Reptile & Amphibian Forums

By MATT KELLEY, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Pentagon leaders on Thursday spoke up in support of a top general who has told church audiences that the war on terrorism is a battle with Satan and that Muslims worship idols.
Army Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin has made several speeches — some in uniform — at evangelical Christian churches in which he cast the war on terrorism in religious terms. Boykin said of a 1993 battle with a Muslim militia leader in Somalia: "I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol."
Boykin did not respond Thursday to a request for comment.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday he had not seen Boykin's comments, but he praised the three-star general, who is the Pentagon's deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence.
"He is an officer that has an outstanding record in the United States armed forces," Rumsfeld said at a news conference.
Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he had spoken in uniform at prayer breakfasts, adding he did not think Boykin broke any military rules by giving talks at churches.
"There is a very wide gray area on what the rules permit," Myers said. "At first blush, it doesn't look like any rules were broken."
A Republican senator visiting the Pentagon Thursday was more critical.
Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee of Rhode Island said he had not been aware of Boykin's statements as reported in the news media, then added, "If that's accurate, to me it's deplorable."
A Muslim civil rights group on Thursday called for Boykin to be reassigned.
"Putting a man with such extremist views in a critical policy-making position sends entirely the wrong message to a Muslim world that is already skeptical about America's motives and intentions," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Awad's statement noted that a verse in the Quran says Muslims believe in the same God as Jews and Christians.
Boykin's church speeches, first reported by NBC News and the Los Angeles Times, cast the war on terrorism as a religious battle between Christians and the forces of evil.
Appearing in dress uniform before a religious group in Oregon in June, Boykin said Islamic extremists hate the United States "because we're a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christian. ... And the enemy is a guy named Satan."

Halliburton Allegedly Overcharges in Iraq
Thu Oct 16, 2:23 AM ET
By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Two Democratic lawmakers say Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, Halliburton, is gouging U.S. taxpayers while importing gasoline into Iraq. The Houston-based company contends it is paying the best price possible.
Reps. Henry Waxman of California and John Dingell of Michigan complained to the Bush administration that Halliburton's KBR subsidiary is billing the Army between $1.62 and $1.70 per gallon, while the average price for Middle East gasoline is 71 cents.
They also complained that Iraqis are charged between 4 cents and 15 cents at the pump for the imported gasoline.
"Although Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the world, the U.S. taxpayer is, in effect, subsidizing over 90 percent of the cost of gasoline sold in Iraq," the lawmakers said in the latest Democratic attacks against the Houston company that received a no-bid contract.
The charges cover the purchase and transportation of the petroleum from Kuwait and other countries.
Halliburton, originally hired to extinguish oil fires, has received the expanded role of restoring Iraq's oil industry. The company has been paid $1.4 billion through September for its work.
"KBR is not responsible for establishing the price Iraqi motorists pay for gasoline at the pump," Halliburton spokeswoman Wendy Hall said.
She said the company negotiates "fair and competitive prices" with suppliers outside Iraq and must transport the gasoline in a hostile environment.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which chose Halliburton, has received bids for a replacement contract that could be awarded this month.
Corps spokesman Robert Faletti said he could not confirm the figures that Waxman and Dingell cited in a letter to Joshua Bolten, director of the Office of Management and Budget.
He said, however, that the contract is being audited by Congress and the Army.
In a further move against Halliburton, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., announced Wednesday he would propose barring the government from awarding Iraq reconstruction contracts to companies that maintain close financial ties to the president, vice president or members of the president's Cabinet.
Lautenberg wants the measure added to an $87 billion reconstruction bill for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Cheney receives deferred payments from Halliburton and also has stock options.
Cheney's office has said the vice president had no role in the contract and that the deferred payments were for his services while he headed the company. He has said he would give the proceeds to charity should he profit from the exercise of stock options.

Isn't it funny that every time you cite something from the paper(not shocking since you have zero original thoughts), it's always a democrat who is bashing the state of things? Duh-uh! How's about answering those questions there Nematode?

In case you missed it in the first article

"A Republican senator visiting the Pentagon Thursday was more critical.
Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee of Rhode Island said he had not been aware of Boykin's statements as reported in the news media, then added, "If that's accurate, to me it's deplorable."

He's not a democrat. Aren't you the least bit disturbed that one of the generals heading up the war in Iraq views them as godless heathens. Oh that's right, I forgot, you agree with geeboo's comments about the people who don't agree with the war. They're foreign immigrants who've brought their wayward ways with them.

he is about as far to the left as one can get in the republican party. Conservatives are always wondering when he is going to go to the dark side.

Sobek....whoever you are....you are what I would consider a domestic enemy to the Constitution.....

When one joins our military forces, or takes public office in our nation - there is a clear and specific oath associated with it.

That oath contains a phrase familiar to millions of Americans:

"...to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic."

Obviously most government officials who are democrats lie when taking this oath.....

Democrats in this day and age are actually Communists.....anyone who beleives in a government taking the wages of the people and redistributing it, beleives in Communism.....or maybe you would rather call it Socialism.....

What's the difference between Socialism and Communism you say?? That's like me asking you what is the difference between a "camel dung sandwich" and a "sheep dung sandwich"......they are both dung.....

Democrats are all communists. A very interesting concept. And all socialists as well. A lot of european countries are going to surprised to hear that. Intersting too that, since in your last election the popular vote was so close, about 50% of your country is communist then.

who are registered as Democrats are infact actually Socialists/Communists......at least the Black Causcus calls themselves Progressive Socialists......several years ago people started using the term Progressive when speaking of Liberal Democrats, but once the majority of people in this country started to realize what was meant by Progessive they dropped the term. I didn't say every person in America that is a Democrat is a Communist, I was speaking of the government officials. And what European countries will find it interesting to know that they are Socialist countries....what makes you think they don't already know what they are. Most of them speak of their socialized medicine and other socialized programs they have.....which in my opinion is crap.....why do so many of you Canadians come down here to America for medical treatment if your socialized medicine is so great....and 50% of the people in this country aren't Communist......most people here in America that vote Liberal do so because of social issues.....not because they want the government to tell them how and where they can live....and by the way....it isn't a concept, it's my opinion.....

>>Sobek....whoever you are....you are what I would consider a domestic enemy to the Constitution.....

And what would you consider your self? Is it because I question this administration? You need to get with the program man. It sounds like you would be happier under a dictatorship. You know the kind of government who terminates the so called “domestic enemies”

>>Obviously most government officials who are democrats lie when taking this oath.....

I guess your not really familiar with are own government or politics in general. The word lie and the word republican go hand in hand buddy. Don’t act like democrats are the only ones full of $hit.

>>Democrats in this day and age are actually Communists

And republicans are capitalist swine!

Every pore in your body oozes venom towards the American way of life....the way of life that made this country the great country that it is......I don't give a crap what you think of this administration.....you are a moron and every post you make proves that time after time.

As I thought, you have no clue whats going on.

Marines Face Charges of Mistreating Iraqis

Sat Oct 18, 1:20 PM ET
By GREG RISLING, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - Eight Marine reservists face charges ranging from negligent homicide to making false statements in connection with the mistreatment of prisoners of war in Iraq, military officials said Saturday.
Two of the men were charged with negligent homicide in connection with the June death of an Iraqi who was held at a detention facility, said Marine Staff Sgt. Bill Lisbon, a spokesman at Camp Pendleton.
Lisbon said Saturday he was unsure how many of the other six reservists had been charged in connection with that incident and would not say whether the man was the 52-year-old Iraqi prisoner of war whose death at a camp run by the 1st Marine Division near Nasiriyah was reported last June.
Maj. Clark Paulus and Lance Cpl. Christian Hernandez face negligent homicide charges. The other six face lesser charges involving mistreatment of prisoners.
"I think it's surprising because this is not what Marines do," Lisbon said. "They don't do what these guys are being charged with. Our reaction is that we are going to serve justice."
Paulus also faces two counts of dereliction of duty, one count of cruelty and maltreatment, one count of making a false official statement and one count of assault. Hernandez also faces one count of dereliction, one count of cruelty and maltreatment, and three counts of assault.
The others charged include: Maj. William Vickers, one count of dereliction of duty; Sgt. Gary Pittman, two counts of dereliction of duty and five counts of assault; Lance Cpl. William Roy, two counts of dereliction of duty, one count of cruelty and maltreatment, and five counts of assault; Sgt. Albert Rodriquez-Martinez, one count of making false official statements and two counts of assault; Lance Cpl. Andrew Rodney, one count of assault; and Lance Cpl. Konstantin Mikholap, one count of making false official statements and two counts of assault.
The eight, who belong to the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, were being held at Camp Pendleton. Their hometowns were not immediately released and it was not known if all had retained lawyers.
Attorney Donald Rehkopf Jr., who represents Roy, said his client is innocent.
He declined to discuss specific evidence, but said the Army is supposed to handle POW facilities and the Marine reservists were untrained for the job.
"In the rush to war with Iraq, providing the mandatory training to reservists seems to have had little if any priority with the Pentagon," Rehkopf told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle in Saturday's editions.
The reservists "had no training at all. They were given a 30-minute training on the Geneva convention," Rehkopf said. referring to the international accords for treatment of POWs.
Lisbon said the cases will be examined by the military equivalent of a grand jury, which will decide whether the men will be court-martialed.
The investigation was handled by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

we preach freedom of speach, but in Iraq and most muslim controlled countries, it will get you killed. Then when one of our warriors that fights for these freedoms practices freedom of speach, liberals in this country jump all over him!

That says a lot about liberal values.

Rodney

GREAT POST!!!

lol so true!!