SANTA FE, N.M. — A former commander of the U.S. Army’s covert Delta Force whose comments have at times put him at odds with both the military and religious rights organizations, said he’ll talk about the importance of prayer when he speaks Friday at the Baptist Convention of New Mexico Legislative Breakfast in Santa Fe.
Retired Lt. Gen. William G. “Jerry” Boykin, an early member and eventual commander of the Army’s elite special forces, is now executive director of the Family Research Council, a staunchly conservative Christian group and lobbying organization.
During his 36-year military career, Boykin was a key player in numerous covert actions, including the aborted attempt to rescue 52 diplomats held hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in April 1980, the capture of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega and the search for and slaying of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. He also was an adviser to Attorney General Janet Reno during the April 1993 stand-off and eventual siege at Waco, Texas, between federal agents and the Branch Davidians.
“I’m going to talk about the imperative for Americans to rely on our faith, the faith of our founding fathers, and to do as 2nd Corinthians call for us to do, which is to humble ourselves and pray,” Boykin said in an interview Wednesday in Albuquerque.
The retired three-star general has drawn criticism for public statements that cast U.S. military operations against Islamic extremists in religious terms rather than strictly military terms. While serving as deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence under President George W. Bush, Boykin claimed publicly that “his God” was bigger than Somali faction leader Osman Hassan Ali Ato’s god – a statement roundly criticized by Arab and Muslim groups. Boykin later said he was referring to money being Ato’s god.
The current civil war in Syria, he said, has put the United States in an untenable situation.
“I’m not a fan of the Russians, but … I think we should be aligned with the Russians in terms of the objective of keeping (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad in power,” Boykin said.
“Now, it’s easy for us to say he’s an evil despot, we need to bring him down,” he said. But the alternative to Assad, he said, is allowing the Islamic State group and other “evil entities” aligned with IS, to capture Syria and continue the extremists’ efforts to establish a caliphate in the region.
Assad should remain in power “only until some international body can work out a method for Assad to go away and for a more representative government to take his place. Right now, all we’re focused on is the military campaign and bringing down Bashar,” he said.
Current U.S. policy on Syria, he said, has left an opening for Russia not only to keep Assad in power, but to claim that Russia “saved” Syria. In reality, he said, what Russia wants is to retain its naval facility in the port city of Tartus and to increase its influence in the region.
Ultimately, he speculated, Russia will revive the idea of building a pipeline from Iran, through Iraq, Syria and Lebanon to the Mediterranean.
“They will then provide gas and oil to the continent of Europe, at which point Europe will be so tied to the Russians that NATO will begin to fracture,” he said.
The invitation-only breakfast is set for 7 a.m. Friday at the Hilton of Santa Fe, 100 Sandoval St.