What Have We Become?

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American Response to Afghan Quran Incident a Show of Weakness

by John Bernard, 1st Sgt. USMC (ret.)

In a world where every aberrant act, every self-inflicted malady and every vice is considered an epidemic, we most certainly need to add to the list the act of prostrating oneself and by extension, his country for every single assumed infraction of societal and ideological moray in every minor culture in the world!

As an American, watching senior Officers and Elected Officials continually apologizing for one piece of inanity or another has passed from bothersome to an active insult to the American people! And even if an unhealthy percentage of this population is not insulted by this most despicable of trends; many of us are! These Officers and our elected officials fail to understand they do not represent the many foreign cultures of the world and they certainly are not properly representing us by continuing to prostrate themselves and by extension, us for every little suggestion of insensitivity toward the delicate mental state of the ideologically unhinged.

This latest example was provoked by a gaggle of angry Afghan protestors who were reacting to a story that the Koran or even several copies of the Koran had been disposed of – unceremoniously. If anyone had read the actual account, they would have learned that the copies that were discarded and burned belonged to EPW’s (Enemy Prisoners of War) being held on Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. They were confiscated when it was determined that the EPW’s were using the Koran as an illicit messaging system to communicate with one another.

For those of you who do not understand the implications of that little piece of information, allowing EPW’s access to one another overtly or covertly, increases the chances of everything from an escape attempt to violent acts against their guards. Removing the Koranic message pads, was not only good judgment, it was necessary and may have saved lives – American lives.

Varying versions of the story have indicated as few as 100 and as many as 2000 “noble” Afghan’s had “assembled” for a protest of the alleged desecration of the Koran. These “peaceful” and “noble” protestors threw rocks and firebombs at security forces in anger over the insensitive handling of their “holy” book.

Just an aside; why is it that protestors, whether on this side of the big pond, or the other, are considered sincere, peaceful and righteous when they employ actions that endanger the very lives of those around them but when someone lodges a peaceful, verbal or written complaint they are being unreasonable, hate-filled and even racist? And why is it that if someone were to burn the Bible – unceremoniously or otherwise that the same kind of reaction to that act would not also be seen as reasonable? Why is it we tolerate these acts of intolerance only from the “noble” Islamic adherent?

A video shows the American Officer in charge of ISAF expounding on the horrors of the handling of the Islamic text as he tries to assure his Afghan audience and the Muslim world in general that this whole episode was just an unfortunate accident and under investigation. His public Nostrum Mendum would have been at least a little balanced if he had also mentioned that the Korans in question had already been desecrated by the Islamic EPW’s who were the original owners and who were using them as, essentially, a combat notebook. Do you suppose the “noble” protestors would have been as incensed by that knowledge? Do you think they would have demanded those Islamic prisoners be handed over for a “proper chastisement”? Or is this episode just another indication of the intolerance of a people ensconced in a religious ideology that preaches and demands intolerance of others?

Where were those “noble” Afghan protestors when eleven (yes, 11) Afghan policemen opened fire on NATO troops two days ago? And for that matter, did this Officer or his US political “handlers” care enough about that attack and the countless other attacks that have occurred in the past three years, to denounce them publically, to the “noble” Afghan?

I can’t seem to find that video anywhere…

I was also wondering why it is so imperative that we, as a nation be “sensitive” to the intolerance of a people who would just as soon have our heads on several pikes while admonishing our very same population for not being tolerant enough of others?

This goes far beyond the discussion of double standards. We are now firmly engaged in the psychologically sick act of self-destruction. We are no longer satisfied to consider ourselves or the actions of our predecessors loathsome, we are now obsessed with ensuring our own destruction as a nation, a culture and a people. Our leadership is no longer interested in right or wrong, truth or lie, acts of desecration or accidental disposal, the survival of our nation or the perception of our strength. All that really counts is ensuring the most despicable people and cultures of this world truly believe our heartfelt apology – for existing and that we will continue to strive for the total annihilation of our culture, our society, our population.

The country I heard about, read about and was taught about as a child seems to have vaporized. The dream that was the vision of our founding fathers and that was kept alive even through the generation of my parents and a sizeable portion of my generation, has been circumvented by a sub-culture of prostrating, anti-American self-mutilators who seem to think they represent all of us.

I have sad news for you; you don’t!

Semper Fidelis;

John Bernard