William Gerald Boykin | |
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| Nickname | Jerry |
| Born | (1948-04-19)April 19, 1948 (age 77) Wilson, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1971–2007 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands | Delta Force 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center |
| Battles / wars | Vietnam War Operation Eagle Claw Operation Urgent Fury Operation Just Cause Operation Gothic Serpent |
| Awards | Combat Infantryman Badge Defense Distinguished Service Medal Army Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit Master Parachutist Badge Military Freefall Badge Ranger Tab Special Forces Tab Bronze Star Purple Heart |
| Other work | Professor:Hampden–Sydney College Executive Vice-President:Family Research Council |
William Gerald "Jerry"Boykin (born April 19, 1948) is a retired Americanlieutenant general who was the United States DeputyUndersecretary of Defense for Intelligence under PresidentGeorge W. Bush from 2002 to 2007. During his 36-year career in the military he spent 13 years in theDelta Force and was involved in numerous high-profile missions, including the1980 Iran hostage rescue attempt, the 1992 hunt forPablo Escobar inColombia, and theBlack Hawk Down incident inMogadishu, Somalia.[1] He is an author and visiting professor atHampden–Sydney College,Virginia.[2] He is currently executive vice-president at theFamily Research Council.[3]
Boykin was born on April 19, 1948, inWilson, North Carolina.[4] He attended New Bern high school and was the captain of the football team. He graduated fromVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) with a bachelor's degree in English in 1971.
As a young officer, he served in the2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas; with the101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, and as a company commander in the24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) atFort Stewart, Georgia.[5][6] In 1978, at age 29, Boykin volunteered for and completed a specialized selection course for assignment to the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, orDelta Force. He would hold numerous leadership positions in the elite unit, including operations officer, troop commander, squadron commander, deputy commander and finally unit commander from July 1992 to July 1994.
Lieutenant Colonel Lewis H. "Bucky" Burruss, who helped with Delta Force selection in early 1978, recalled that Boykin "had a bad knee and I thought he would never make it....I thought, I hate to see this guy busting his [butt], I don't see how he can make it on this bad road wheel, but he surprised us." Burruss wrote at the time that "Jerry Boykin is aChristian gentleman of the highest order." Boykin believedGod had a hand in things: "God led me into the Delta Force....And He said to me, 'This is where you ought to be.'"[5]
In 1980, he was the Delta Force operations officer on the April 24–25Iranian hostage rescue attempt. Boykin called it "the greatest disappointment of my professional career because we didn't bring home 53 Americans."[7] Despite this, his "faith was strengthened" believing he had witnessed "a miracle": "Not one man who stood with us in the desert and pleaded for God to go with us was killed or even injured that night."[5]
In October 1983, Boykin took part inOperation Urgent Fury, the invasion of the Caribbean island ofGrenada. He was wounded by anti-aircraft fire during the Delta helicopter assault onRichmond Hill Prison.[8] In 1989, Boykin participated in theU.S. invasion of Panama as part of the mission to apprehendManuel Noriega[5] and participated inOperation Acid Gambit. From 1990 to 1991, Boykin attended theArmy War College. In 1992 and early 1993, as acolonel, Boykin was inColombia leading a mission to hunt for drug lordPablo Escobar.Seymour Hersh later claimed inThe New Yorker that there were suspicions within the Pentagon that Boykin's team was going to help assassinate Escobar with the support of U.S. Embassy officials in Colombia. Hersh refers toMark Bowden's bookKilling Pablo, which alleged that the Pentagon believed Boykin intended to break the law and exceed his authority in the operation. Bowden wrote that "within the special ops community...Pablo's death was regarded as a successful mission for Delta, and legend has it that its operators were in on the kill." Hersh quotes an anonymous retired army general as saying, "That's what those guys did. I've seen pictures of Escobar's body that you don't get from a long-range telescope lens. They were taken by guys on the assault team."[9]
In April 1993, Boykin helped adviseAttorney GeneralJanet Reno regarding thestand-off at Waco, Texas, between the federal government and theBranch Davidians.[1]
In October 1993, Boykin fought in theBattle of Mogadishu, also referred to as "Black Hawk Down".[1]
Some time afterwards, Boykin served at theCentral Intelligence Agency as deputy director of special activities, and was promoted tobrigadier general. He was made deputy director for operations, readiness, and mobilization when assigned to the army staff.[6]
From 1998 to 2000, he served as the commanding general,1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) atFort Bragg, North Carolina. From 2000 to 2003, he was the commanding general,United States ArmyJohn F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, Fort Bragg, N.C. In June 2003, he was appointed Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence under Dr.Stephen Cambone,Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.
Boykin retired on August 1, 2007, and began teaching atHampden–Sydney College.[2] In May 2016, he wrote on Facebook, "I have been terminated from teaching at Hampden-Sydney College after nine years there," though he and the college later reached agreement on another one-year contract. The college denied it had conducted a campaign to fire Boykin following his recent comments about transgender people using bathrooms, including, "The first man who goes in the restroom with my daughter will not have to worry about surgery."[10][11]
On July 16, 2012,Family Research Council presidentTony Perkins announced that Boykin had been named the group's Executive Vice-President.[12]
Boykin attendedArmed Forces Staff College,Army War College, andShippensburg University (where he received amaster's degree).
Boykin, aborn-again Christian with conservative political views, has gained attention for his use of religious imagery to comment on political and social issues over the years; some of his public remarks, which cast thewar on terror in religious terms, generated considerable controversy.[13]
In an October 2003 speech to a community church in Oregon, Boykin was recorded stating thatIslamic extremists hate the United States "because we're a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots areJudeo-Christians. ... And the enemy is a guy namedSatan."[13][14]William Arkin, military analyst forNBC News,[15] was the source of the video and audiotapes of Boykin. The following day theLos Angeles Times ran a piece on Boykin. Among several quotes, the article revealed Boykin giving a speech about hunting downOsman Atto in Mogadishu: "He went onCNN and he laughed at us, and he said, 'They'll never get me becauseAllah will protect me. Allah will protect me.' 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."[16] Boykin later said that he was implying that Atto's true "god" was money.[17]
Boykin's remarks were denounced—Arab and Muslim organizations within the US were highly critical of the comments.James Zogby, president of theArab American Institute,[18] theCouncil on American-Islamic Relations, and a number of commentators called for his resignation.[19] Several publications, such asNewsweek,[20] similarly carried articles calling for his resignation. SenatorsJohn Kerry (D-MA) andJoe Lieberman (D-CT) were quick to denounce the remarks.Senate Armed Services Committee ChairmanJohn Warner (R-VA) and DemocratCarl Levin both urgedSecretary of DefenseDonald Rumsfeld to launch an investigation.[18] Rep.John Conyers (D-MI) and 26 supporters put forward H. RES. 419 "Condemning religiously intolerant remarks and calling on the President to clearly censure and reassign Lieutenant General Boykin".[21]
PresidentGeorge W. Bush distanced himself from the statements, saying that Boykin didn't "reflect my point of view or the point of view of this administration."[22] Donald Rumsfeld defended Boykin, describing him as "an officer that has an outstanding record in the United States armed forces", and that the war on terrorism was "not a war against a religion".[23]
Marine GeneralPeter Pace,Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that Boykin was later "sad...that his comments created the fury they had," and expressed his belief that Boykin "does not see this battle as a battle between religions; he sees this as a battle between good and evil, the evil being the acts of individuals."[24]
Boykin issued a public statement: "My comments to Osman Otto in Mogadishu were not referencing his worship of Allah but his worship of money and power; idolatry. He was a corrupt man, not a follower of Islam. My references to Judeo-Christian roots in America or our nation as a Christian nation are historically undeniable."[17] CNN later revealed that several parts of his statement were removed on the advice of Pentagon attorneys. Among the parts removed was Boykin's assertion that "the sensitivities of my job today dictate that further church speeches are inappropriate", and "As a Christian, I believe that there is aspiritual war that is continuous as articulated in the Bible. It is not confined to the war of terrorism."[25]
Boykin then requested an investigation by aninspector general into the allegations.[24] A ten-month investigation carried out by theDepartment of Defense concluded in August 2004 that Boykin had broken three rules in giving the speeches: that he did not clarify that he gave the remarks in a private capacity, that he hadn't received clearance for making the remarks, and that he hadn't declared the reimbursement of travel funds given to him by one of the religious groups hosting the speaking events. However, the report made no comment on the actual remarks made, and little action was taken against Boykin.[26] An anonymous senior Pentagon official said that the infractions were relatively minor and rarely led to prosecution.[27] The report defended the decision not to comment on Boykin's actual comments for several reasons, primarily because "freedom of expression considerations under theFirst Amendment to theU.S. Constitution apply in this case."[28]
On September 26, 2009, Boykin gave an address at aHow to Take Back America Conference inSt. Louis, Missouri, hosted by theEagle Forum. According to theCanada Free Press, Boykin asked the audience: "What are you prepared to give up for America? Are you willing to pay the ultimate price?" and said, "there is no greater threat to America than Islam".[29] Boykin has been described as part of thecounter-jihad movement.[30]
In 2010, Boykin was one of two "team leaders" of Team B II which released a report entitledShariah: The Threat To America: An Exercise In Competitive Analysis, published by theCenter for Security Policy, whichWilliam Arkin andDana Priest have described as "a Washington-basedneoconservativethink tank."[31] The other team leader wasHarry Soyster, a retired lieutenant general and formerDirector of the Defense Intelligence Agency; that team includedR. James Woolsey, Jr., formerCIA Director; and CSP PresidentFrank Gaffney, Jr., formerAssistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy (Acting).[32] The book "describes what its authors call a 'stealthjihad' that must be thwarted before it's too late," and argues that "most mosques in the United States already have been radicalized, that most Muslim social organizations are fronts for violent jihadists and that Muslims who practicesharia law seek to impose it in this country."[31] According to an opinion piece in theWashington Post, "Government terrorism experts call the views expressed in the center's book inaccurate and counterproductive."[31]
Boykin is listed as a board member of The Oak Initiative, a conservative Christian group that describes itself as "a grassroots movement to Unite, Mobilize, Equip, and Activate Christians to be the salt and light they are called to be by engaging in the great issues of our time from a sound biblical worldview."[33] Other board members includeRick Joyner, founder of Morningstar Ministries andHeritage International Ministries; and Rev.Louis P. Sheldon, chairman of theTraditional Values Coalition.
Boykin is listed as the Grand Chancellor of the Knights Hospitallers of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta, aself-styled order of chivalry claiming relation to the historicalKnights Hospitaller.[34]
In January 2013, the retired general received a letter of reprimand from then-Vice Chief of Staff of the United States ArmyLloyd Austin for disclosing classified information in his bookNever Surrender: A Soldier's Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom.[35]
In February 2014, Boykin said in a speech that he believed thatJesus will return to Earth carrying anAR-15 assault rifle. Alluding to a biblical passage in which Jesus says, "I came not to bring peace but to bring a sword",[36] Boykin said, "I believe now that the sword he'll be carrying when he comes back is an AR-15."[37]
In another 2014 speech, Boykin said Jews are the "cause of all the problems in the world", which theSouthern Poverty Law Center characterized as "an awkward attempt at humor". During that speech, he also asserted PresidentBarack Obama had sent "subliminal messages" to Muslims during his 2009A New Beginning speech in Cairo.[38]
During the 2016 presidential election campaign, Boykin first advised Sen.Ted Cruz.[39] Then, on September 6, 2016, he endorsed Republican presidential nomineeDonald Trump.[40]
Boykin has endorsed theconspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was rigged to favorJoe Biden and claims that the United States "has taken a hard left turn toward Socialism and a Marxist form of tyrannical government."[41][42]
On April 11, 2021, Boykin was one of 124 retired U.S. militaryflag officers who signed the "Open Letter from Retired Generals and Admirals" that raised concerns of the survival of the United States as aconstitutional republic. The letter claims that the country "has taken a hard left turn towardSocialism and aMarxist form of tyrannical government."[41][42][43][44]
The New York Times reported on March 18, 2006, that, when asked byUnder Secretary of Defense for IntelligenceStephen Cambone to "get to the bottom" of abuses committed by an elite counterinsurgency task force, Boykin found no pattern to them, despite ample evidence to the contrary.[45]
A December 9, 2003, item inThe Guardian connected Boykin with secretIsraeli counterinsurgency assistance in Iraq, allegedly including assassination squads.[46] In anotherGuardian article,Sidney Blumenthal, PresidentBill Clinton's former senior adviser and current Washington bureau chief forSalon.com, claimed that towards the end of 2003, it was Boykin who, under Donald Rumsfeld's orders, advised thenCamp X-Ray headMajor GeneralGeoffrey Miller inGuantanamo to transfer the same Camp X-Ray methods toAbu Ghraib and theIraqi prison system.[47]
In 2003,Seymour Hersh claimed in theNew Yorker that Boykin was a key planner, along with Stephen Cambone, behind Rumsfeld'sSpecial Forces approach to fighting thewar on terror.[9] Furthermore, when Boykin was questioned in a congressional inquiry regarding similarities between currentwar on terror special operations and U.S.'sPhoenix Program during theVietnam War, he said, "I think we're running that kind of program. We're going after these people. Killing or capturing these people is a legitimate mission for the department. I think we're doing what the Phoenix Program was designed to do, without all of the secrecy."[48][49]
In 2005, Hersh claimed that the U.S. had begun to undertake secret, off-the-books, covert missions in Iran to identify key targets for possible strikes in destabilizing its nuclear facilities, and against the larger war on terror, with the chain of command for the commando operations falling to Rumsfeld, Cambone, and Boykin.[50]
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