Originally Posted By X-san <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/05/20/bush.quran/index.html" target="_blank">http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WO...dex.html</a> ***Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Hammond, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad - "I come before you here seeking your forgiveness" ***"In the most humble manner I look in your eyes today and I say please forgive me and my soldiers." ***Hammond said the soldier's actions were tantamount to "criminal behavior." ***"the behavior of this soldier was nothing short of wrong and unacceptable," the general said. ***President Bush has apologized to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for an American soldier shooting at a Quran, the prime minister's office said. Give..me..a..break! It's a book, people. A BOOK. What is the penalty for desecrating a book, anyway? Is it a crime? The Iraqi koran thumpers sure seem to think so! ***the Iraqi Islamic Party condemned what it said was a "blatant assault on the sanctities of Muslims all over the world." ***The party said it reacted to the news "with deep resentment and indignation" and wants the "severest of punishments" for the action. ***"I have asked that first this apology be officially documented; second a guarantee from the U.S. military to inflict the maximum possible punishment on this soldier so it would be a deterrent for the rest of the soldiers in the future." What a load of garbage. If we the people of the world cared as much for the shooting of a HUMAN BEING as we did some dusty old book, how much better would this world be? Seriously, how many families has Bush contacted to "apologize" for the shooting of their their LOVED ONES? And before anyone freaks, I'm not talking about Bush, America, Iraq, Muslims, the U.S. Armed Forces, the Koran, the Bible or any other specific. I'm talking about all such insanity, regardless of nation or religion. It's ridiculous. Why such a thing should be granted such reverent (though most assuredly insincere) pomp and circumstance when the shooting of PEOPLE goes by without specific comment whatsoever all over the planet every day... Ugh. What a world. Pathetic.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip A prime example of absolutely everything wrong with the Muslim religion and the people in that part of the world. Sorry if I offend, but in many respects they are just a step removed from cavemen. Why the US ever decided to get involved in such an insane portion of our earth is beyond me.
Originally Posted By X-san I don't see it that way. The bible and the christian nutcases are no different. I would venture to guess that a similar happening in the U.S. with a bible would invoke the same level of stupidness, if not more.
Originally Posted By X-san ***Why the US ever decided to get involved in such an insane portion of our earth is beyond me.*** Oil. You really can't understand that part?
Originally Posted By RoadTrip ^^^ P.S. I bet within 30 days this stupidity will trigger a major league Koran burning somewhere in the United States. I'm talking thousands of people purchasing every Koran they can find and then chucking it on a huge public bonfire. Under American law there is nothing anyone could do to stop it. God Bless America.
Originally Posted By X-san ***Under American law there is nothing anyone could do to stop it.*** Apparently that doesn't apply to service men and women. ***God Bless America.*** Except for service men and women.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<I would venture to guess that a similar happening in the U.S. with a bible would invoke the same level of stupidness, if not more.>> No way. There is absolutely no way on earth that anyone in our government would demand apologies and severe penalties for anyone, Muslim or otherwise, burning a bible. It just would not happen... we both know that.
Originally Posted By X-san ***Under American law there is nothing anyone could do to stop it. God Bless America.*** Just so long as it's not a flag, right?
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Just so long as it's not a flag, right?>> It's not illegal to burn the American flag either.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 I have to disagree, we are in their country and quite frankly, the "guests" of the Iraqi Government. They could kick us all out if they wanted to, so of course we better obey their rules, and one of the rules is "Don't mess with the Quran". It's not that difficult to not shoot a damn Quran....
Originally Posted By X-san ***They could kick us all out if they wanted to*** Could they? Really? Why don't they, then? What's stopping them?
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 ***They could kick us all out if they wanted to*** Could they? Really? Why don't they, then? What's stopping them?<< The line our Government is telling the public is we are there to assist the Government. If the government told us to get out... We would then be occupiers and it would open us up to UN resolutions etc etc etc.... In other words we would be no better than Saddam when he took over Kuwait. I really hope they kick us out, but with most of the leadership in Iraq being hand picked Bush Administration cronies, I doubt they will kick us out unless we shot more Qurans... lol...
Originally Posted By ecdc Once again, we see that religion trumps everything else. What if a soldier had shot a copy of Shakespeare, or Jane Eyre? What if he had shot a copy of "On the Origin of Species?" Of course, we know that religion trumps all, because if this soldier who shot the book had been drafted, and claimed that he objected on religious grounds, he would've been excused from the war. But if he'd objected on philosophical moral grounds, without invoking religion, he still would've been drafted.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 The above is my opinion and does not come from any information derived from my job....
Originally Posted By alexbook >><<I would venture to guess that a similar happening in the U.S. with a bible would invoke the same level of stupidness, if not more.>> No way. There is absolutely no way on earth that anyone in our government would demand apologies and severe penalties for anyone, Muslim or otherwise, burning a bible.<< It's not an exact parallel, and it's a few years old, but it was the first one I found with Google: >>China rejects bible arrest concerns Tuesday, 8 January, 2002, 12:57 GMT China has rejected American concern over the arrest of a Hong Kong businessman, reportedly detained as he delivered bibles to an evangelical group in southeastern China. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the trader, Li Guangqiang, had been transporting bibles as a cover for secretly importing cult publications. The spokesman, Sun Yuxi, said the man had broken Chinese law and he warned that no other country should interfere with China's judicial independence. The comments come after President George Bush expressed deep concern over the case. The US State Department called on Beijing to meet the standards on freedom of religious expression laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.<< <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1748235.stm" target="_blank">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wor...8235.stm</a>
Originally Posted By cmpaley I have to agree with William on this one. You don't go to someone's country and destroy things they consider sacred.
Originally Posted By X-san ***have to agree with William on this one. You don't go to someone's country and destroy things they consider sacred.*** We're not talking about desecrating a sacred and priceless object here. It's a book. Plenty more can be made if one becomes damaged. Once again, why don't we show so much horror and outrage when HUMAN BEINGS get shot?
Originally Posted By X-san ***You don't go to someone's country and destroy things they consider sacred.*** This makes it sound like the guy was on a tourist visa or something. There's certainly a difference between an visitor and an invader. And I do wonder if this is really a "first", or just the first we've heard of it. Sounds about right if you're talking soldiers who hate muslims. So much for the "guests of honor". I really would love to see that tribunal transcription though. What's the going penalty these days for felonious destruction of paper. lol.
