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The burnings were not intentional. Burn pits are the only way to dispose of things not wanted or needed within a military base....so its not surprising to me that these Korans were accidently tossed in the incinerator.
You have to have spent time on a military base in a Middle Eastern war zone to understand that its litte more than controlled chaos there. I've spent time on at least 8 military bases in the Middle East, so I can vouch for my comments.
I don't fault anyone, including the President, for apologizing. Nor do I fault those who accidentally disposed of the Korans.
That's understood, and I would tend to give them the benefit of the doubt as well. I don't see any real rational motive for burning them. How it happened, I wouldn't know, but I accept that it was an accident.
But at the same time, it doesn't matter. It happened, and against the backdrop of a war and occupation that has raged on for more than 10 years, it's pretty easy to understand why they're livid.
The fact that these people get so violent over a burning book is just a level of nuttiness that I can't even comprehend....
And while I generally think Obama is the lesser of the evils running for president, its makes me shake my head that he's kissing their arses over it. I'd flip the religious wack-jobs the bird.
Come on, man...think!
Do you think they're just mad about the burning of a Quran? Seriously? You think that it's just about that?
How do you think, say, Alaskans would feel if a joint Chinese-Russian force decided to take our 49th state and its oil for themselves and flush a few Bibles down the toilet during their occupation? You don't think some people in Anchorage would be outraged?
See that's the problem with our thinking these days. We can't imagine what it would be like if the tables were turned. We assume that we have some divine right to be there in the first place. I agreed with the original mission to attack Al Qaida, but to not understand why people would be angry over this is really a lack of awareness.
I also think we need to get over ourselves. We are not the world's greatest nation. We are one great nation among many, and the fact is we're going to have to start sharing our power now. It's better that we understand that sooner rather than later. And now that we are returning to a more level playing field and having to play more according to the rules of the international community and not just our own rules as we please, it's good to learn the fundamentals of being a good neighbor: if one of your big dogs craps on someone else's lawn, apologize and clean it up.
To think that President Obama is wrong or "kissing asses" in this situation shows absolutely no understanding of what the Commander in Chief has to do to keep our troops safe. Inflaming a Country that you have invaded is the absolute wrong thing to do........ it might work in testosterone filled Rambo movies but not in real life.
Kudos to the President for thinking of our guys before thinking about the criticism he will now get from the neo-cons.
A man apologises a Idiot just stumbles ahead with no thought of the consequenses!
Kudos to the President for thinking of our guys before thinking about the criticism he will now get from the neo-cons. A man apologises a Idiot just stumbles ahead with no thought of the consequenses!
Absolutely, and very well put.
And what you say is absolutely true: it's dangerous for American troops and perhaps Americans elsewhere for him to just blow over it like it was no big deal. Bush and the neo-cons apologized over Abu Ghraib, as they absolutely well should have. Apologizing is not weakness; it's accepting responsibility and trying to turn the page. The fact that some people genuinely believe that an American president's apology makes us look 'weak' is disturbing and devoid of sense. The only thing that is making us weak is this false bravado that neo-cons and armchair cowboys like to hide behind -- that's weak, and it's also pretty transparent.
And what you say is absolutely true: it's dangerous for American troops and perhaps Americans elsewhere for him to just blow over it like it was no big deal. Bush and the neo-cons apologized over Abu Ghraib, as they absolutely well should have. Apologizing is not weakness; it's accepting responsibility and trying to turn the page. The fact that some people genuinely believe that an American president's apology makes us look 'weak' is disturbing and devoid of sense. The only thing that is making us weak is this false bravado that neo-cons and armchair cowboys like to hide behind -- that's weak, and it's also pretty transparent.
Couldn't have put it better myself.....
This reminds me of a tour of duty i did in Northern Ireland and some of us were discussing our role in N.I. and what could affect our capabilities on the ground. One thing we ALL agreed on was that we did not want politics to make our job harder or more dangerous than it already was. All of the armchair critics were tucked up in their beds as we ducked explosives, petrol bombs and weapon fire.
To unnecessarily provoke the enemy is not big and it isn't clever. It is normally the action of someone who has something to prove to himself.
Well done President Obama for showing a cool head under pressure and that is what makes a good Commander in Chief.
Why wouldn't he apologize for that? That's called being a good representative and also recognizing that not every person in Afghanistan that is a Muslim deserves to feel that the United States doesn't sympathize with them about their beliefs. People who are Muslim and have NOT committed a terrorist attack have done nothing wrong to us and deserve to be treated with respect just as everyone else expects to be. We (the US) have to have a good relationship with them and the President recognizes that the burning of the Qur'an was disrespectful.
It's very sad that people expect us to be hateful to them and continue to have bitter feelings for them. We can fight terrorism and still respect the religious beliefs of those who are innocent and have done nothing to us.
Why wouldn't he apologize for that? That's called being a good representative and also recognizing that not every person in Afghanistan that is a Muslim deserves to feel that the United States doesn't sympathize with them about their beliefs. People who are Muslim and have NOT committed a terrorist attack have done nothing wrong to us and deserve to be treated with respect just as everyone else expects to be. We (the US) have to have a good relationship with them and the President recognizes that the burning of the Qur'an was disrespectful.
It's very sad that people expect us to be hateful to them and continue to have bitter feelings for them. We can fight terrorism and still respect the religious beliefs of those who are innocent and have done nothing to us.
And anyway, he is an outstanding apologizer to Muslims. I wonder when he will apologize to Catholics for trying to force them to give up a part of their religion. Maybe the day after his death?
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