Protests have been raging in Afghanistan for the past few days, after the U.S. military reportedly burned Korans – along with other confiscated religious materials – taken from detainees at Bagram Airfield. In an effort to restore peace, Obama sent a note of apology to Afghan President Hamid Karzai today, assuring him the Koran burning was unintentional:
“I wish to express my deep regret for the reported incident,” Obama wrote. “I extend to you and the Afghan people my sincere apologies.”
The president concludes the letter: “The error was inadvertent; I assure you that we will take the appropriate steps to avoid any recurrence, to include holding accountable those responsible.”
After a fringe pastor in Florida nearly sparked an international security incident by threatening to burn a pile of Korans, you’d think the U.S. military would at least have the proper safeguards in place to ensure this didn’t happen on their bases. As frustrating as it is to indulge the violent tantrums of religious fundamentalists by tiptoeing around their holy laws, if that’s going to be U.S. national security policy then at least make sure it’s carried out properly.
There actually apparently are exceptions under Islamic law permitting Korans to be disposed of through burning, though it’s usually discouraged, reports Slate. Typically, defaced Korans are buried in the ground or in water. I’m not sure how the U.S. military usually does it, though I imagine ritual or water burial aren’t always possible on military bases.
Maybe he should also apologize to the American people for burning our Constitution.
Three thoughts on this — above and beyond the contrast between Obama and Eisenhower, the leader of the most powerful country in the world pleading with a 6th Century people to please PLEASE not retaliate against us for this. You really have to stand up to bullies, you really do…. n nFirst, I think it shows just how the military command has broken down under Obama. Somebody gave the order to do this, and unless it was itself a PsychOp directed at someone, it was damn stupid. And how did the locals, who aren't supposed to be able to wander into US bases (which are supposed to be secure) even know what the content of what was (I presume) being burnt in a 55 gallon barrel. Or has discipline broken down so much that we just toss stuff around and hope it all burns? Does that include classified documents? n nSecond, military bases consume a lot of supplies (food, ammo, fuel for example) and those transports are going back empty. There is absolutely no reason why we can't send all the holy papers back to – say Germany — and make them disappear THERE. Or if we want to be honest about this, do you have any idea the number of government warehouses there are — remember the last scene of _Raiders of the Lost Ark_? We could find some linen, wrap everything in that, and make it disappear for the next century or two. n nBetter, the Saudis are supposed to be our friends. They are more afraid of radical Islam than we are. nThey control both Mecca and Medina. "Guys, we have some stuff that we need to have disappear into some Mosque or something, we really don't care what as long as it disappears and stays disappeared." Or fly it out to an aircraft carrier and drop it off the stern and into one of those mile-deep canyons in the middle of the Atlantic when she is returning back to Norfolk. n nThis is like sending body parts to the dump — remember that scandal? What is with these people? nHas Obama really destroyed the military tradition so much that everything is breaking down? nWhat's next, a scandal regarding the disposal of worn-out US flags? n nUnless this was a PsychOp, burning those Korans was both stupid and reflective of how screwed up the military is right now. n nThird, the actual defiling of the Korans was done by the perps who were using them as notebooks to share information and such. Likewise, how many Korans burnt up in the World Trade Center — my guess is at least two digits and likely three. n nThey are defiling their own holy books and then blaming it on us. What would be truly priceless if we started trying them — under Islamic law ("hey House of Saud, can you help us out here") and PUNISHING them, pursuant to Islamic law, for what they do. Bring in the Saudi swordsman and chop off their hands and tell everyone that we are doing it out of sensitivity to Islamic tradition and the rest. n nThat would (a) put an end to this stuff real fast and (b) show that we aren't weak. We need to remember that we are NOT dealing with a Judeo/Christian culture here — Obama showed weakness and that *will* cost American lives…
Better that Obama should apologize to the Egyptian people for helping destroy Mubarak. nBetter that Obama should apologize to the Syrian people for supporting Bashar Assad when Obama became President and now standing quietly by while Assad massacres them. nBetter that Obama should apologize to the Iranian people when the Iranian opposition protested the fraudulent election three years ago and all Obama did was stand silently while Achmadinejad slaughtered them. nBetter that Obama should apologize to Israel for his bitter antagonism towards us, for betraying us, and then abandoning us to an Iranian nuclear bomb. n
The problem is that we invaded Afghanistan. There might be some resentment about that. n nToday, we are their "guests". n nWell-behaved "guests" don't burn the holy books of their hosts. If it happens, such guests should have the good manners to apologize. n nMr Obama did the right thing. That he has better manners than certain religious crazies comes as no surprise.
Charles – your little meme of "guests" and "manners" is borderline demented. The materials were used by prisoners in a war zone to communicate in violation of security rules. Their destruction was appropriate. This is a stage provocation, like the Danish cartoons, etc, to advance one side in this war (hint: not ours). Apologies are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous.