This general is toast, and it puts Bush in an impossible position. The religious right is already starting to rabble-rouse around the idea that the abuses weren't really that big a deal, and General Boykin, the guy who made the anti-Muslim comments, is a hero to the very-anti-Muslim religious right. Bush has no choice but to do something about Boykin now, but in so doing, he will majorly tick off the religious right, which means that Bush will have to make it up to them by giving them something else. Five will get you ten that the quid pro quo will either be something restricting abortion or slapping gays (I say it'll be the constitutional amendment on gay marriage). Either way, prepare for the fundies to start a campaign to save this guy, further embarrassing the Bush administration domestically and internationally.
Reuters: "The U.S. Army general under investigation for anti-Islamic remarks has been linked by U.S. officials to the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal, which experts warned could touch off new outrage overseas.
A Senate hearing into the abuse of Iraqi prisoners was told on Tuesday that Lt. Gen. William Boykin, an evangelical Christian under review for saying his God was superior to that of the Muslims, briefed a top Pentagon civilian official last summer on recommendations on ways military interrogators could gain more intelligence from Iraqi prisoners.
Critics have suggested those recommendations amounted to a senior-level go-ahead for the sexual and physical abuse of prisoners, possibly to 'soften up' detainees before interrogation -- a charge the Pentagon denies.
