Soldiers Differing Views......

Just remember, there's a right way and a wrong way to do everything and the wrong way is to keep trying to make everybody else do it the right way.

~~~~~M*A*S*H, Colonel Potter

*Note*  This is a fairly long post.  Sit back, get comfortable and read for a bit.  Grab yourself something to drink while you're at it, as I'm liable to p*ss some people off with my personal opinion on this.  Per the usual, doing the clicky click thing will take you to the original post.


It's been quite the week in regards to Our Guys in Afghanistan.  I would dare say that there couldn't be many people of reading age that hasn't heard of the conflagration that was caused by the burning of defiled Qurans at the Bagram Detention Center.  Yes sir, quite the week. 

We endured the news that two American advisers were shot and killed at point blank range by a "rouge" Afghan they worked with in one of the most secure buildings in Kabul; Ministry of Interior.  Then there were 2 more American soldiers who were shot and killed at a protest in front of another base by Afghan forces.  Never forgetting that being wounded while in country, doing the job they were sent to do, can be a life changing event as well, came the news of  7 Americans who were caught by the grenade blast after it was lobbed at their base. 

The resulting argument shitstorm that hit both Afghanistan and America has been a real eye opener for me. Facebook was to be avoided.  Biting of the tongue was an every day occurrence, multiple times even.  It's taken me a few days to process a good portion that I've read over this...controversy.   I guess that's one of the pitfalls of instant communications, no one has or takes the opportunity to gather their thoughts and actually consider the ramifications of their words before they start typing.  Sorta hard to take back once they hit the airwaves, isn't it? 

What I find more sad than anything is that many Americans are calling for the complete pullout of all our troops from Afghanistan.  Why would anyone who has watched the news for the last decade want to do something like that?  Have not the men and women who have given so much thus far not meant anything? Have they sacrificed in vain?  Do we not have what it takes anymore to persevere in extremely dark days?  Do we not have the backbone to stand upon our values as a country and a people that are the face of freedom to the rest of the world?  Are we not there to help develop those same freedoms for and by the Afghan people?  Is it because they aren't embracing our type of government and religion that we yield so quickly to calls for quitting?   How can we expect our leaders to stand firm when we ourselves can't be counted upon to do the same things? 

There are many questions that I keep searching the answers to.  How and why did this happen in the first place?  Yes, I understand a good portion of the how.  If I know anything about large organizations like the Army, I know that there are Standard Operating Procedures in place for pretty much every event likely to occur.  I've heard that all of Our Guys going into country have to attend "culture sensitivity" classes. Was someone asleep and got signed off on just for having a warm body there?  Did no one question the order to remove those Qurans, or question if burning them was the correct way to dispose of them?  Why weren't the defiled ones given to the Afghan counterparts at the Detention Center to dispose of in the manner they should have been?   Why do the Afghans doing the protesting not blame the Taliban for the  death and destruction they are causing?  Who's getting the short end of the stick here?  A conundrum to be sure...

But I digress. 


I'm going to highlight two mil-blogs that are written by American soldiers that show the differing views.  One is written by a retired soldier who spent a 12 month tour in Afghanistan: Bouhammer.  I've met Troy.  He didn't strike me as a radical.  Nor does he now.  But I can't agree with his thoughts on this.  I just can't.  You decide for yourself. 

From his post titled- F@#$ Karzai and his corrupted leaders in Government

It is time to go. Yes I said it. I am done with these people. I am done at watching friends of mine die, get wounded and come back to a lifetime of issues over these people. I never thought I would say it and who knows, this could be emotion talking right now.
I will write about this more over the weekend, but I can tell you that I have felt for a while that the time to pack our toys and go home has come. I am sick and tired of Karzai who has lost his way since he was first put into power running his mouth off. He needs to quit stealing oxygen and disappear.
I am tired of a government that steals from its people, is corrupt to the core, only looks after itself and those around it, plays both sides of the fence and for the most part ignores its own people. The entire Afghan government may not be corrupt, but the top levels are, therefore the lower levels see that and think it is acceptable.

A day later, he wrote this post- Hypocrites

 Hypocrites, that is what many of these so-called “holy muslims” are. I am sick and tired of their selective compliance of what is acceptable and not acceptable in their faith.

Writing in the Quran is prohibited, yet they do it to pass messages between prisoners. Where are the riots over that? Where are the riots at the front gates of Bagram Air Base by Afghans who want to take control and punish those Afghan prisoners who wrote in the Quran?
Yeah…..Crickets…..

Not exactly what I expected to hear from one of Our Guys that had worked with Afghan forces for a year. One who I thought really and truly got what our mission in Afghanistan was/is.  There's quite a few more that feel much the same.

"The world is full of fools and faint hearts; and yet everyone has courage enough to bear the misfortunes, and wisdom enough to manage the affairs, of his neighbor."  ~Benjamin Franklin



Then there's Blue.  Afghan Blue III.  Currently on his third tour in Afghanistan. He offers the opposing view to this thunderous call to quit.

Several days ago, he wrote - Still Here

Just wanted to post and say, “I’m still here.”   I’m fine.  We have been locked down in the wake of the Quran burnings at Bagram.   I’ve read news articles about the events, the comments on American news outlets that allow them and monitored emails from friends.  All I can say is that the atmosphere on both sides is disturbing.

We were at the Zone headquarters when we got the news, and I thought it had to be a joke, because no one would do something that stupid, would they?  I mean, it’s only been less than a year since that nimrod in Florida burned a Quran on YouTube and people died over it.  Of all the things that you could do in Afghanistan that would cause unnecessary death, this is one that is a proven winner.
It wasn’t a joke.   And it’s not a joke.   And Afghans don’t forget; things like this are cumulative in this culture, not isolated events.   That’s a cultural difference.  It’s all hip and cool to understand the little cultural things like the left hand and the soles of the feet, but when it comes to understanding the culture of history, of affront and revenge and reconciliation, not so much.
But it is real.

From his post today -The Feeling And The Sensing

How does one convey the feeling of being seven thousand miles from home while two countries go mad?   I swear, it feels as if so many people have lost their damned minds both here and at home.
Many of my blogging friends are talking about nukes and smallpox-infested blankets and carpets.
I read the comments on the news stories on dozens of outlets both liberal and conservative.  They blame the Afghans for the violence.  They cannot understand how a book can be worth the loss of lives, especially American lives.  They cry out in rage for our immediate withdrawal, as if their moral outrage is now an excuse for wholesale abandonment… failure… in an effort they have grown weary of and no longer… as if they ever did… understand.    Our moral compass has no point upon it where an idea, much less the physical repository for that idea, is worth lethal outrage.   They throw rocks and burn tires.   We throw comments and flame those who dissent.   It’s as much as we can care about anything.
Of course, we have those in our country who will destroy property and endanger lives over the outcome of a sporting event, but that’s usually a local affair and not a national outburst.
Of all the things one could do in this country with the demonstrated potential to cause such outbursts, burning the Quran tops the list.   We have inadvertently bombed weddings and suffered only a fraction the outrage that disrespecting the religion, even if “inadvertently,” has caused.   If there were one thing to avoid doing in this entire country, burning the Quran would be it.  We spend literally tens of thousands of man-hours and millions of dollars to avoid causing civilian casualties… as well we should… in order to attain our exceedingly poorly stated goals.  Yet we cause more chaos in ten minutes of book burning.   We can blame the Afghans all day, we can talk about how most of them can’t even read the book that was burned, we can spout off about hypocrisy and curse them as a backwards people.
It solves nothing.   All we are doing is feeding the insurgents.
How does it feel?  Frustrating.

Just two men who happen to be soldiers with differing viewpoints.  Yet, they are a world apart, literally and figuratively. 

How can we honestly say that we support our troops in words and deeds when they see the reactions of normal everyday Americans who cry foul and want to run back home to Momma?  Perplexing question to be sure.

I've often felt discouraged reading the news from Afghanistan.  But then again, who hasn't if everything that is reported is to be believed.  
Many times, I've wondered how I/We would feel and what our reactions would be if the tables were turned and we were the ones with an occupying force in our country for over 10 years.   It's a thought worth pondering, as well as scary as all get out. 


Now, for the apologies rendered...

"The only correct actions are those that demand no explanation and no apology." ~Red Auerbach

There was a video I posted on Facebook the other day.  I'm sure some of you have seen it.  Kira Davis is the original poster to YouTube, I believe.  I won't post it here, but the link is above.  In her video, she spoke directly to Afghan President Hamid Karzai after she had heard that our President had sent an apology for the incident in question.  Initially, I thought she spoke with reason and sound forethought.  While she displayed great restraint, I finally caught the undertones of her apology.  Yes, you guessed it, I got caught up in the moment or was distracted by something I was doing. Typical, yes?  But with further reflection on the spoken words, I must admit that her 'tongue in cheek' just didn't set right.  Not with me, anyway.  Granted, she raised many salient points.  Thing is, it was the actual burning of the Quran that needed to be addressed, not how we perceive Afghanistan to be, regardless of how true those perceptions might be.  So now... I'm sorry.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and General John Allen had the following to say in apology. 

“He and I apologize to the Afghan people and disapprove of such conduct in the strongest possible terms,” Panetta said. “These actions do not represent the views of the United States military. We honor and respect the religious practices of the Afghan people, without exception.”

Americans' weren't the only ones who apologized.  Apparently, those apologies didn't make prime time news. War On Terror News reported "Afghan Defense Minister apologizes for attack on US soldiers."
He also wrote an interesting perspective piece; 'A CounterView of Afghan Violence' that you can find here. 

CSMonitor had this post up this morning.  We'll see how that "forgiveness" thing plays out in the coming months.  Or until next time something happens to dredge this back up.  I'll keep praying that we learn by our mistakes and not just because 'it's not allowed' now.    

I guess it all boils down to this...A persons religion or religious tenets should and must be respected while in another country.  We seem to be able to do that here at home for the most part, so why not there? 



And so it goes......