August (Web-only) 2004

ARTICLE TOOLS

Find similar articles E-mail this page

Pentagon's deputy inspector general: Lt. Gen. Boykin should be punished for religious speeches
A 10-month investigation into speeches made to Christian groups by U.S. Army Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin, one of the Pentagon's top intelligence officers, says he broke three rules, according to Reuters and The Washington Post.

Boykin, the report said, didn't get specific clearance for using official data in his speeches, didn't sufficiently note that his remarks were personal and not necessarily those of the U.S. government, and didn't report being reimbursed for travel costs.

But Boykin did make "good faith efforts" to clear the speeches through military lawyers, the report says, and apparently wasn't told that he had to get specific clearance.

"We recommend that the Acting Secretary of the Army take appropriate corrective action with respect to Lt. Gen. Boykin," the report concludes.

The Pentagon isn't saying anything yet, since the results of the investigation haven't officially been released. But an anonymous "senior Defense official who is familiar with the report's contents" told The Washington Post that

the report is seen as a "complete exoneration" that ultimately found Boykin responsible for a few "relatively minor offenses" related to technical and bureaucratic issues. … The senior Pentagon official said that it is not regular practice for top Defense Department officials to submit speeches of a personal nature for review and clearance.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (remember them?) said it welcomed the report, and said that Boykin should be reassigned to a job "in which he will not be able to harm America's ...