The other day the Pentagon’s Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin spoke out of turn and referenced the war on terrorism in religious terms. As in Us vs. Them, Christianity vs. Islam. Bad move.
It might be “jihad” to the other side, but we keep it secular. Defending America is a life-and-death challenge, but offending others is unconscionable.
A predictable firestorm of outrage resulted with calls for Boykin’s ouster. Sure, a Saudi diplomat went apoplectic, but there was also domestic outrage, including Democratic presidential candidates. When we’re on top of our self-criticism game, nobody bashes us like us. Administrative embarrassment was palpable, and there were the requisite apologies.
Now consider something that Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said recently. He stated that “Jews rule the world by proxy” and recruit others “to fight and die for them.” In an historical take of intriguingly devious proportions, he declared that the Jews “invented socialism, communism, human rights and democracy so that persecuting them would appear to be wrong