William G. Boykin

William G. Boykin
Lieutenant General William G. Boykin
Born	New Bern, North Carolina
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1971-2007 (36 years)
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	U.S. Army Special Operations Command John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center
Battles/wars	Operation Urgent Fury Operation Just Cause Operation Restore Hope
Awards	Master Parachutist Badge Military Freefall Badge Ranger Tab Special Forces Tab Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star Air Medal Purple Heart (2)
Other work	Professor: Hampden-Sydney College

Lieutenant General William G. Boykin (retired) was the United States Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. He has played a role in almost every recent major American military operation, serving in Grenada, Somalia, and Iraq. He is currently an author and teaches at Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia.

Early life

William G. "Jerry" Boykin was born in New Bern, North Carolina. He graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1971.

Early military career

In 1971 Boykin was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Infantry. He later held positions within the 2nd Armored Division, 101st Airborne Division, and served as a company commander in the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized).^[1][2]

From 1978-1993 Boykin was assigned in various capacities to Delta Force. Lt. Col. L.H. "Bucky" Burruss, helping with Delta Force selection at the time, recalled that Boykin "had a bad knee and I thought he would never make it.... I thought, I hate to see this guy busting his [butt], I don't see how he can make it on this bad road wheel, but he surprised us." In fact, a Fort Bragg psychologist almost ended Boykin's career, wanting to exclude him from the Delta Force because he was "too religious". However, he was finally accepted into the Delta Force at the age of 29. Burruss wrote at the time that "Jerry Boykin is a Christian gentleman of the highest order." Boykin believed God had a hand in things: "God led me into the Delta Force.... And He said to me, 'This is where you ought to be.'"^[1]

Overseas deployments

By 1980 he was the Delta Force operations officer on the April 24–25 Iranian hostage rescue attempt. Boykin called it "the greatest disappointment of my professional career because we didn't bring home 53 Americans."^[3] Despite this, his "faith was strengthened" believing he had witnessed "a miracle": "Not one man who stood with us in the desert and pleaded for God to go with us was killed or even injured that night."^[1]

In October 1983, Maj. Boykin worked as an operations officer during Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. During a dawn assault to free some Grenada government officials held by the Marxist People's Revolutionary Army, Boykin was shot in the arm with a.50 caliber round, splitting the bone completely in two. He was told he would never use it again, but his arm healed, which Boykin again believed God was responsible for.

In 1989, Boykin was in Panama as part of the mission to apprehend Manuel Noriega.^[1]

From 1990 to 1991 he was at the Army War College. In 1992/early 1993, as a colonel, Boykin was in Colombia leading a mission to hunt for drug lord Pablo Escobar. Seymour Hersh later claimed in The New Yorker that there were suspicions within the Pentagon that Boykin's team was going to take part in the assassination of Pablo Escobar, and that US Embassy officials in Colombia were acting as support. Hersh refers to Mark Bowden's book Killing Pablo which made allegations that the Pentagon believed Boykin intended to break the law and exceed his authority in the operation. Mark Bowden states that “within the special ops community... Pablo's death was regarded as a successful mission for Delta, and legend has it that its operators were in on the kill.” Hersh quotes an anonymous retired army general as saying, “That's what those guys did. I've seen pictures of Escobar's body that you don’t get from a long-range telescope lens. They were taken by guys on the assault team.”^[4]

In April 1993, he helped advise Attorney General Janet Reno regarding the stand-off at Waco, Texas between the Federal Government and a religious sect.^[5]

In October 1993, Colonel Boykin was in command of the Delta Force tracking down militia leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid in Somalia, during which time the infamous Battle of Mogadishu took place.^{[citation needed]} Boykin recalled seeing a truck pull up to the US base near Mogadishu airport filled with bodies: "I watched that tailgate open and I watched the blood of my soldiers pour out of that truck like water." Shortly after, Boykin was wounded in a mortar attack on the compound. The Hollywood movie "Black Hawk Down," which depicts the Battle of Mogadishu, omits Boykin's role as mission commander.^{[citation needed]}

Domestic career

Some time afterwards, he served at the Central Intelligence Agency as Deputy Director of Special Activities, and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. He was later made Deputy Director for Operations, Readiness, and Mobilization when assigned to the Army Staff.^[2]

From April 1998 to February 2000, he served as the Commanding General, U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. From March 2000-2003, he was the Commanding General, United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, Fort Bragg, N.C. In June 2003, he was appointed Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence under Dr. Stephen Cambone, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence.

LTG Boykin retired on August 1, 2007 and currently teaches at Hampden-Sydney College.

LTG Boykin is the author of Never Surrender: A Soldier's Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom, Danger Close: A Novel, and Kiloton Threat: A Novel. ^[6][7]

Awards

Boykin went to Armed Forces Staff College, Army War College, and Shippensburg University (where he received a Masters Degree). His badges include the Master Parachutist Badge, Military Freefall Badge, Ranger Tab and Special Forces Tab. Medals and awards include: "the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters), Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Bronze Star, Air Medal and the Purple Heart (with Oak Leaf Cluster)."^[2]

•   Army Distinguished Service Medal
•   Defense Superior Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
•   Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
•   Bronze Star Medal
•   Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster
•   Air Medal

Controversies

Religious views and comments

He has gained notoriety for his Christian Fundamentalist views over the last few years and some public remarks. Boykin is a born-again Christian, who has cast the "War on Terror" in Biblical terms. A Pentagon investigation concluded in 2004 that he had violated regulations by failing to explain these remarks were not made in an official capacity.

Boykin achieved widespread media coverage for his statements that appeared to frame the War on Terror in religious terms, first broadcast on NBC News, October 15, 2003.^[8] William Arkin,^[9] military analyst for NBC-TV News, was the source of the video and audiotapes of Boykin. The following day the Los Angeles Times ran a piece on Boykin. Amongst several quotes, the LA Times article revealed Boykin giving a speech about hunting down Osman Atto in Mogadishu: "He went on CNN and he laughed at us, and he said, 'They'll never get me because Allah will protect me. Allah will protect me.' 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." ^[10] Boykin later clarified this statement, saying that he was implying that Atto's true "god" was money.

Boykin's remarks stirred much anger in the Muslim world; Arab and Muslim organizations within the US were highly critical of the comments and called for his resignation, such as James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute,^[11] and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.^[12] Several newspapers, such as Newsweek,^[13] carried articles calling for his resignation, while Democrats John Kerry and Joe Lieberman were quick to denounce the remarks. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner and Democrat Carl Levin both urged Rumsfeld to launch an investigation.^[11] Rep. John Conyers and 26 supporters put forward H. RES. 419 "Condemning religiously intolerant remarks and calling on the President to clearly censure and reassign Lieutenant General Boykin".^[14]

President George Bush distanced himself from the statements, saying that Boykin didn't "reflect my point of view or the point of view of this administration." ^[15] Donald Rumsfeld defended Boykin, describing him as "an officer that has an outstanding record in the United States armed forces", and that the War on Terrorism was "not a war against a religion". He spoke about the right of freedom of speech.^[16]

Marine General Peter Pace, vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff revealed "how sad [Boykin] was that his comments created the fury they had. He does not see this battle as a battle between religions, he sees this as a battle between good and evil, the evil being the acts of individuals."^[17]

Boykin issued a public statement stating, "My comments to Osman Otto in Mogadishu were not referencing his worship of Allah but his worship of money and power; idolatry. He was a corrupt man, not a follower of Islam. My references to Judeo-Christian roots in America or our nation as a Christian nation are historically undeniable."^[18] CNN later revealed that several parts of his statement were removed on the advice of Pentagon attorneys. Among the parts removed was Boykin's assertion that "the sensitivities of my job today dictate that further church speeches are inappropriate", and "As a Christian I believe that there is a spiritual war that is continuous as articulated in the Bible. It is not confined to the war of terrorism."^[19]

Boykin himself then requested an investigation by the inspector general into the allegations.^[17] A ten month investigation carried out by the Defense Department later concluded in August 2004 that Boykin had broken three rules in giving the speeches: not clarifying that he gave the remarks in a private capacity; he hadn't received clearance for making the remarks; and that he hadn't declared the reimbursement of travel funds by one of the religious groups hosting the speaking events. However, the report made no comment on the actual remarks made, and little action was taken against Boykin. The three infractions are quite minor, and are rarely prosecuted by officials.^[20] The report defended the decision not to comment on Boykin's actual comments for several reasons, primarily because "freedom of expression considerations under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution apply in this case."^[21]

Some news commentators, such as Republican Patrick Buchanan, believed that there was nothing wrong in what Boykin said.^[22] Others saw the criticism of Boykin as an attack on Christian values in America by the Democratic Party.^[23] William Arkin was accused of taking Boykin out of context. Arkin's impartiality was called into question, since he worked for Greenpeace, Human Rights Watch and the Institute for Policy Studies. Arkin published his opinions on Boykin without ever having spoken to him.^[24][25] The media coverage was seen by some as being an orchestrated campaign by Islamic admirers defending terrorism and trying to discredit "those who warn of Islamists hijacking and perverting the Muslim faith".^[26]

On 10 April 2008, Boykin spoke at Epicenter 2008, a conference in Israel hosted by Joel C. Rosenberg. His closing statement made a large round of applause:

We as believers have been promised that we will spend an eternity with God. Last Saturday I was doing a men's conference in Fredricksburg, Virginia and I was praying during the worship service and something dawned on me and it was the Holy Spirit speaking to me. And the Holy Spirit said, "this is what I want you to share with My men today", and I'm going to share it with you and this is what it is: One day, we're going to stand before the gates of Heaven. Some of us want to be able to walk up there in a white robe and we want to sing Abba Father and Amazing Grace and we want to say to the Lord, "I worshiped You." But I want you to think about this: Heres the way I want to enter the gates of Heaven. I want to come skidding in there on all fours. I want to be slipping and sliding and I want to hit the gates of heaven with a bang. And when I stand up and I stand before Christ, I want there to be blood on my knees and my elbows. I want to be covered with mud. And I want to be standing there with a ragged breast plate of righteousness. And a spear in my hand. And I want to say, "Look at me, Jesus. I've been in the battle. I've been fighting for you." Ladies and gentlemen, put your armor on and get into battle. God bless you.

On September 26, 2009, Boykin gave an address at a How to Take Back America Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. hosted by the Eagle Forum. According to the Canada Free Press, General Boykin asked the audience. "What are you prepared to give up for America? Are you willing to pay the ultimate price?" He followed up with warning, "there is no greater threat to America than Islam"^[27]

In 2010, Boykin, along with co-authors such as former CIA Director R. James Woolsey, Jr. and neoconservative activist Frank Gaffney, Jr., released a book entitled "Shariah: The Threat to America," published by the Center for Security Policy, "a Washington-based neoconservative think tank."^[28] The book "describes what its authors call a 'stealth jihad' that must be thwarted before it's too late," and argues that "most mosques in the United States already have been radicalized, that most Muslim social organizations are fronts for violent jihadists and that Muslims who practice sharia law seek to impose it in this country."^[28] According to the Washington Post, "Government terrorism experts call the views expressed in the center's book inaccurate and counterproductive."^[28]

War on Terror tactics

News reports have attempted to connect Boykin with controversial tactics. The New York Times reported on March 18, 2006 that, when asked by Undersecretary Cambone to "get to the bottom" of abuses committed by an elite counterinsurgency task force, Boykin found no pattern to them, despite ample evidence to the contrary.^[29]

A December 9, 2003 item in The Guardian (UK) connected Boykin with secret Israeli counterinsurgency assistance in Iraq, allegedly including assassination squads.^[30] In another Guardian article, Sidney Blumenthal, President Bill Clinton's former senior adviser and current Washington bureau chief for Salon (US), claimed that towards the end of 2003, it was Boykin who, under Donald Rumsfeld's orders, advised then Camp X-Ray head Major General Geoffrey Miller in Guantanamo to transfer the same Camp X-Ray methods to Abu Ghraib and the Iraqi prison system.^[31]

In 2003, Seymour Hersh claimed in the New Yorker (US) that Boykin was a key planner, along with Stephen Cambone, behind Rumsfeld's Special Forces approach to fighting the War on Terror.^[4] Furthermore, when Boykin was questioned in a congressional inquiry regarding similarities between current War on Terror special operations and USA's Phoenix Program during the Vietnam War, he said: "I think we’re running that kind of programme. We’re going after these people. Killing or capturing these people is a legitimate mission for the department. I think we’re doing what the Phoenix programme was designed to do, without all of the secrecy."^[32][33]

In 2005, Hersh claimed that the US had begun to undertake secret, off-the-books, covert missions in Iran to identify key targets for possible strikes in destabilizing their nuclear facilities, and against the larger War on Terror, with the chain of command for the commando operations falling to Rumsfeld, Cambone and Boykin.^[34] Hersh claimed these allegations came from "very, very senior" sources, but the Pentagon sharply criticized the article stating that "Mr. Hersh's article is so riddled with errors of fundamental fact that the credibility of his entire piece is destroyed."^[35]

Book and article

• Colonel William G. Boykin, “Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict Legislation: Why Was It Passed and Have the Voids Been Filled ?”, US Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, 12 April 1991
• LTG (Ret.) William G. Boykin with Lynn Vincent, Never Surrender: A Soldier's Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom, FaithWords, New York, 2008 ISBN 0-446-58215-8, ISBN 978-0-446-58215-5

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Christian Soldier Washington Post, November 6, 2003
2. ^ ^{a b c} [1]^{[dead link]}
3. ^ USASOC News Service
4. ^ ^{a b} Seymour M. Hersh, Moving Targets, December 15, 2003, The New Yorker. (archived from the original on 2009-04-25)
5. ^ CNN.com - The Boykin affair - Oct. 27, 2003
6. ^ Amazon.com: Never Surrender: A Soldier's Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom (9780446583220): Jerry Boykin, Lynn Vincent: Books
7. ^ Amazon.com: Danger Close: A Novel: William G. Boykin, Tom Morrisey: Books
8. ^ http://www.msnbc.com/news/980764.asp?0cb=-113186886^{[dead link]}
9. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/nationalsecurity/earlywarning/arkinBio.html^{[dead link]}
10. ^ The Pentagon Unleashes a Holy Warrior
11. ^ ^{a b} Online NewsHour: Words of Faith - October 21, 2003
12. ^ BBC NEWS | Americas|US is 'battling Satan' says general
13. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3225695/^{[dead link]}
14. ^ Bill Text - 108th Congress (2003-2004) - THOMAS (Library of Congress)
15. ^ Bush renews rebuke of Boykin - Washington Times
16. ^ Rumsfeld defends general who commented on war and Satan, CNN, October 17, 2003. (archived from the original on 2008-05-10)
17. ^ ^{a b} General Faulted For Satan Speeches - CBS News
18. ^ CNN.com - General explains statements criticized by Muslims - Oct. 17, 2003
19. ^ CNN.com - Pentagon deleted part of official's apology - Oct. 20, 2003
20. ^ General's Speeches Broke Rules (washingtonpost.com)
21. ^ http://www.dodig.mil/fo/Foia/ERR/h03l89967206.pdf^{[dead link]}
22. ^ A Christian warrior under fire
23. ^ Search
24. ^ Who Is William Arkin? | The Weekly Standard
25. ^ FOXNews.com - A Dem With Praise for the GOP - Brit Hume | Special Report
26. ^ Enemy sightings - Washington Times
27. ^ Conservatives Fight "Homosexual Extremist Movement" - Political Hotsheet - CBS News
28. ^ ^{a b c} Priest, Dana and Arkin, William (December 2010) Monitoring America, Washington Post
29. ^ In Secret Unit's 'Black Room,' a Grim Portrait of U.S. Abuse - New York Times
30. ^ Israel trains US assassination squads in Iraq | World news|The Guardian
31. ^ Sidney Blumenthal: The religious warrior of Abu Ghraib | World news|The Guardian
32. ^ Donald Rumsfeld's New Killer Elite, February 12, 2006, Times Online. (archived from the original on 2009-06-09)
33. ^ Sami Ramadani: Iraq invasion deception increasingly shapes coverage of occupation | World news|The Guardian
34. ^ http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?050124fa_fact^{[dead link]}
35. ^ CNN.com - Pentagon blasts article alleging reconnaissance missions in Iran - Jan 18, 2005

External links

• "Boykin speaks at length with Producer Richard Mackenzie for National Geographic documentary on Special Force" National Geographic, Summer, 2003
• "Rumsfeld defends general who commented on war and Satan" CNN, October 17, 2003
• CBS Sixty Minutes, "The Holy Warrior": September 15, 2004
• General Faulted for Satan Speeches": Associated Press, August 19, 2004
• Biographic information and quotes
• The Boykin affair CNN/Time, October 27, 2003
• The New York Review of Books on the role of religion in the Bush administration, including a discussion of Boykin
• Book Review of Never Surrender at Letters On Pages
• Official Website for Jerry Boykin and his book Never Surrender
• Official Christian Ministry Website for LTG William G. Boykin (USA, Ret.)
• Comments on the Fort Hood terrorist murders by LTG William G. Boykin (USA, Ret.) December 2009
• William G. Boykin interview on CBN about his book A Soldier's Crossroads of Faith and Freedom
• William Boykin speaking at Epicenter 08 and Epicenter 09 conferences
• William Boykin interviewed on 60 Minutes II

Persondata
Name	Boykin, William G.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth	New Bern, North Carolina
Date of death
Place of death