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U.S. Troops Use Burned Afghan Bodies As Propaganda
CAIR calls for ‘top-to-bottom’ Pentagon policy, training review
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/20/2005) - A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on the Pentagon to conduct a “top-to-bottom” review of policies and training related to personnel in Muslim countries.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) made that request following allegations by an Australian television network that U.S. soldiers burned bodies of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan and then used the bodies for propaganda purposes.
Australia’s SBS television network aired a “Dateline” segment on Wednesday showing U.S. soldiers burning the corpses of two Taliban fighters laid out facing Mecca, the focal point of prayer in Islam. According to the network, the bodies were burned for hygienic reasons, but a psychological operations unit used the burning to broadcast taunting messages to other Taliban fighters with loudspeakers.
Military officials called the report “repugnant” and said a probe has been launched "into alleged misconduct by U.S. service members, including the burning of dead enemy combatant bodies under inappropriate circumstances." Afghan authorities demanded punishment for those responsible and Islamic leaders in that country warned of anti-American demonstrations.
Under the Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of enemy remains in wartime, soldiers must ensure that the "dead are honorably interred, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged." Islamic beliefs forbid cremation.
SEE: LA Times - “U.S. Looks Into Videotaped Desecration of Taliban Corpses”
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan20oct20,0,4862635.story
AP - “U.S., Afghans Probe Alleged Desecration”
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1232744
Reuters - “Australian TV Shows Footage of Taliban Burning”
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticleSearch.aspx?storyID=274022+19-Oct-2005+RTRS
SBS - “Psych War in Afghanistan”
http://news.sbs.com.au/dateline/index.php?page=archive&daysum=2005-10-19
“Given the growing number of such incidents involving American military personnel worldwide, it is imperative that the Pentagon launch a top-to-bottom review of policies and training to help prevent the war on terror from being perceived as a war on Islam,” said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.
He quoted a saying (hadith) of the Prophet Muhammad, who said: "Do not abuse the dead, for they have reached the result of what they have done." (Sahih Al-Bukhari) Islam forbids the mutilation of bodies. According to Islamic tradition, a body is to be buried as quickly as possible, after having been washed and wrapped in clean cloth.
Awad said reports of abuses of Muslim prisoners and disregard for Islamic sensitivities in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanomo Bay’s Camp X-Ray are harming America’s image and serving as recruiting tools for terror groups.
He also warned against the “coarsening” of soldiers’ attitudes toward ordinary Muslims, both overseas and in this country. Awad cited the label "Hajji" used as a pejorative by U.S. troops in Iraq and the recent “porn-for-gore” scandal in which U.S. military personnel used photographs of Iraqi corpses as “currency” to gain access to Internet pornography.
SEE: “U.S. Troops Use Photos of Iraqi Corpses to Access Porn”
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1792&theType=NR
For the latest on that scandal, see: http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/051018glaser/
“Those who serve overseas will eventually return home and interact with fellow Americans who are Muslims,” said Awad. “Military authorities should address the issue of Islamophobic attitudes in the ranks before the problem gets out of hand.” He said CAIR has already received at least one report of an assault on an American Muslim family in Pennsylvania by a person claiming to be a “Marine.”
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to: http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper [at] cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail: rahmed [at] cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a journalist’s window to the American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called ISLAM-INFONET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to ISLAM-INFONET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/islam-infonet/
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1823&theType=NR
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) made that request following allegations by an Australian television network that U.S. soldiers burned bodies of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan and then used the bodies for propaganda purposes.
Australia’s SBS television network aired a “Dateline” segment on Wednesday showing U.S. soldiers burning the corpses of two Taliban fighters laid out facing Mecca, the focal point of prayer in Islam. According to the network, the bodies were burned for hygienic reasons, but a psychological operations unit used the burning to broadcast taunting messages to other Taliban fighters with loudspeakers.
Military officials called the report “repugnant” and said a probe has been launched "into alleged misconduct by U.S. service members, including the burning of dead enemy combatant bodies under inappropriate circumstances." Afghan authorities demanded punishment for those responsible and Islamic leaders in that country warned of anti-American demonstrations.
Under the Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of enemy remains in wartime, soldiers must ensure that the "dead are honorably interred, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged." Islamic beliefs forbid cremation.
SEE: LA Times - “U.S. Looks Into Videotaped Desecration of Taliban Corpses”
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan20oct20,0,4862635.story
AP - “U.S., Afghans Probe Alleged Desecration”
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1232744
Reuters - “Australian TV Shows Footage of Taliban Burning”
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticleSearch.aspx?storyID=274022+19-Oct-2005+RTRS
SBS - “Psych War in Afghanistan”
http://news.sbs.com.au/dateline/index.php?page=archive&daysum=2005-10-19
“Given the growing number of such incidents involving American military personnel worldwide, it is imperative that the Pentagon launch a top-to-bottom review of policies and training to help prevent the war on terror from being perceived as a war on Islam,” said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.
He quoted a saying (hadith) of the Prophet Muhammad, who said: "Do not abuse the dead, for they have reached the result of what they have done." (Sahih Al-Bukhari) Islam forbids the mutilation of bodies. According to Islamic tradition, a body is to be buried as quickly as possible, after having been washed and wrapped in clean cloth.
Awad said reports of abuses of Muslim prisoners and disregard for Islamic sensitivities in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanomo Bay’s Camp X-Ray are harming America’s image and serving as recruiting tools for terror groups.
He also warned against the “coarsening” of soldiers’ attitudes toward ordinary Muslims, both overseas and in this country. Awad cited the label "Hajji" used as a pejorative by U.S. troops in Iraq and the recent “porn-for-gore” scandal in which U.S. military personnel used photographs of Iraqi corpses as “currency” to gain access to Internet pornography.
SEE: “U.S. Troops Use Photos of Iraqi Corpses to Access Porn”
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1792&theType=NR
For the latest on that scandal, see: http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/051018glaser/
“Those who serve overseas will eventually return home and interact with fellow Americans who are Muslims,” said Awad. “Military authorities should address the issue of Islamophobic attitudes in the ranks before the problem gets out of hand.” He said CAIR has already received at least one report of an assault on an American Muslim family in Pennsylvania by a person claiming to be a “Marine.”
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to: http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper [at] cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail: rahmed [at] cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a journalist’s window to the American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called ISLAM-INFONET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to ISLAM-INFONET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/islam-infonet/
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1823&theType=NR
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Islamic clerics expressed outrage Thursday at television footage that purportedly shows U.S. soldiers burning the bodies of two dead Taliban fighters to taunt other militants and warned of a possible violent anti-American backlash.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the alleged desecration and ordered an inquiry. The operational commander of the U.S. military in Afghanistan, which launched its own criminal probe, said the alleged act, if true, was ``repugnant.''
Worried about the potential for anti-American feelings over the incident, the State Department said it instructed U.S. embassies around the globe to tell local governments that the reported abuse did not reflect American values.
Cremating bodies is banned under Islam, and one Muslim leader in Afghanistan compared the video to photographs of U.S. troops abusing prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
``Abu Ghraib ruined the reputation of the Americans in Iraq and to me this is even worse,'' said Faiz Mohammed, a top cleric in northern Kunduz province. ``This is against Islam. Afghans will be shocked by this news. It is so humiliating. There will be very, very dangerous consequences from this.''
Anger also was evident in the streets.
``If they continue to carry out such actions against us, our people will change their policy and react with the same policy against them,'' said Mehrajuddin, a resident of Kabul, who like many Afghans uses only one name.
Another man in the capital, Zahidullah, said the reported abuse was like atrocities committed by Soviet troops, who were driven out of Afghanistan in 1989 after a decade of occupation. He warned that the same could happen to American forces.
``Their future will be like the Russians,'' Zahidullah said.
In Washington, the U.S. government also condemned the alleged incident.
The allegation was ``very serious'' and ``very troubling,'' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. His comment came after the department said U.S. embassies had been told to inform foreigners that abuse of remains ``is not reflective of our values.''
The move suggested U.S. worries about an anti-American uproar like Afghan riots in May that erupted after Newsweek said U.S. soldiers at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility desecrated Islam's holy book, the Quran. Newsweek later retracted the story.
The alleged body burning comes as the U.S. military is struggling to bolster its image in Afghanistan amid charges by Karzai of heavy-handed tactics in fighting the Taliban.
Australia's SBS television network broadcast the video purportedly showing soldiers burning the bodies of two suspected Taliban fighters in hills outside Gonbaz village in the southern Shah Wali Kot district - an area plagued by Taliban activity and considered by the local security forces as too dangerous to venture into unless accompanied by U.S. troops.
The network said the video was taken by a freelance journalist, Stephen Dupont. Dupont, who told The Associated Press that he was embedded with the Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade, said the burnings happened Oct. 1.
He told SBS that soldiers in a U.S. Army psychological operations unit later broadcast taunting messages targeting the village, which was believed to be harboring Taliban fighters.
``They deliberately wanted to incite that much anger from the Taliban so the Taliban could attack them. ... That's the only way they can find them,'' Dupont said.
The video did not show those messages being broadcast, although it showed some military vehicles fitted with speakers and playing loud music.
According to a transcript released by SBS, the messages called the Taliban ``cowardly dogs.''
``You are too scared to come down and retrieve their bodies,'' said one message, according to the transcript.
Dupont told the AP the messages were broadcast in the local dialect but were translated into English for him by members of the Army unit. He declined to provide further information.
The U.S. military said the Army Criminal Investigation Command was looking into the matter.
``This alleged action is repugnant to our common values,'' Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya said from the U.S. base at Bagram. ``This command takes all allegations of misconduct or inappropriate behavior seriously and has directed an investigation into circumstances surrounding this allegation.''
A U.S. military spokeswoman, Sgt. Marina Evans, said investigators would check whether the purported act violated the Geneva Convention, which says the dead must be ``honorably interred, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged.''
The Afghan Defense Ministry launched its own investigation, Karzai's spokesman, Karim Rahimi, said.
``We strongly condemn any disrespect to human bodies regardless of whether they are those of enemies or friends,'' he told the AP.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5358171,00.html
President Hamid Karzai condemned the alleged desecration and ordered an inquiry. The operational commander of the U.S. military in Afghanistan, which launched its own criminal probe, said the alleged act, if true, was ``repugnant.''
Worried about the potential for anti-American feelings over the incident, the State Department said it instructed U.S. embassies around the globe to tell local governments that the reported abuse did not reflect American values.
Cremating bodies is banned under Islam, and one Muslim leader in Afghanistan compared the video to photographs of U.S. troops abusing prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
``Abu Ghraib ruined the reputation of the Americans in Iraq and to me this is even worse,'' said Faiz Mohammed, a top cleric in northern Kunduz province. ``This is against Islam. Afghans will be shocked by this news. It is so humiliating. There will be very, very dangerous consequences from this.''
Anger also was evident in the streets.
``If they continue to carry out such actions against us, our people will change their policy and react with the same policy against them,'' said Mehrajuddin, a resident of Kabul, who like many Afghans uses only one name.
Another man in the capital, Zahidullah, said the reported abuse was like atrocities committed by Soviet troops, who were driven out of Afghanistan in 1989 after a decade of occupation. He warned that the same could happen to American forces.
``Their future will be like the Russians,'' Zahidullah said.
In Washington, the U.S. government also condemned the alleged incident.
The allegation was ``very serious'' and ``very troubling,'' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. His comment came after the department said U.S. embassies had been told to inform foreigners that abuse of remains ``is not reflective of our values.''
The move suggested U.S. worries about an anti-American uproar like Afghan riots in May that erupted after Newsweek said U.S. soldiers at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility desecrated Islam's holy book, the Quran. Newsweek later retracted the story.
The alleged body burning comes as the U.S. military is struggling to bolster its image in Afghanistan amid charges by Karzai of heavy-handed tactics in fighting the Taliban.
Australia's SBS television network broadcast the video purportedly showing soldiers burning the bodies of two suspected Taliban fighters in hills outside Gonbaz village in the southern Shah Wali Kot district - an area plagued by Taliban activity and considered by the local security forces as too dangerous to venture into unless accompanied by U.S. troops.
The network said the video was taken by a freelance journalist, Stephen Dupont. Dupont, who told The Associated Press that he was embedded with the Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade, said the burnings happened Oct. 1.
He told SBS that soldiers in a U.S. Army psychological operations unit later broadcast taunting messages targeting the village, which was believed to be harboring Taliban fighters.
``They deliberately wanted to incite that much anger from the Taliban so the Taliban could attack them. ... That's the only way they can find them,'' Dupont said.
The video did not show those messages being broadcast, although it showed some military vehicles fitted with speakers and playing loud music.
According to a transcript released by SBS, the messages called the Taliban ``cowardly dogs.''
``You are too scared to come down and retrieve their bodies,'' said one message, according to the transcript.
Dupont told the AP the messages were broadcast in the local dialect but were translated into English for him by members of the Army unit. He declined to provide further information.
The U.S. military said the Army Criminal Investigation Command was looking into the matter.
``This alleged action is repugnant to our common values,'' Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya said from the U.S. base at Bagram. ``This command takes all allegations of misconduct or inappropriate behavior seriously and has directed an investigation into circumstances surrounding this allegation.''
A U.S. military spokeswoman, Sgt. Marina Evans, said investigators would check whether the purported act violated the Geneva Convention, which says the dead must be ``honorably interred, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged.''
The Afghan Defense Ministry launched its own investigation, Karzai's spokesman, Karim Rahimi, said.
``We strongly condemn any disrespect to human bodies regardless of whether they are those of enemies or friends,'' he told the AP.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5358171,00.html
How could anyone be so dumb? This isn't what you call "winning hearts and minds".
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