Washington, Oct 22: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he has agreed to a top General's request for an official review of his remarks casting the war on terrorism as a religious struggle, and a leading Republican urged he be temporarily reassigned. Lieutenant General William Boykin, Deputy Undersecretary of Defence for Intelligence, asked for the investigation following a furore over his remarks before church groups around the country interpreted by some as anti-Muslim.
"General Boykin has requested that an Inspector General review this matter and I have indicated that if that's his request, I think it is appropriate," Rumsfeld said at a news conference yesterday. President George W. Bush's administration has distanced itself from the General's remarks but so far has ignored calls by critics that he be reprimanded or reassigned.
Senator John Warner, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, later urged that Boykin "temporarily, without any prejudice whatsoever, take on another assignment until this matter is fully examined and studied and a report made to the Secretary of Defence". Warner's recommendation from the floor of the Senate was immediately seconded by Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat of Illinois.
"The sooner we can defuse this situation the better for all, including the general," Durbin said. Bureau Report