War of the Worlds

NBC News reported last week that part of the army's top brass has been filtering the Afghan and Iraq wars through an incredibly powerful religious lens. Lt. Gen. William Boykin, the deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and war-fighting support, has lectured at religious functions around the country to endorse his theologically tinted viewpoint of the wars. He's said some frightening things.\nBefore we get into all that Boykin said, let's backtrack a moment and see why his comments stand apart.\nPresident George Bush, a devout Christian himself, has taken incredible pains in the past few years to keep religious conflict out of the war on terrorism. Starting with his address on Sept. 11, 2001, many of Bush's speeches emphasized his -- and America's -- feelings towards Islam. "America strives to be tolerant and just. We respect the faith of Islam, even as we fight those whose actions defile that faith," Bush said the night of the attacks. Bush knew that Muslims as a whole were not responsible, and he made it clear we were fighting our attackers, not them.\nEven the bitter arguments about the war in Iraq left religion out of the equation. Instead they focused on oil, weapons, safety and capabilities. Very few commentators made this a holy war.\nOn the other hand, Boykin, according to www.msnbc.com, said in a lecture on Jun. 30, 2002, "But who is that enemy? It's not Osama bin Laden. Our enemy is a spiritual enemy because we are a nation of believers ... His name is Satan."\nBoykin expanded this view June 21 in Sandy, Oregon:\n"Why do they hate us so much? Ladies and gentlemen, the answer to that is because ... our foundation and roots are Judeo-Christian ... and therefore, these radicals will hate us forever."\nTaken together, it seems Boykin believes that Satan has either possessed Islamic radicals to attack Christianity or Satan actually founded the religion to attack Christianity. Either way, the Muslims are Satan's chosen tools of destruction.\nBut for Boykin, the picture isn't bleak. \n"We in the Army of God ... have been raised for such a time as this," Boykin was quoted as saying in Thursday's The Los Angeles Times.\nWell, I guess we know who is on the good side.\nBoykin issued a poor statement last week in his defense. "I have frequently stated that I do not see this current conflict as a war between Islam and Christianity," he told The Associated Press for an article Saturday.\nThe Christian army of God versus a Muslim-wielding Satan? Explain to me how that isn't a holy war.\nBoykin's statements are frightening because of who's listening. There are 1.1 billion Muslims around the world that might interpret his comments as I just did. It's not a good idea to rile the second largest religion by claiming they have ties to the devil.\nMore importantly, riling part of that 1.1 billion isn't hard to do these days. Holy war is already on the minds of many because of bin Laden's calls for jihad. That call might be more appealing if it seems Islam itself will come under attack.\nCan you imagine what some Muslims must be thinking right now? On one side you have bin Laden calling on you for martyrdom. On the other side you have a three-star general who participates in policy decisions putting Islam and Satan in the same sentence. Considering that several million Muslims just experienced our strategy of aggressive defense, I imagine they are very scared.