Thursday, October 16, 2003

Scared to Death before Halloween We don’t need to wait until Halloween to be scared to death this year.  We have an important general in the Pentagon who says our enemy is Satan.  Great.  This man believes God put George Bush in the White House, and that “his” god is stronger than the Muslim god. NBC reports   The former commander of Army Special Forces, Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin has led or been part of almost every recent U.S. military operation, from the ill-fated attempt to rescue hostages in Iran to Grenada, Panama, Colombia, Somalia.          This summer, Boykin was promoted to deputy undersecretary of defense.           But that new assignment may be complicated by controversial views Boykin — an evangelical Christian — has expressed in dozens of speeches at churches and prayer breakfasts around the country. In a half-dozen video and audiotapes obtained by NBC News, Boykin says America’s true enemy is not bin Laden.        In June 2003, Boykin spoke to a church group over a slide show:              “Well, is he [bin Laden] the enemy? Next slide. Or is this man [Saddam] the enemy? The enemy is none of these people I have showed you here. The enemy is a spiritual enemy. He’s called the principality of darkness. The enemy is a guy called Satan.”        Why are terrorists out to destroy the United States? Boykin said: “They’re after us because we’re a Christian nation.”   This is the stuff of nightmares.  When we have generals spouting Christian evangelist drivel, how soon before they imagine themselves warriors in the battle of Armageddon.  How soon before they, the ultimate terrorists fanatics, decide that the ends justify the means, and that a nuclear option against “evil” like they see in North Korea or Iran is justified.   We are a secular country for a reason.  Religion is a private matter, and when it poisons the political views of Americans, it prevents the unity that is necessary if our country is to survive as a single cohesive nation.   When our country was founded, it was within historical memory of the religious wars in England, when your religion, Protestant or catholic, was more important than your citizenship.  When we have leaders or generals who don’t know enough to keep their religious beliefs strictly private, they should be disbarred from public or military life.   This man should be transferred to a desk job, if not outright fired, for allowing his private beliefs to interfere with military policy.    8:59:50 AM   comment []

© Copyright 2003 Toby Sackton. Last update: 11/17/2003; 12:25:57 PM.