Spike in HIV Caused by Military Homosexuals

The Associated Press reported that a local spike in cases of HIV was attributed to military men seeking sex partners on line.

Of the nine people infected in 2011, eight were men who had sex with other men, according to the agency. Seven were either in the Army in Fairbanks or had sexual partners in the military…

The department released the information because health officials think others may have contracted HIV from the infected people but do not know it yet. Jones said that’s why the department took the unusual step of publicizing the outbreak.

In itself, this is not insignificant:  HIV disqualifies members of the military from overseas service, and a soldier was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison for giving a woman HIV.

One of the military’s responses to this incident:  Read more

Column: Use Koran to Control Afghan Anger

In a fascinating but brief column, Dr. Tawfik Hamid of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies suggests the US military should use the Quran to influence the Islamic population’s reaction to their conduct [emphasis added]:

The Koranic text can actually be used in such situations to control the Afghan anger and prevent its spread. In fact, the religiosity of people in these parts of the world makes the use of religious text more effective in controlling people’s anger than using formal apologetic approaches.

(Dr. Hamid joins a chorus of other resources who have written on the issues of “apologies” in the Iraqi and Afghan cultures.  They are not viewed the same way a Western citizen would view an apology.)

Dr. Hamid suggests several Quranic texts that might be used to “defend” Read more

LtGen Ronnie Hawkins and the Religious Rights of those in Uniform

Think the issue of LtGen Ronnie Hawkins and his “Ronnie’s Rules” is new?  Military commanders have a long tradition of introducing themselves to their units and including personal biographies and life philosophies when they do so, and there are other current examples of military leaders doing exactly that — and mentioning their faith in Jesus Christ as they did so.  A few critics have complained, naturally, but their vicarious or self-imposed offense has been insufficient to force the military to restrict the mention of “God” in similar military events — and rightly so.

Supporters have also weighed in with well-researched articles, not just passionate press releases.  The Religious Rights of Those in Uniform, which was also printed in an official Air Force publication that also featured the MRFF’s Chris Rodda, was written by Robert Ash (USA, Retired), who is a West Point graduate, served 22 years in the Army, and teaches law at Regent University.  He co-authored the lengthy piece with Dr. Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice (and debated Michael Weinstein at the US Air Force Academy in 2007).  From their essay [emphasis added]:  Read more

General Says Air Force Did Not Fault Crash Pilot, Despite Report

The Air Force Times notes that in Congressional testimony, Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz said the Air Force did not blame Capt Jeff Haney, pilot of the F-22 that crashed in Alaska — despite the public report apparently to the contrary.

Schwartz [said] the Air Force did not blame Capt. Jeff Haney for the…crash in Alaska, despite the service’s own report that said Haney was at fault.

“We did not assign blame to the pilot,” Schwartz said Read more

Weinstein Calls for Court-Martial of Koran Burning Christians

As he has with every public controversy in the US military, perennial religious freedom critic Michael Weinstein claims Christians are to blame for the burning of Qurans at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

[The Koran burning] once again reveals a noxious undercurrent of fundamentalist Christian supremacist exceptionalism…This culture of religious bigotry is fueled by militant, unchecked Christian fundamentalism.

Weinstein pontificates for another thousand words (most of them adjectives, as is his tradition) without really saying anything more of substance.  He does make some fairly ridiculous Read more

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