Taliban asks Afghans to attack Westerners in response to Koran burnings

myp said:

This can't end well. In response to Koran burnings at a NATO base, the Taliban is asking Afghans to attack any Westerners in protest.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/23/us-afghanistan-korans-idUSTRE81K09T20120223

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myp said:

This can't end well. In response to Koran burnings at a NATO base, the Taliban is asking Afghans to attack any Westerners in protest.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/23/us-afghanistan-korans-idUSTRE81K09T20120223

Click to expand...

• First, there are Afghan's just waiting for the opportunity to take the US/NATO to task for anti-American//anti-Occupation reasons. This has nothing to do with sacred writings or religious believes. This is a case where the opposing force is exploiting the ignorance of a culture in order to erode local indigenous support. The Taliban (the Government in Exile) see an opportunity and took it. It is the exploitation of the illiterate and the religion itself, for the purpose of political gain.
  
  
• Second, thousands of decisions and actions are made every day in Afghanistan (probably millions of decision throughout the Muslim world); that are culturally related; and have the potential to be explosive. If the US/NATO was right in 99% of the cases, there would still be some instances where there would be a mistake. This is a case where there was no intent to challenge the belief or disrespect the culture. Yet, the intellectual capacity of the entire cultural strata fails to recognize this. This is clearly an example where the Afghan People are not demonstrating that they should enjoy the company of the 21st Century.

• Islamic law or the Sharia on a united Afghanistan
• Banned education for women
• Cut the hands of thieves
• Stoned to death those women convicted for adultery
• Celebration of new years
• Playing or listening to music
• Drug smuggling
• etc

RoccoR said:

DodgeFB, et al,

There is respect - and there is - understanding - and their are levels of comprehension.
(COMMENT)

Just as their are those that believe in the Supreme Being 'vs' those that do not, so there are those --- on both sides of the argument --- that have moved psychologically in time with society.

You cannot, simultaneously, believe that all things are created by the Supreme Being, who sent Mohammad inspiration, and then kill over a non-living tangible object. Just as it is wrong to steal (life), it is wrong to kill (life) in both cultures.

Now, nothing in the recent events was intended to show disrespect; nothing. Muslims (believers) tampered with the Supreme Beings inspired word through Mohammad, set down in print, for the purpose of conveying sedition. And those tamperings - corruptions of the inspired word - were destroyed in a reasonable fashion.

What is really going on here. Well, a couple of things.

• First, there are Afghan's just waiting for the opportunity to take the US/NATO to task for anti-American//anti-Occupation reasons. This has nothing to do with sacred writings or religious believes. This is a case where the opposing force is exploiting the ignorance of a culture in order to erode local indigenous support. The Taliban (the Government in Exile) see an opportunity and took it. It is the exploitation of the illiterate and the religion itself, for the purpose of political gain.
• Second, thousands of decisions and actions are made every day in Afghanistan (probably millions of decision throughout the Muslim world); that are culturally related; and have the potential to be explosive. If the US/NATO was right in 99% of the cases, there would still be some instances where there would be a mistake. This is a case where there was no intent to challenge the belief or disrespect the culture. Yet, the intellectual capacity of the entire cultural strata fails to recognize this. This is clearly an example where the Afghan People are not demonstrating that they should enjoy the company of the 21st Century.

(SOLUTION)

Before the US intervention into Afghanistan, the very righteous and religiously observant within the Taliban Regime, demonstrated their piety in numerous ways:

• Islamic law or the Sharia on a united Afghanistan
• Banned education for women
• Cut the hands of thieves
• Stoned to death those women convicted for adultery
• Celebration of new years
• Playing or listening to music
• Drug smuggling
• etc

I propose that we give the country back to these pious and enlightened leaders of the Taliban - and - abandon this culture to choose its own destiny. The people of Afghanistan obviously prefer the Taliban to the influences of the US. Yes, let their piety be their guide, left to their own devices.

In this way, the US can avoid any cultural clashes and confrontation with a people of intolerance. We can eliminate any event that might be interpreted as disrespectful, and honor their beliefs through non-interference.

Most Respectfully,
R

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• Q1: But why shit in their soup before we leave?
  
  (ANS): You cannot expect to pursue the level of intervention that we have embarked upon, and not have a clash or two. The more deadly the environment of the intervention, the more likely the lethal incidents will occur. The greater the cultural difference, the more likely a cultural clash. It is the risk you take when you choose to intervene and interrupt the normal course of the development (however slow or backward) of the society.​
• Q2: And if their thoughtlessness causes one more soldier to die what is gained?
  
  (ANS): Nothing. (You're correct.) It is not necessarily thoughtlessness. It may be reflexive or habitual. On my first assignment to London, I was crossing the street. Before crossing I looked (first) left - stepping as I went, then right. As I turned my head - I realized I just stepped in the path of a car; because as you know, in England the traffic pattern is reversed. Now in my mind, intellectually, I knew that. But I had habitually always look left first - a reflex action. I did it without even thinking. I suspect, the burning was much the same way.
  
  (ANS): Most death is senseless. But it is often unavoidable. While one expects an empty chair to emerge as a result of hostile fire, it can happen (and does) in other accidental ways. But everyone say, accidents are preventable - they are not. You can never be 100% safe. There are always risks and, as we are human - mistakes will be made.
  ​
• Q3: Is this an example of how they destroy unneeded military records?
  
  (ANS): When I was in Kabul, I had a burn barrel (shared among several offices). This is where we destroyed our classified documents and offical material, or anything that identified personal information. It is not unusual at all. Burn barrel or burn pit - burn is burn. One usually waits to ensure total destruction; stirring occasionally to make sure it burn completely through. The bigger bulk trash pits are not generally conducive to that, but a Koran is not really classified. It is an "open source" book.​

DodgeFB said:

I have already agreed we need to get out of there. But why shit in their soup before we leave? I never said I agreed with their religion. But I am made aware daily of the disrespect shown for any religion by some in this country. And if their thoughtlessness causes one more soldier to die what is gained? If they truly were treating it as trash it should have been complexly destroyed. Is this an example of how they destroy unneeded military records?

I was well aware of how the Taliban did things.

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Cerise said:

I don't think it was disrespectful. It was certainly slack.
If the books had been incinerated in the town square then yes, possibly that could be seen as goading but at the end of the day, they are bound printed pages, nothing more.
Burning a book does not destroy the content other than in a physical way.
If you know Bible stories or the ten commandments, you do not forget them because a book is burned.
Is there going to be an apology now? If so, will that placate the taliban? No it wont. We seem to be doing alot of placating...it doesnt work in this case.

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DodgeFB said:

Since we half burned their book then sent what was left for them to dispose of it was "goading". And I still think it was stupid to do in the first place.

Many people have family picture albums. They mean nothing to others. But if you set them on fire and throw them in the dump you may have to fight.

It does not make any difference how we feel about their "book". It is about how they feel about their "book".

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Cerise said:

Right, so if they burn a few Bibles that should make us want to kill them all...and they would understand that thats a valid reason?

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DodgeFB said:

It happens all the time. There are people here that don't believe in the Bible and do nasty things to them. It is just another way to insult people that believe in God. Makes them feel superior to people that believe is the only reason I can think of.

I have changed my thinking on such things in recent years. I used to feel insulted when people burned our flag or threw a Bible in the dirt. Now I just think it shows how shallow they are. I actually laugh when I see the dummies burning our flag on TV.

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Cerise said:

So presumably both sides in this conflict are 'believers'


Mmmm

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DodgeFB said:

No! None of them may believe in anything but mankind. People that do believe in something higher themselves understand what happened and why. It is like trying to explain colors to a person born blind. Very difficult to do when they have never experienced it.

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Cerise said:

Well as I said before, isnt religion wonderful!?

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myp said:

7 US soldiers have been harmed at a base in Afghanistan after a grenade was thrown as riots continue after the burning of the Koran.

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