking lunatic and VERY dangerous as he is still active duty!

Last night both Mike Malloy and Ray Taliaferro ripped him a new one. :kick: