The US Army has been conducting “religious engagement conferences” to shore up support as the military conducts “turnover of responsibility” actions in Afghanistan.

“In this part of Afghanistan, culture is religion and religion is culture,” said Dauod Parwani, the RCT-5 cultural advisor. “The two concepts are inseparable, and unless you are speaking in the language of religion, no one will listen to you.”

The meetings involve not only US military leaders, but also US military chaplains — once again proving their mettle not only as supporters of the religious freedom of US troops, but also as instrumental to the strategic objectives of the US effort.

In fact, Chaplain (Cmdr) Mark Winward quotes Navy Chaplain (Capt) Paul Wrigley saying US military commanders ignore the importance of religion in military operations at their own peril:

“An operational commander, however well trained in the military issues, who is ignorant of or discounts the importance of religious belief can strengthen his enemy, offend his allies, alienate his own forces and antagonize public opinion,” Winward recited. “Religious belief is a factor he must consider in evaluating the enemy’s intentions and capabilities, the state of his own forces, his relationship with his allies and his courses of action.”

One regrettable aspect of the article is the repetition of the poorly emphasized sentiment about the US military and the Afghans’ faith:

“As Americans we value freedom of religion, and that means we value and respect Afghan religion…It is critical that the Afghan people know that the ANA and coalition forces support their faith, and respect their religion and culture.”

It is an awkward wording to say the “coalition forces,” among whom is counted the American military, “support” any faith or even necessarily “respect” a religion.  Instead, the American military “supports” the right of every person to choose and exercise their personal religious beliefs.  It would be far better to emphasize the coalition efforts to support religious freedom, rather than a specific belief.

In a country in which the US State Department says no Christian churches remain, such a reiteration of the virtue of religious freedom might be significant.