A good column by Kurt Schlichter on the moral failure of our military leaders.
Without a doubt, the commander in Afghanistan could evaluate the situation, determine that we are not going to tolerate the rape of children, and instruct our troops to fire two warning shots into the sternum of anyone found doing so. In fact, in the spirit of decentralization that is the mark of a winning military, the commander could further emphasize that he is not putting a ceiling on the number of shots that could be fired—if the soldier on the ground thinks he needs to fire more rounds into the sternum of the pederast, that’s just good combat leader initiative.
Sure, this may temporarily make some of our allies less willing to support us, but it is the morally right thing to do and, in the long run, it would send a powerful message that locals need to start appreciating the cultural norms of the people who traveled halfway around the world to save their sorry excuse for a country.
Alternatively, the American commander in Afghanistan could decide that our need for allies outweighs the need to prevent child rape, and clearly announce that our forces will do nothing to stop it when they see it. Sometimes, you need to accept the cultural mores of useful local forces, as deplorable as they are, and as soldiers you are expected to be disciplined enough to do so. Of course, that would raise certain uncomfortable questions back home, such as, “Mr. President, why the hell are your generals telling our troops to look the other way when they see a man anally raping a little boy?”
So, faced with these two options, the craven generals selected the worst possible option, and failed to give clear guidance one way or the other. Instead of taking on the responsibility that comes with the job, they punted. They chose not to give clear orders”See it and stop it” or “See it but do nothing”—putting the risk they should bear as commanders onto their subordinates. Now, soldiers have to decide whether to do what is right or do what their generals telegraph they want done but won’t say because they don’t want to be held accountable for it.
Schlichter obviously knows a great deal about this topic and his analysis seems insightful.
He’s right that Obama is only partially to blame. The President is ultimately responsible as CIC and could set a better moral tone, and has gotten rid of many of our best high-ranking officers. However, the generals should know better.
With some notable exceptions, it’s remarkable how few top American leaders in any sector of our society are willing to take responsibility when there’s a personal cost to doing so.
Worth reading in full.
Obama has pretty well weeded out the American generals who would be competent and ethical. I read McChrystal’s book.
Maybe this is a good time to reread, Dereliction of Duty.
I read and was amazed that McMaster was not dropped and even has been promoted. I doubt he would get away with that now.
This is where the Taliban came from. Mulla Omar was just a Muslim priest and after having to listen to the NA goons raping children in his town, he started the Taliban.
I had read — on one of the milblogs which does keep more in touch with matters on the ground in Afghanistan — that the opinions of the troops with regard to the average local Afghan-Pashtuns could practically peel the paint of walls. The locals had the pernicious habits of publically abusing women, children and dogs – all three of which American military are usually quite sentimental about. Not all the annoying command-mandated re-education/local sensitivity-training sessions could talk the American troops out of their inconvenient prejudice against local nationals who persisted in abusing women, children and dogs.
This is where the Taliban came from. Mulla Omar was just a Muslim priest and after having to listen to the NA goons raping children in his town, he started the Taliban.
Even if this were true it would be no excuse for the Taliban’s crimes.
The British troops have complained about Afghan transvestites and open attempts at seduction toward British troops. It’s a weird society.
And now they are invading Europe.
All of the aforementioned European nations are seen as being currently “occupied” by Christian “infidels” and in need of “liberation.” This is why jihadi organizations refer to terrorist attacks on such countries as “defensive jihads.” One rarely hears about Islamic designs on European nations because they are large and blocked together, altogether distant from the Muslim world. Conversely, tiny Israel is in the heart of the Islamic world, hence it has received most of the jihadi attention: it was a more realistic conquest. But now that the “caliphate” has been reborn and is expanding before a paralytic West, dreams of reconquering portions of Europe ”” if not through jihad, then through migration ”” are becoming more plausible, perhaps more so than conquering Israel.
And not all transvestites are friendly.
The practice seems pretty common.
In late 2009, U.S. and British forces ordered a study of Pashtun male sexuality. They were worried that homosexuality and pedophilia among Afghan security forces and tribes could create cultural misunderstanding with allied troops, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Washington Examiner.
The study, requested by 2nd Marine Expeditionary Battalion along with British forces in Lashkar Gah, was conducted by members of one of the Defense Department’s Human Terrain Teams stationed in Afghanistan. The report was authored by team member Anna Maria Cardinalli, who said the goal was to learn how to advise “U.S. and British service members who report encounters with men displaying apparently homosexual tendencies. These service members are frequently confused [by] this behavior.”
I have friends who served in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm who said the same thing about the Saudis. The army would recruit young teenagers for this purpose.
A couple weeks ago Tim Furnish tweated out this theological basis:
https://maldivianapostates.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/islam-and-pedophilia-80000-pearly-boys-in-heaven/
Working with any Islamic regime or militias is simply a devil’s bargain.
The Islamic world is, like ancient Greece, a highly cloistered world for women. Like prison, where women are not available, men turn to other men, especially boys.
I have read that young Muslim menace the most sexually obsessed men in the world. The evidence suggests this is true,
Greece in the classical period had, like Islam, a proverb that “A woman’s honor was to never have her name mentioned in public.”
As a result, the cult of Ephebophilia led to while units ninth army, especially The Sacred Band of Thebes who had never been defeated in battle until they were wiped out at Chaeronea in 338 BC. One of my planned trips in Greece this summer was to visit the The Lion of Chaeronea which marks their common grave.
The Arabs are going to spread mass rape in Europe.
Young Muslim men are…
Our homosexual populations are supposedly not disproportionately attracted to underage boys. What have they had to say? With the US recent legalization of their service in the military, their perspective should be of interest. So far, in this conversation, they are invisible.
MK—I think your typo was more correct than the correction.
“Our homosexual populations are supposedly not disproportionately attracted to underage boys”
I’ve known a few and this is just not true. They deny it but my hospital had a large share of gay administrators when I began practice. There would be handsome young men mowing the lawn and working at menial jobs and we all knew why. An older gay anesthesiologist friend of mine went to an OR party one time after I had retired and I was told he made a pass at a young Asian man who was there with a friend. He showed up the young guy’s work the next day and scared the crap out of him.
The gay culture places a huge premium on looks and youth. Don’t believe for a minute that this is not an incentive for them to approach young men. They are not pedophiles, for the most part, but Ephebophiles. Just like the Greeks.
Most of the priest abuse cases were of this type and resulted from the takeover of seminaries by gays in the 60s. With this Pope the left seems to be talking over again.
With the debasement of the culture, I expect NAMBLA to be in court soon.
“Sure, this may temporarily make some of our allies less willing to support us..”
Or respect us. More than they do now.
Frankly we should write off these losers and leave.
As far as defending the homeland don’t make me laugh. I do my duty, but don’t make me laugh. You’ll vote for the welfare and entitlements – your precious social security – knowing full well you’re voting for Treason too.
You have your priorities and it’s entitlements. You can pay the price in blood as well as bankruptcy.
The only news here is what US troops are doing or supposed to be doing.
“Kandahar Journal: Shh, It’s an Open Secret: Warlords and Pedophilia” By Craig S. Smith on February 21, 2002
Kandahar, Afghanistan ”” Back in the 19th century, ethnic Pashtuns fighting in Britain’s colonial army sang odes talking of their longing for young boys.
Homosexuality, cloaked in the tradition of strong masculine bonds that are a hallmark of Islamic culture and are even more pronounced in southern Afghanistan’s strict, sexually segregated society, has long been a clandestine feature of life here. But pedophilia has been its curse.
Though the puritanical Taliban tried hard to erase pedophilia from male-dominated Pashtun culture, now that the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice is gone, some people here are indulging in it once again.
* * *
An interest in relationships with young boys among warlords and their militia commanders played a part in the Taliban’s rise in Afghanistan. In 1994, the Taliban, then a small army of idealistic students of the Koran, were called to rescue a boy over whom two commanders had fought. They freed the boy and the people responded with gratitude and support.
==========================================
You would think that if the Taliban thought pedophilia was evil, US troops would have license to think it is evil also. But, I guess the influence of crap multiculturalism is too strong for good sense to take hold. As far as I am concerned it is well past the time when the US should stop leaving hostages for the Pakistanis and pull everyone out of Afghanistan.
You’ll vote for the welfare and entitlements – your precious social security – knowing full well you’re voting for Treason too.
How does one vote against those things?
“the US should stop leaving hostages for the Pakistanis and pull everyone out of Afghanistan.”
And out of Pakistan, too. I said so years ago.
The enemy we are fighting in Afghanistan is actually Pakistan and our aid to Pakistan is being used to fund our enemy in the field. This is worse than Vietnam where the enemy had sanctuary in supposedly neutral territory. Here, the enemy has sanctuary in our putative ally. We need to recognize this and get out. The enemy is Pakistan and our ally is India.
I still believe that.
Not all the annoying command-mandated re-education/local sensitivity-training sessions could talk the American troops out of their inconvenient prejudice against local nationals who persisted in abusing women, children and dogs.
Celia, I know several who have been in Afghanistan and all have a very, very low opinion of Pashtun culture due to their disgusting sexual practices. Most would not mind if all the Pashtun areas were nuked.
I have a friend who went to sea years ago with the Merchant Marine. He was on tankers and ran the Middle East/East Coast US route. His opinion of Egyptians was that they were quite a few rungs further down on the ladder than the Turks were. As for the domestic scene, that Terry Bean case has disappeared quickly and quietly…I just knew it would. My wife goes berserk when I mention it (It’s not the same thing!, she shouts) but that’s the next big hurdle for the shadowy 44th and his enablers. The (continued) normalization of evil.
“He’s right that Obama is only partially to blame.”
There seems to be a pattern here
U.S. troops have turned to some unsavory partners to help find warlord Joseph Kony
U.S. forces have begun working closely with Muslim rebels ”” known as Seleka ”” who toppled the central government two years ago and triggered a still-raging sectarian war with a campaign of mass rapes and executions.
So Obama, in order to save children who were being murdered, kidnapped, and raped, sent US troops in to partner with other groups who were murdering, kidnapping, and raping.
“So Obama, in order to save children who were being murdered, kidnapped, and raped, sent US troops in to partner with other groups who were murdering, kidnapping, and raping.”
There’s no one else to work with.
This is who these people are.
In 1948 Truman was strongly advised by his Secretary of State George Marshall and almost the entire US foreign policy establishment not to become involved in the internal conflicts of the Middle East. Truman choose to ignore this advice in order to secure the Jewish vote. Now almost 70 years later we are still paying for Truman’s betrayal of the national interest.
Those darn Jews!
“The enemy we are fighting in Afghanistan is actually Pakistan…”
Indeed. Really, I can never keep straight if Pakistan is Frenemy #1 and the House of Saud Frenemy #2, or the other way around.
We’re fighting our own leadership.
That’s the essence of this story.
We’re fighting our own leadership.
Richard Fernandez on the principal-agent problem: