Tag Archives: christian

Report Details Afghan Threats to US Military

The recent remarks by Gen John Allen that Ramadan contributed to the rise in attacks by Afghan Soldiers on allied troops — despite the fact Ramadan has occurred yearly in the decade long war — inspired Andrew Boston, author of The Legacy of Jihad, to look a little deeper.  Boston cited an unclassified report dated 12 May 2011 by a “red team” of American analysts.

In an odd twist, just yesterday the Stars and Stripes noted this very report was rejected by the military and its author, Jeffrey Bordin, was blacklisted — yet it is now being used to guide some parts of the American conduct in Afghanistan.

The report goes into a long investigation of the tension between US and Afghan military members, including multiple references to “near-fratricides” — in which Afghans (most often) or US troops (occasionally) threatened each other with loaded weapons:  Read more

Rush Limbaugh and the Petition of American Military Atheists

The Air Force Times recently admitted to letting the “news” slip by without reporting it.  After checking the White House “We the People” petition website (to view the White House beer recipe), an astute reporter noticed that the White House had responded to a petition to pull Rush Limbaugh off AFN, the worldwide DoD radio and TV broadcast system.  That is, the White House responded in July.  From the AFTimes:

[The petition] threshold for a reply was 25,000 people — a level reached in April — but the reply wasn’t posted until July and got scant Read more

Helo Pilot Cites God for Surviving Shootdown

A local paper (repeated at the Stars and Stripes) carries the story of Vietnam veteran and former Marine Capt Boyd “Bo” Barclay, a helicopter pilot brought down by small arms fire on 8 June 1967:

“The next burst came through the cockpit and hit me in the hand, blew my hand up and I didn’t see any hand there,” he recalled. “And I said, ‘I’m hit!’”

He reached over to grab a pressure point and the next thing he heard the pilot say is, “I’m dead. I’m dead.” He turned and looked at the pilot who was hanging in his straps…

Barclay and two of his crewmembers survived, and Barclay credits God Read more

Local Editorial Scolds Over-the-Top Weinstein

The IndyStar, which has naturally followed accusations against Indiana’s Adjutant General MajGen Marty Umbarger, published a short editorial that scolded Michael Weinstein for his self-appointed role as judge, jury, and executioner:

[Umbarger’s video] raised the ire of a self-appointed watchdog, an attorney named Mikey Weinstein, who started an organization that bills itself as the Military Religious Freedom Foundation…

In an over-the-top protest, Weinstein has demanded that the general be relieved of his command and court-martialed…

The editorial does not attempt to proclaim General Umbarger’s video statement as without error; it merely says that, if it is an error, it does not rise to the ridiculous demands Weinstein makes:  Read more

US Soldiers who Burned Korans Receive Punishment

The investigation into the burning of Islamic religious material confiscated from an Afghan prison was reportedly completed, with no one criminally charged or court-martialed.  (Recall that “religious freedom” advocate Michael Weinstein had demanded the court-martial of these Christians — without explaining how he knew what, if any, faith they held.)  Administrative “non-judicial punishments” were meted out for the error, which was determined not to be malicious:  Read more

NBC: US Military Used Christian Doctrine to Recruit New Members

Kari Huus at NBC News re-iterates Michael Weinstein’s manufactured publicity event over the release of an Air Force regulation, something heretofore unknown to warrant national attention.  The article has a few apparent moments of inspiration, as when Huus says

there has been a long string of battles between those in the military who want to root out religious content and others, mainly fundamentalist Christians, who argue that to do so impinges on religious freedom.

That’s inaccurate, however.  The “string of battles” have actually been between those outside the military, who want to “root out” religion, and those who oppose them.  For example, Michael Weinstein has led a self-declared “war” to “root out” religious Read more

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