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William G. Boykin

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William G. "Jerry" Boykin
Lieutenant General William G. Boykin
BornNew Bern, North Carolina
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service / branchUnited States Army
Years of service1971-2007 (36 years)
RankLieutenant General
CommandsU.S. Army Special Operations Command
John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center
Battles / warsOperation Urgent Fury
Operation Just Cause
Operation Restore Hope
AwardsMaster Parachutist Badge
Military Freefall Badge
Ranger Tab
Special Forces Tab
Legion of Merit (2)
Bronze Star
Air Medal
Purple Heart (2)
Other workProfessor: Hampden-Sydney College Executive Vice President: Family Research Council

Lieutenant General William G. "Jerry" Boykin (retired) was the United States Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. He has played a role in almost every recent major American military operation over the past four decades, serving in Grenada, Somalia, and Iraq. He is an author and taught at Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia.[1] He is currently executive vice president at the Family Research Council.[2]

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 1969-70, Boykin was a part of 'Inter Services', created by Edwin Wilson and Major Green. This unit was created to replace the defunct CIA paramilitary force. Training was conducted in a decommissioned base on the Texas/Oklahoma border by Altus Air Force Base. This group led to the formation of the Delta, later SOCOM forces and re-establishment of the CIA paramilitary services. Original teams were sent to Operation Phoenix in Vietnam. All members were specialist and could be interjected with any military force within NATO. Many members worked worldwide and Boykin maintained a team throughout his career in the military. His passion for biblical scripture was always well known, not ever to be found without a pocket Bible. [citation needed]

He later held positions within the 2nd Armored Division, 101st Airborne Division, and served as a company commander in the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized).[3][4]

From 1978-1993 he was assigned in various capacities to Delta Force. Lieutenant Colonel 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.'"[3]

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."[5] 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."[3]

In 1983 Major Boykin was in charge of a 'special' security detail consisting of OC Delta 9 and one OC CIA SA officer in South Korea to gain intelligence on the troop build up by North Korea on the DMZ and as additional security for President Reagan's visit. [citation needed]

In 1989, Boykin took part in the Panama as part of the mission to apprehend Manuel Noriega.[3]

From 1990 to 1991 he was at the Army War College. In 1992 and 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.”[6]

In April 1993, he helped advise Attorney General Janet Reno regarding the stand-off at Waco, Texas, between the Federal Government and the Branch Davidians.[7]

Domestic career

Some time afterwards, Boykin served at the Central Intelligence Agency as Deputy Director of Special Activities, and was promoted to brigadier general. He was later made Deputy Director for Operations, Readiness, and Mobilization when assigned to the Army Staff.[4]

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 Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence under Dr. Stephen Cambone, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.

Lieutenant General Boykin retired on August 1, 2007, and currently teaches at Hampden-Sydney College.[1]

On July 16, 2012, he was named executive vice president at Family Research Council. He joined because he wanted to "restore the values that made America a great nation" and preserve the future of his grandchildren.[8] He also stated that FRC president Tony Perkins “needs some grizzled old people around him who will not be deterred by the criticism of the media.”.[8]

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.

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)."[4]

Controversies

Religious/Political views and comments

Boykin has gained attention for his Christian Fundamentalist views over the 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.[9]

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.[10] William Arkin,[11] military analyst for NBC 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 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." [12] Boykin later clarified this statement, saying that he was implying that Atto's true "god" was money.[citation needed]

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,[13] and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.[14] Several publications, such as Newsweek,[15] carried articles calling for his resignation, while Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) were quick to denounce the remarks. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-VA) and Democrat Carl Levin both urged Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to launch an investigation.[13] Rep. John Conyers (D-MD) 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".[16]

President George W. Bush distanced himself from the statements, saying that Boykin didn't "reflect my point of view or the point of view of this administration." [17] 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.[18]

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."[19]

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."[20] 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."[21]

Boykin himself then requested an investigation by the inspector general into the allegations.[19] A ten-month investigation carried out by the Department of Defense later concluded in August 2004 that Boykin had broken three rules in giving the speeches: that he did not clarify that he gave the remarks in a private capacity; that 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.[22] 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."[23]

Some news commentators, such as Patrick Buchanan, believed that there was nothing wrong in what Boykin said.[24] Others saw the criticism of Boykin as an attack on Christian values in America by the Democratic Party.[25][dead link] 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.[26][27] 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".[28]

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

We as believers have been promised that we will spend an eternity with God.

Last Saturday, I was doing a men's conference in Fredericksburg, 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: Here's 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.[29]

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"[30]

In 2010, Boykin was one of two "team leaders" of Team B II which released a report entitled Shariah: The threat to America. An exercise in competitive analysis, published by the Center for Security Policy, which William Arkin and Dana Priest described as "a Washington-based neoconservative think tank."[31] The other team leader was Lt. General Harry Soyster (Ret.), former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and other team members included R. James Woolsey, Jr., former CIA Director and CSP President Frank Gaffney, Jr., former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy (Acting).[32]

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."[31] According to an opinion-piece in the Washington Post, "Government terrorism experts call the views expressed in the center's book inaccurate and counterproductive."[31]

On July 16, 2012, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins announced that Boykin had been named the group's Executive Vice-President.[33]

Boykin is listed as a board member of The Oak Initiative, a conservative Christian group that describes itself as "a grassroots movement to Unite, Mobilize, Equip, and Activate Christians to be the salt and light they are called to be by engaging in the great issues of our time from a sound biblical worldview." [34] Other well-known board members include Rick Joyner, founder of Morningstar Ministries and Heritage International Ministries, and Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition.

Boykin is listed as the Grand Chancellor of the Knights Hospitallers of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, a self-styled order of chivalry.[35]

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 Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen 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.[36]

A December 9, 2003, item in The Guardian connected Boykin with secret Israeli counterinsurgency assistance in Iraq, allegedly including assassination squads.[37] In another Guardian article, Sidney Blumenthal, President Bill Clinton's former senior adviser and current Washington bureau chief for Salon.com, 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.[38]

In 2003, Seymour Hersh claimed in the New Yorker that Boykin was a key planner, along with Stephen Cambone, behind Rumsfeld's Special Forces approach to fighting the War on Terror.[6] 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 program. 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 Program was designed to do, without all of the secrecy."[39][40]

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 its nuclear facilities, and against the larger War on Terror, with the chain of command for the commando operations falling to Rumsfeld, Cambone and Boykin.[41]

Book and article

Wikiquote has quotations related to William G. Boykin.
  • 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 "Hampden-Sydney College Faculty and Staff Directory". 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-03.
  2. ^ "Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin Joins Family Research Council As Executive Vice President (press release)". Family Research Council. July 16, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  3. ^ a b c d Christian Soldier Washington Post, November 6, 2003
  4. ^ a b c [1] [dead link]
  5. ^ USASOC News Service
  6. ^ a b Seymour M. Hersh, Moving Targets, December 15, 2003, The New Yorker. (archived from the original on 2009-04-25)
  7. ^ Thompson, Mark (October 27, 2003). "The Boykin affair: A long career of marching with the cross". Time. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  8. ^ a b Jeffrey, Terence P. (July 13, 2012). "Green Beret General Joins Family Research Council to Fight 'Culture War' for America's Grandkids". CNS News. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  9. ^ Jehl, Douglas (March 4, 2005). "Report Urged Action Against General for Speeches". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Burns, Robert (February 11, 2009). "General Faulted For Satan Speeches". CBS News.
  11. ^ "William M. Arkin Biography". The Washington Post. February 13, 2007.
  12. ^ Arkin, William M. (October 16, 2003). "The Pentagon Unleashes a Holy Warrior". Los Angeles Times. Common Dreams. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  13. ^ a b "General William Boykin: Words of Faith". PBS Newshour. October 21, 2003. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  14. ^ "US is 'battling Satan' says general". BBC News. October 17, 2003. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  15. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3225695/ [dead link]
  16. ^ "Bill Text - 108th Congress (2003-2004)". THOMAS (Library of Congress). 2003-10-28. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  17. ^ "Bush renews rebuke of Boykin". Washington Times. 2003-10-28. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  18. ^ Rumsfeld defends general who commented on war and Satan, CNN, October 17, 2003. (archived from the original on 2008-05-10)
  19. ^ a b "General Faulted For Satan Speeches". CBS News. February 11, 2009. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  20. ^ "General explains statements criticized by Muslims". CNN. October 17, 2003. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  21. ^ "Pentagon deleted part of official's apology". CNN. October 20, 2003. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  22. ^ Smith, R. Jeffrey; White, Josh (August 19, 2004). "General's Speeches Broke Rules". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  23. ^ http://www.dodig.mil/fo/Foia/ERR/h03l89967206.pdf [dead link]
  24. ^ Buchanan, Patrick J. (October 27, 2003). "A Christian warrior under fire". World Net Daily. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  25. ^ http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?RTICLE_ID=35251
  26. ^ Hewitt, Hugh (October 23, 2003). "Who Is William Arkin?". The Weekly Standard. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  27. ^ "A Dem With Praise for the GOP". foxnews.com. October 24, 2003. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  28. ^ "Enemy sightings". Washington Times. October 20, 2003. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  29. ^ "What Does Gen. Boykin have in common with the New Apostolic Reformation?". April 10, 2008. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  30. ^ Montopoli, Brian (September 28, 2009). "Conservatives Fight "Homosexual Extremist Movement"". CBS News. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  31. ^ a b c Priest, Dana and Arkin, William (December 2010) Monitoring America, Washington Post
  32. ^ Shariah: The Threat to America pp.[4-5]
  33. ^ "Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin Joins Family Research Council As Executive Vice President". Christian Newswire. July 16, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  34. ^ "Board Members". The Oak Initiative. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  35. ^ http://www.theknightshospitallers.org/leadership
  36. ^ In Secret Unit's 'Black Room,' a Grim Portrait of U.S. Abuse - New York Times
  37. ^ Borger, Julian (December 9, 2003). "Israel trains US assassination squads in Iraq". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  38. ^ Blumenthal, Sidney (May 19, 2004). "The religious warrior of Abu Ghraib". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  39. ^ Donald Rumsfeld's New Killer Elite, February 12, 2006, Times Online. (archived from the original on 2009-06-09)
  40. ^ Ramadani, Sami (February 8, 2006). "Iraq invasion deception increasingly shapes coverage of occupation". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  41. ^ Hersh, Seymour M. (January 24, 2005). "The Coming Wars". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2012-09-16.

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