perfidy

The Washington Post is running an op-ed piece today taking the President to task for quietly condemning the shit-headed remarks of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia, but not doing the same for the equally shit-headed remarks uttered by one of his own generals.

Look. One of the things that makes this country great is that people of all stripes, creeds, beliefs, and systems can rise to positions of prominence. The degree of freedom any one person can enjoy, given a little luck and circumstance, is staggering. Members of the US military are allowed to have any inner belief they want. (Unless they're queers. Then they by God don't want 'em.) But there's a point when this system bites you in the ass, like last week when an undersecretary of Intelligence, William Boykin, declared that our God is bigger than their God, and framed the war on terror as a Christian crusade against the devil. (Previously, Boykin sponsored a huge revival at a military base using Federal funds, so this kind of thing is not really new to him.)

There's two layers on which to respond to the situation: the personal and professional. The first layer amounts to"whatever gets you through your day, dude." I happen to think that Gen. Boykin's comments are foolish, divisive, and profoundly un-Christian. But, they're his sincerely held beliefs and more power to'im for it.

But the professional level is the more important one here. The President has spent two years off-and-on trying to convince the Muslim world at large that the United States' campaign against terrorism, often meaning radical Islamic terrorism, is NOT a "crusade" against Islam in general. Any comment from American officials that could possibly be played for anti-Islamic gain is reproduced, amplified, and chewed over endlessly in the Islamic press around the world.

In light of this, it is in the interest of the Federal Government to make sure that everyone in a position of responsibility in the War on Terrorism-- including the For-God's-Sake-Undersecretaries of Intelligence-- is on board with the general message. It's incredibly important that the US win the Sysiphean hearts-and-minds campaign. In fact, it's the one thing that can help ensure the longevity of the US' hegemony, which kind of makes it the most important thing. (Reasonable minds may differ, and although I feel hearts-and-minds is the biggest of the long-term goals, others may be more important over finite periods. So put that flaming email down, Poindexter.)

I'm all in favor of giving shit-heads a chance to succeed. It's the American way! But the President really ought to think twice about letting this guy stay in his post. It hurts the home team as much as letting Pedro pitch the 8th.

[wik] I know I'm right, because Eugene Volokh agrees with me! He also analyzes the legal what-ifs involved in firing Boykin, if that were to happen.

[alsø wik] Boykin has issued a statement apologizing. But check out CNN's list of what the Pentagon had him take out! Again Boykin's beliefs are totally his own bidness, but as Eugene V observes, there is tension between his beliefs and the mission he is part of.