A protest in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan was inspired by a claim that international troops “destroyed copies of the Koran.” NATO said one person was killed–a sniper targeted by coalition forces–while Afghan officials reported six deaths.
Residents in Garmsir district of Helmand province on Tuesday said that Nato-led forces raided a house in the area on Sunday and destroyed copies of the holy book in a local mosque… Read more
Updated with President Obama’s proclamation.
Each year since 1993 the President has declared January 16th to be “Religious Freedom Day,” in order to remember the passage of Thomas Jefferson’s 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (see 2009). President Obama does not appear to have issued his proclamation for tomorrow yet (now available), though the day has been a topic of discussion in varying forums across the internet.
Jefferson’s statute continues to be a strong expression for the value of religious liberty even today. Though the statute has been discussed in many places and in great depth, there are two important points to take from the statute: Read more
In its latest attempt to provide Soldiers with mental resilience, the US Army is requiring each of its Soldiers to receive psychological training conducted through a $117 million program by the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center. The 10-day course
teaches concepts such as focusing on what goes right, expressing gratitude, and analyzing and correcting negative views of ambiguous events.
In short, it is “the power of positive thinking.” The program is not without its critics, who blast the psychological theory as Read more
Michael Yon, a noted author, reporter, and blogger, has an interesting post entitled “Into Thine Hand I Commit My Spirit.” It describes a unique memorial to fallen troops in Afghanistan.
The Soldiers (whose unit symbol is an Indian head) erected a tepee next to the base chapel; inside are the photos of 21 soldiers killed during their first months there. Also inside is a Bible opened to Psalm 31, Read more
The “interim CEO” of the Stand Up America Project had much to say about the ability of a religious adherent to be a loyal citizen or member of the military:
There is no doubt that a devout [Christian] must proclaim the exclusivity of [Christ] or he is an apostate. Therefore, he must always be a [Christian] first, and that means he is not only unable, but also forbidden from acting in any other fashion. If he is in our military, he may take orders, and obey, but at some level, when the order runs afoul of [Christianity], he must revert to [Christianity] first.
Except, he didn’t exactly say that. Scott Winchell railed against Muslims in the long piece, ultimately saying Read more
As noted at a variety of sites, a Defense Department review has found that Army Maj Hasan’s superiors were routinely concerned about his performance and his views, but continued to promote him anyway. This seems to already confirm what has previously been said about Hasan: people knew and were concerned about him.
Between 2003 and 2007, Hasan’s supervisors expressed their concerns with him in memos, meeting notes and counseling sessions. He needed steady monitoring, especially in the emergency room, had difficulty communicating and working with colleagues, his attendance was spotty and he saw few patients.
The question that isn’t (officially) answered is why they didn’t do anything, though speculation has already arisen that people were afraid to say anything out of fear of being considered prejudiced against Islam.
The discussion in the article about officers being promoted despite poor performance Read more
In a touching story from the Army Times, two World War II veterans recently reunited when they both received medical treatment at the same facility in Maryland. Recounting the horrors of war, they said:
“Those are things you never forget,” said Garrett, 90.
“It was a frightening experience,” added Thompson, who is known as Tommy. “But the Lord brought us through.”
Chalker v Gates, the lawsuit which pitted the MRFF and an atheist Soldier against the Department of Defense, has been dismissed. The case was brought by Michael Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and US Army Specialist Dustin Chalker. The primary complaint was that Chalker was forced to attend formations at which Christian prayers were given, though Weinstein used the lawsuit as a forum to accuse the military of promoting Christianity.
According to various reports,
US District Judge Kathryn Vratil ruled Thursday that Chalker failed to exhaust all available remedies before filing suit.
Weinstein has said he will appeal the decision.
The ruling that dismissed the lawsuit (pdf) is slightly more complex than the media summary. The ruling stated: Read more