US Sniper Shoots Quran

[Viper5]

Reaction?
Iraq party: Punish U.S. soldier who shot at Quran - CNN.com


Most of me says "Dick move, go home and shut up for awhile."

A small part of me says, yeah, maybe charge him.

And then a part of me says yueah we'll prosecute him when you prosecute people for burning flags.

[[R-DEV]Gaz]

I take it he missed? Probably would have less hassle if he'd hit the 'chap' reading it..

[Petey]

ah not good. i should say just charge him with a fine. no demoting or whatnot

[Viper5]

Originally Posted by Gaz

I take it he missed? Probably would have less hassle if he'd hit the 'chap' reading it..

Its Gaz!

From what I understand he shot it on a Iraqi Police Shooting Range.

[Dr2B Rudd]

Originally Posted by Viper5

And then a part of me says yueah we'll prosecute him when you prosecute people for burning flags.

Good point,

I'm not sure about the right or wrong of the action, but since it became public it would have put coalition servicemen at risk, so he shouldn't have done it.

[[R-DEV]Masaq]

Exactly, it's not about the right or wrong of shooting a religious text, it's about the image it portrays to the locals (and most of the rest of the M.E.).

That kind of action openly invites retaliatory strikes and provides radicals with a ready-made recruiting tool. If you're trying to bring peace to an area the last thing you should be doing is pissing all over the local population's religion, whatever the religion happens to be.

[SiN|ScarFace]

He can shoot actual Muslims all day long (bad ones of course :P) and thats ok, you know shooting actual living breathing believers. But when you shoot their favorite book fatwas and jihad are renewed. Hey at least he got to go home.

We need to leave, these people have their priorities and expectations all f'ed up.

[[R-MOD]Saobh]

A bit more of an in depth article on the event:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- What the Iraqi fighter found threatened America's vital alliance with Sunni militia.

A week ago in a police station shooting range on Baghdad's western outskirts, the American-allied Iraqi militiaman found what one or more GIs had been using for target practice -- a copy of the Quran, Islam's holy book.

Riddled with bullets, the rounds piercing deep into the thick volume, the pages were shredded. Turning the holy book in his hands, the man found two handwritten English words, scrawled in pen. "F*** yeah."

The discovery was incendiary. It was an affront to Islam and a serious challenge to the religious credentials of the U.S-allied militias, or Awakening Councils, who turned on al-Qaeda and are now on the U.S. government payroll. Video Watch villagers protest the incident »

Largely moderate Sunnis, the American-backed militias face constant accusations from Islamic groups that they have turned against Islam to support the cause of the infidels, or nonbelievers. If this indignity had gone unanswered, the Islamists' case would have been won.

Abdullah, the militiaman who found the defaced Quran, complained to his superiors. Soon, there was outrage among the tribes and population of Radhwaniya, a semi-rural area long home to loyalists of the former regime of Saddam Hussein.

Word of what the Americans had done rippled throughout the district and the fury spread. Honor was at stake, and the urge for a violent response against the insult was strong. However, tribal leaders made an approach to American commanders in the region. "Honestly, we have to defend our religion," said Sheikh Saad al-Falahi, "and relations [with the U.S.] would deteriorate if they did not apologize."
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Having fought and then negotiated so hard and for so long to quiet the insurgency in Radhwaniya, American commanders were wary of the potential crisis.

The U.S. 4th Infantry Division is posted in Baghdad and surrounds; many of its commanders and soldiers are veterans of the Iraq campaign. Col. Ted Martin, commander of the Division's 1st Brigade, immediately launched an investigation, promising the tribal leaders a swift outcome.

Investigators soon identified the Army section that had been at the police station's small arms range, and a staff sergeant, a sniper section leader from the 64th Armor Regiment, was the primary suspect. After denying involvement, the sergeant eventually confessed, though he claimed he had no idea the book used for target practice was a Quran. Martin dismissed the excuse.

On Saturday, about a week after the incident (locals say the shooting practice was on May 9, U.S. forces say the Quran was discovered May 11), CNN was present for the showdown in Radwaniyeh as the Americans faced the tribes.

U.S. commanders arrived at a police outpost in heavily armored vehicles to be met by a human tempest; hundreds of chanting tribesmen lined up behind razor wire, offering their blood and souls in sacrifice for the Quran.

A former college quarterback, Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, commander of the 4th Infantry Division, stood facing the angry crowd. His face was grim and fixed as tribal sheikhs swirled around him.

"I am a man of honor, I am a man of character. You have my word, this will never happen again," the general told the angry crowd through loudspeakers, pounding the makeshift podium three times with his fist.

"In the most humble manner, I look in to your eyes today and I say, please forgive me and my soldiers." The act of his sniper was criminal, he said. "I've come to this land to protect you, to support you...this soldier has lost the honor to serve the United States Army and the people of Iraq here in Baghdad."

Martin stood before the crowd next, opening his address with an Islamic blessing. He announced the sergeant had been relieved of duty with prejudice; reprimanded by the commanding general with a memorandum of record attached to his military record; dismissed from the regiment and redeployed from the brigade.

Holding a new Quran in his hands, he turned to the crowd. "I hope that you'll accept this humble gift." Martin kissed the Quran and touched it to his forehead as he handed it to the tribal elders. The crowd's voice rose, "Yes, yes, to the Quran. No, no, to the devil."

But would it be enough to appease the mood in Radhwaniya? A local sheikh came to the microphone. "In the name of all the sheikhs," he said, "we declare we accept the apology that was submitted."

With hands shaken and sheepish thank-yous made, the general and the colonel returned to their armored convoy. The crisis, it seems, was averted.
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The stakes, though, had been high. If accord had not been found, says Sheikh Ayad Abd al-Jabbar, head of the local Support Council, it could have been dire.

"Then surely the situation would have changed in another direction and more tension will have risen up, after all the cooperation with the Americans to restore security."

Behind the Scenes: Apology for a desecration - CNN.com

[[R-DEV]Masaq]

Originally Posted by SiN|ScarFace

He can shoot actual Muslims all day long (bad ones of course :P) and thats ok, you know shooting actual living breathing believers. But when you shoot their favorite book fatwas and jihad are renewed. Hey at least he got to go home.

We need to leave, these people have their priorities and expectations all f'ed up.

Hmmm.

Fact is, you can justify shooting an "actual Muslim" if he's carrying an AK-47, got an RPG-7 slung over his back and he and his buddies are preparing to detonate an IED as an Iraqi police patrol goes by.

It's somewhat harder to justify shooting an unarmed religious book, that symbolises the very cornerstone of faith.


It's hardly a "favourite book"; imagine the uproar if instead of American Flags (which causes a big enough hoo-har in the States anyway) it was Bibles that were being torched...

[SiN|ScarFace]

Originally Posted by [R-MOD]Masaq

Hmmm.

Fact is, you can justify shooting an "actual Muslim" if he's carrying an AK-47, got an RPG-7 slung over his back and he and his buddies are preparing to detonate an IED as an Iraqi police patrol goes by.

It's somewhat harder to justify shooting an unarmed religious book, that symbolises the very cornerstone of faith.


It's hardly a "favourite book"; imagine the uproar if instead of American Flags (which causes a big enough hoo-har in the States anyway) it was Bibles that were being torched...

Justify shooting a person to whom? The military ROEs? The Iraqi Govt? That persons family? You get a mixed bag. It isn't about justification. We love to link that book with terrorists and terrorism, one could say it's the "cornerstone of jihad" against us. We rack up huge kills of people who fight because of this book, they justify what they do because of this book. They want "more than apology" and the harsh punishment they would request would probably be sourced from this book. So when do we get to see more world riots because another dirty kuffar molested this book?

Do you really think people in the USA would riot and go ape because some Bibles got trashed and burned? The best you could hope for would be more Bible belt kids enlisting and people renewing their support against these savages. (sarcasm)

I still believe that the majority of Muslims are sane, thinking people who wouldn't call for heads to roll and lynchings to begin because their holy text has some holes in it. If they were all hot heads we would have a real problem on our hands.