Tag Archives: david petraeus

Petraeus: Anti-Muslim bigotry aids Islamist terrorists

petraeusIn a column at the Washington Post, former US Army General and CIA Director David Petraeus rails against “inflammatory political discourse…against Muslims and Islam:”

Those who flirt with hate speech against Muslims should realize they are playing directly into the hands of al-Qaida and the Islamic State.

The terrorists’ explicit hope has been to try to provoke a clash of civilizations — telling Muslims that the United States is at war with them and their religion. When Western politicians propose blanket discrimination against Islam, they bolster the terrorists’ propaganda.

Petraeus doesn’t say what Americans should do about this objection to Read more

US Military Calls Out American Civilian Over Islam. Again.

For the third time, the US military has taken the unusual step of officially addressing the liberties of a private American citizen — over his public treatment of Islam.

In 2011, General David Petraeus “condemned the action” of Pastors Wayne Sapp and Terry Jones, who burned what General Petraeus called “a copy of the holy Quran.”

In 2012, General Marty Dempsey called Jones personally and asked him not to support the “pornographic” anti-Islam film that was initially blamed for the attack on the consulate in Benghazi. (General Dempsey Read more

Petraeus Scandal Inspires Emphasis on Ethics, Morality

After a couple of years of being told the US military has no business levying its morality on its troops — or dictating the conduct of their private lives — the Secretary of Defense recently told the Pentagon to figure out why American troops aren’t staying morally in line — even in their private lives.  Said Secretary Leon Panetta:

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has ordered the Pentagon’s top brass to figure out how to keep their officers ethically in line…

“Beyond mere compliance with the rules, I also expect Read more

US Military Implicates Five Soldiers in Quran Burning

Various reports indicate the US military has identified five soldiers (and an Afghan-American interpreter) who are “responsible” for burning the Quran at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan.  The Islamic holy texts (which were reportedly defiled by Islamic detainees) were among more than 1,600 books and other materials intended for destruction due to their apparent use by detainees to pass messages.

The probe launched by the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Marine Gen. John R. Allen, is still underway, but five soldiers were involved in the incident, NBC News reported Friday.

A careful reading of the reports indicates it is possible not a single one of the five involved knew there were Korans among the texts. 

Obviously, the results of the American investigation were made public to some end, which may only fuel the calls for Americans to be put on trial in Afghanistan (including by the Afghan President):

Afghanistan’s senior religious leaders have said that an Read more

Chaplain to General Petraeus on His Ultimate Hero

US Army Chaplain (Col) Brent Causey was recently a lead chaplain in Afghanistan, responsible not only for other chaplains, but also “religious leader engagement” in the region:

[Chaplain] Causey was as the top chaplain to Petraeus as well as the chaplains’ supervisor throughout the Afghanistan war theater. He also was Petraeus’ “point man” for diversity, responsible for religious leader engagement in the Islamic nation.

Chaplain Causey spoke highly of the importance of the role of the “chaplains on the front lines:”

“It’s amazing to see the impact our evangelical Christian chaplains –- especially the Southern Baptist chaplains -– are having Read more

Afghan War Solution: Yoga

Any article that starts with “retired male supermodel” and touches on peace and religion is bound to draw some kind of attention.  From the Wall Street Journal, no less:

Retired male supermodel Cameron Alborzian sat down with Maj. Gen. Phil Jones at the U.S.-led coalition headquarters in Kabul this past summer to discuss a novel way to persuade Afghan insurgents to lay down arms.

Apparently Alborzian, who was once associated with Madonna’s music videos, has bent the ear of American and British Generals in Afghanistan with his suggestion that everyone should just meditate together, and everything would be ok:  Read more

US Military Condemns Koran Burning, Defends Muslim Faith

The US Department of Defense issued a release in which General David Petraeus and his NATO civilian counterpart, Mark Sedwill, condemned the burning of a Koran (alternately, Quran) by Florida Pastor Wayne Sapp (with Pastor Terry Jones, who previously planned to do so, and whose proposal General Petraeus previously condemned):

“We condemn the action of the individual in the United States who burned a copy of the holy Quran. That action was hateful; it was intolerant, and it was extremely disrespectful,” said Petraeus.

As others will likely point out, no one found it “hateful, intolerant, or disrespectful” when the US military tossed Bibles in the trash and burned them not more Read more

Iraq Buys F-16s…or Not

The Stars and Stripes notes the inadvertent release of a draft announcement that Iraq had agreed to purchase 18 F-16s, something it has wanted for years.  As it turns out, the Iraqi government has not yet approved the purchase, making the release premature.

F-16s aren’t the only things Iraq wants.

“They’d like F-16s and, you know, Polaris submarines and aircraft carriers and a whole bunch of other things,” then-Lt. Gen. David Petraeus told reporters in 2005.

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