US: A US Defence Department investigation has determined that Lieut-Gen William Boykin, the Pentagon's senior military intelligence official, violated three internal regulations while delivering controversial speeches that linked the war on terrorism to what he depicted as an enduring war against Satan, according to a copy of the report obtained by the Washington Post.
The 10-month internal investigation, conducted by the department's deputy general inspector for investigations, confirmed news accounts that in his speeches, Gen Boykin said that President Bush had been placed in his post by God, that radical Muslims hate America because it "will never abandon Israel", and that the US military is recruiting a spiritual army that will draw strength from a greater power to defeat its enemy.
Arab and Muslim groups sharply criticised these remarks when they were initially pub-licised last year, accusing Gen Boykin of bigotry and saying he was unfit to keep his post.
The Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, Mr John Warner, and the committee's senior Democrat, Senator Carl Levin, demanded an inquiry and called for Gen Boykin to step down while it proceeded.
But the Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, speaking at the time, praised the general for "an outstanding record" and kept him in his post.
However, the report found that Gen Boykin improperly failed to obtain clearance for his remarks, improperly failed to clarify that his remarks were personal and not official, and improperly failed to report reimbursement of travel costs from one of the sponsoring religious groups. "We recommend that the acting secretary of the army take appropriate corrective action with respect to Lieut-Gen Boykin," the report said. -