Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin has really caught some flak over his remarks about how his religious beliefs animate his approach to fighting terrorism. He's now responded with a non-apology apology. That's a statement that's couched as an apology but isn't really.
For instance, if I say, "All left-handed Presbyterians are morons," and someone demands that I apologize for an offensive remark. So I respond by saying, "I'm sorry if anyone was offended by my comment on left-handed Presbyterian morons." That's not an apology, it's a sneer. I'm "apologizing" for someone else's response to what I said. What it really means is, "Anyone who was offended by what I said is a pathetic jerk."
General "God is on my side" Boykin gave a classic example by saying, "For those who have been offended, I offer a sincere apology." Translation: For anyone who claims they were offended, I'm sorry you're such a pathetic whiner and enemy of the One True God; for everyone else, of course, God is on Our Side.
Oddly, this same Los Angeles Times article I just linked quotes "Eugene Fidell, a military law specialist in Washington" as saying he was not aware of Boykin having broken any rules by his comment. "But he said the general's comments posed a 'management problem' for Boykin's superiors because they appeared to reflect 'profoundly poor judgment'." Uh, I would say so.
But Daily Kos has pointed out that military regulations do put limits on the situations in which a soldier can appear in public in uniform. (Boykin has often made his controversial religious declarations while in uniform.) More specifically, Army Regulation 670-1-10 (j)1 and (j)2 prohibit the wearing of uniforms in "the furtherance of any political or commercial interests" or while "participating in public speeches, interviews, picket lines, marches, rallies, or public demonstrations, except as authorized by competent authority."
So whether he violated regulations is still an open question in my mind.
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