In June 2004, Stephen A. Cambone, a top Pentagon official, ordered his deputy, Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, to look into allegations of detainee abuse at Camp Nama. (click here)
Strange thing about Boykin. He was linked to the investigation of abuse in Iraq. Strange bunch. Even stranger war. How any general can justify any presence in Iraq considering the hardship suffered and continuing today is beyond me.
The Iraq War did strange things to people. Generals began to minister to the public in churches to explain why God was on their side. Hm. Indeed.
In late 2003, Maj. General William G. Boykin (serving as Deputy Undersecretary for Intelligence under Stephen Cambone) took a lot of heat when the press suddenly noticed a bunch of his wacky statements. Before being placed in charge of the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the former Delta Force commander had recently made several in-uniform appearances at church congregations to explain why Jesus is on America's side.
Speaking of Somali militia leader Osman All Otto, captured in 1993: "I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol." After this comment started drawing flak, Boykin backpedaled: "Comments to Osman Otto in Mogadishu were not referencing his worship of Allah but his worship of money and power; idolatry."
Regarding the convoluted election of President George W. Bush: "Why is this man in the White House? The majority of Americans did not vote for him. He's in the White House because God put him there for a time such as this." On another occasion, Boykin put it this way: "George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the United States. He was appointed by God."
In a slideshow program he presented at various church groups, Boykin showed a photo he had taken from a helicopter over Mogadishu in 1993 depicting black patches in the sky. "Whether you understand it or not, it is a demonic spirit over the city of Mogadishu. Ladies and gentlemen, that's not a fake, that's not a farce."
Another comment from the slideshow: "Well, is he (Osama bin Laden) the enemy? Next slide. Or is this man (Saddam Hussein) 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."
Regarding this last point, magician and celebrity atheist Penn Jillette responded thusly:
A guy? A guy? A guy named "Satan." We can't even find a guy named Bin Laden, and now we're looking for an evil tooth fairy? Satan's not a guy, it's just someone else's imaginary friend. How did we end up fighting a war against a sock monkey?
According to Boykin, his religious conversion broke up his marriage: "My wife of 25 years [...] walked in and said, 'I don't love you anymore, you're a religious fanatic, and I'm leaving you.'"
