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The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee called yesterday for the temporary reassignment of a Pentagon official who made church speeches casting the war on terrorism in religious terms.
Senator John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia, said Lieutenant General William G. Boykin should step aside during a Pentagon investigation of Boykin's comments.
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The letter from Warner and Levin warns that Boykin's comments could endanger US soldiers. "Public statements by a senior military official of an inflammatory, offensive nature that would denigrate another religion and which could be construed as bigotry may easily be exploited by enemies of the United States and contribute to an erosion of support within the Arab world, and perhaps increased risk for members of the US Armed Forces serving in Muslim nations," the senators said.
Indeed.