Sarah Palin: Colorado Christian Univ. troops salute in wake of Osama bin Laden's death

Wouldn't you know it -- the day after Osama bin Laden was killed by an elite Navy SEALs team in Pakistan, former vice presidential candidate and political star Sarah Palin will offer a salute to the troops at Colorado Christian University. And surprisingly enough, she may not be the most...

By Michael Roberts

May 2, 2011

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Wouldn't you know it -- the day after Osama bin Laden was killed by an elite Navy SEALs team in Pakistan, former vice presidential candidate and political star Sarah Palin will offer a salute to the troops at Colorado Christian University.

And surprisingly enough, she may not be the most controversial figure on the program.

Joining Palin will be William Boykin, a retired lieutenant general well known for making fiery statements about Islam.

As documented by BigMedia.org's Jason Salzman, Boykin contextualized his early nineties battles with a Somali warlord by saying, "I knew my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."

Such statements have escalated since his 2007 retirement from the military. In an article for the Centennial Institute, which Salzman describes as an arm of CCU, Boykin wrote that "Islam is not just another religion," but, "in its fullest form... a complete and totalitarian way of life." And in another piece, he implied that Islam doesn't deserve the same constitutional protection as does "Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and other faiths."

Does Palin agree with these sentiments -- the sort that President Barack Obama specifically distanced himself from in last night's speech announcing bin Laden's death? Salzman wasn't able to get confirmation about that, but he was told by former GOP state senate leader John Andrews, one of the event's organizers, that Palin's people signed off on Boykin's appearance at the troops tribute.

The rally gets underway at 7 p.m. tonight at CCU. Click here for details.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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