Posted on 04/03/2011 3:20:59 PM PDT by tobyhill
Top U.S. officials in Afghanistan on Sunday condemned the burning of a Quran in the United States that sparked three days of protests in which more than 20 people died.
Burning the Muslim holy book "was hateful, it was intolerant and it was extremely disrespectful and again, we condemn it in the strongest manner possible," said Gen. David Petraeus, who heads the U.S.-led international forces in Afghanistan.
U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry said in a statement that Americans respect the Quran "and all religious texts and deplore any action that shows disrespect to any religious faith."
"At the same time, I want to emphasize, as have many Afghan leaders, that to attack and kill innocent people in response to the deplorable act of one individual is outrageous, and an affront to human decency and dignity," Eikenbery's statement said.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
668: (I'm referring specifically to your posts 126 and 130, not the others.)
oWf, I do respect you, as among rather few freepers whose names I recognize and generally agree with, but on this issue I beg to differ strongly. Not only as to the utter irrelevancy of the jackass preacher, but wrt the general.
General Petraeus is doing his job, both in working to get the war won under dire circumstances with an anti-American CinC
I say that if the general is "doing his job" under an anti-American CinC, he is doing serious wrong, as in moral turpitude. I apologize for dragging nazis into this, but that is the "just following orders" argument. The CinC is undermining the troops with his policy, and the general is backing him up.
Think less about the message a Florida preacher sends to homicidal muslims, and more about the message a US general and his CinC send them.
I think many people are missing the point about what this pastor did. It was no secret to him - or anyone else with half a brain - as to how Muslims and the American left would react.
However, by doing what he did, he’s done an admirable job of unmasking a number of Americans as liberals, the good general included.
As far as how many have served, I currently serve, I disagree with our CIC and the “overall mission”, and will be bailing at the end of my current contract.
What I am centering on here is this pseudo-preachers' being fully aware that what he was doing would put our troops in further danger, and his doing it anyway.
Again, I am not talking about any form of 'punishment' (in case you missed that). And I have said repeatedly that he had the right to do what he did.
I do not believe that Jones should be praised for his irresponsible action. I believe that book burning is always pointless and wrong. And burning a book knowing that you will cause further endangerment to the very people who are protecting your right to do it, is hideous behavior.
What puts our troops in danger is the ridiculous Rules of Engagement our CiC has placed on them, I guarantee it would only take one time to mow down these bastards, and no amount of Koran burning would make them do it again.
This is where I completely disagree. The 'jackass preacher' is not irrelevant in the least. It is his self-centered reckless behavior that has put our troops in further danger and made their job even more difficult, and that is why General Petraeus felt he needed to address the issue.
I appreciate your apology for bringing the Nazis into it, but since you did, they are the prime example of the purpose of book burning, and for me, that is not something that can be set aside as 'irrelevant.'
It is hideous behavior in and of itself, but when it is done deliberately with the cognizance that it will further endanger our troops, it is beyond the pale.
The "jackass preacher" is at the core.
That, however, does not excuse an American citizen who knowingly does the same thing, nor the praise he is getting from people who ought to know better.
One wrong does not excuse another.
There are more similarities to the burning of the koran and the drawing of cartoon than there are differences.
Both are mocking islam, both send the muzzies into a tailspin, and both end up with those on our side dead at the hands of the peaceful religion.
Capitulating to the muslims on the burning issue will simply have them move on to the cartoon again, and then on to the simple discussion of islam.
Eventually it will come to the killing of our soldiers for someone on FR simply typing the name Mohammed.
Far more progress towards peace would happen if koran burning happened on a weekly, or even daily basis.
No analogy is perfect, but for the record, the infamous nazi book burning on Unter den Linden occurred on 5/10/33 (IIRC). Hitler was already in position. Nothing like a private citizen doing what just about everyone concedes is gauche.
It’s only censorship when the govt does it; and it’s only hideous then too.
When some jackass preacher does it, it carries no moral force sufficient to launch personal responsibility.
See post 313, re the rapist defense.
The common denominator is that they are attacking the fact that we do have the Freedom of Expression in this country, that’s what they want us to shut down, it doesn’t matter if it comes from a Church, a Newspaper, or even a web forum, such as Free Republic. These people demand that we pass laws banning all speech that insults Islam. And there are too many politician, like Miss Graham, that are all to willing to oblige.
Where I disagree is that behaving responsibly and thoughtfully in not burning a book (which is completely pointless in any situation) is 'capitulating' to anything or anyone.
I don't believe in any circumstance that doing the right thing is 'capitulating' to anything else.
We fight the evil of Islamofascism by killing those who are perpetuating it. We don't accomplish anything by endangering the very people who are doing the killing.
The pseudo-preacher is an irresponsible idiot who accomplished nothing good.
Nothing.
And saying so publicly is not in any way, shape or form, 'capitulating.'
I again completely disagree.
When this pseudo-preacher does what he does in the Name of Christ, he carries the strongest 'moral force' in existence.
And for that, he should be held morally responsible.
so we lose lives over there to give them freedom but we have our freedom taken away.
Also I never see them getting bent out of shape when it comes to anyone burning bibles or killing Christians.
Nah double standard there ARF
are you serious?
They don’t need an excuse like burning a book to kill us.
For crying out loud will we all wake up and understand as to who we’re fighting and not bend over for muslims and thinking we have to be nice and give up our freedoms to protect them.
So when the Danish newspaper printed the Mohammed cartoon were they doing in the Name of Christ?
My point, which I have made ad nauseum (and will soon cease and desist from doing further), is that moral people should hold those who do reckless things responsible for what they are doing. What Miss LOOK AT ME! Jones did in FL is reckless and irresponsible.
I do not disagree at all with what the Muslims are trying to do in this country, nor the danger we are in because of it. That still doesn't make burning a Koran excusable.
One wrong, or many wrongs, don't excuse another wrong.
That's between God and him.
(What are you trying to do here, dfwgator? You ain't making no sense.....)
they don’t need any excuse to attack us so lets fight a war without wanting to upset the enemy hey.
BTW This idiotic pastor has the right to do what he did like it or not and i never see the General or anyone getting upset when Christians get killed or bibles are burned.
We’re in a war not a loving peacey , love thy enemy war
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