It’s hard to believe that the U.S. troops involved in the reported near-torching of Korans at Bagram air base in Afghanistan didn’t know what they were doing.
After all, for close to a decade, the U.S. military has been issuing guidance like this to U.S. troops on how to treat the Muslim holy book:
But assuming it was a mistake, as the military maintains, it’s also hard to fathom the apologies issued by Marine General John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and the White House. Within hours, Allen had the above video up on YouTube, and the Pentagon’s PR machine was issuing an apology in Panetta’s name. “These actions,” the defense chief said, “do not represent the views of the United States military.” Training to ensure troops can recognize such sensitive items will be carried out over the next two weeks.
The Korans, from the prison at Bagram’s edge, allegedly were mixed in with other stuff slated to be burned as trash before Afghan employees intercepted them en route. A pair of U.S. troops allegedly tossed two bags of material into a burn pit, including some Korans. The key question – after years of dealing with the issue (including the false charge that a Koran had been flushed down a toilet at Guantanamo Bay — another prison-related Koran issue) is how Korans and other Islamic materials ended up in Bagram’s waste stream – and why it took Afghan workers to point this out. The episode generated predictable ire from local Afghans. Up to 2,000 stormed Bagram’s gates and shouted “Death to America!”
But, Allen insists:
I assure you — I promise you — this was NOT intentional in any way.
If that’s true, why all the fuss? One wonders if the obsequious response to such a mistake doesn’t simply fuel over-reaction — by each side — the next time something similar occurs.
