DOD Report : Top Military Officials Endorsed Evangelizing In The Pentagon

Note: the notorious Christian Embassy video controversy was covered earlier on Alternet, December 12, 2006 by Evan Derkacz.

"In the course of defending himself to the Inspector General's office, one of the generals asserted his belief that the Christian Embassy had become a "quasi-federal entity." This seems to support assertions by Weinstein that there is real confusion in high ranks of the military regarding armed service's secular status." - Dave Van Biema, for Time Magazine, on the newly released Pentagon Inspector General's report

Legal pressure from Mikey Weinstein's Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), has led to a report, from the Pentagon Inspector General, confirming that top Pentagon military officers violated DOD regulations by appearing in a promotional video made by the Washington DC based "Christian Embassy", a group with right wing political views that evangelizes in the Pentagon. "Christian Embassy" members have long been given carte blanche within the Pentagon, liberty to enter the Pentagon unescorted and with guests, and some of the military officers accused of violation DOD regulations in the report defended themselves by claiming that "Christian Embassy" had become a "quasi governmental" agency.

Military Officers appearing in the "Christian Embassy" video have been promoted further up the command chain since the video was filmed. One, Bob Caslen, is the Commandant of Cadets at West Point. Pete Geren, was appointed July 16, 2007, by George W. Bush, to be Secretary of the United States Army. Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, who played a role in the falsification of the Jessica Lynch story, has been promoted from a 2 star to a 3 star general and is now the Deputy Director for the War On Terrorism

The vindication of many of MRFF's allegations helps substantiate the foundation's claims of extensive Christian right influence, threatening possible compromises in the command chain, within the United States Armed Forces.