David L.
Ben Franklin: “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt, they have more need of masters.”
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of Charles
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2003 1:27 PM
To: 'The Sandbox Discussion List'
Subject: [Sndbox] Bush wimps out again...Why is he so afraid to take a stand against these people...I mean the Malaysian PM just said to go out and kill any Jew you find...why is Bush so bound and determined to paint these evil people as good guys?Besides, Bush calls himself a Christian, if he is a Christian then the view that Muslims worship an idol and not a "real God" *MUST* be his personal view, or he is not a Christian.I bet Bush would pick up a whole lot of support if he'd take a hard line conservative stance.Bush Distances Himself from General's Islam Comment
Wed October 22, 2003 11:11 AM ET
By Adam Entous
CANBERRA, Australia (Reuters) - President Bush distanced himself Wednesday from a senior military intelligence official who sparked an international firestorm by saying that Muslims worship an idol and not a "real God."
Moderate Muslim clerics took issue with Army Lt. Gen. William Boykin, an evangelical Christian who serves as deputy undersecretary of defense, during talks on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.
"I said, 'He didn't reflect my opinion. Look, it just doesn't reflect what the government thinks.' And I think they were pleased to hear that," Bush told reporters afterward.
The comments were Bush's first in public on the controversy surrounding Boykin, who portrayed the U.S. war on terrorism as a clash with "Satan," saying Islamic radicals sought to destroy America "because we're a Christian nation."
Bush, in contrast, has publicly -- and privately -- rebuked Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad over his remarks about Jews controlling the West by proxy.
In an interview with reporters aboard Air Force One, Bush said he "didn't yell" at Mahathir at an Asia-Pacific summit. "I said they (his comments about Jews) were divisive and unnecessary."
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced Tuesday that the Pentagon would launch an internal probe into speeches given at churches and prayer breakfasts by Boykin.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John Warner, a Virginia Republican, called for Boykin to be reassigned, at least temporarily.
Boykin's comments surfaced last week when NBC News broadcast videotapes of him giving speeches while wearing his Army uniform at various Christian functions.
In one speech, Boykin referred to a Muslim fighter in Somalia who said U.S. forces would never catch him because Allah would protect him. "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," Boykin said.
Several Democrats and some religious and civil rights groups have condemned his remarks.
Boykin said in a statement Friday he was "neither a zealot nor an extremist," was "not anti-Islam or any other religion," and offered a "sincere apology" to those offended by his remarks.
Reflecting growing mistrust of the United States among ordinary Indonesians, the clerics meeting in Bali also criticized Washington for supporting Israel over the Palestinians and for the occupation of Iraq.
"There was kind of a sense that Americans believe that Muslims are terrorists," Bush said. "One of the reasons I wanted to have this meeting was because I wanted to make it very clear that I didn't feel that way and Americans don't feel that way."
(Reporting by Steve Holland, editing by Lori Santos; Reuters Messaging: [EMAIL PROTECTED], 1 202-898-8457))
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