In a somewhat expected move, the Military Times reports General David Petraeus has removed the limitations on MWR imposed by General Stanley McChrystal, allowing fast food and other morale facilities to return to the AOR.
McChrystal had previously instituted the restrictions because, as CSM Hall said
“This is a war zone — not an amusement park.”
According to Military.com, the small, controversial Westboro Baptist Church has joined the criticism of the planned Koran burnings in Florida, but not for the reason everyone else is. Their reason?
They did it first. And no one noticed.
It’s that in 2008 she and her father’s Topeka flock set fire to a Quran in plain view on a Washington, D.C., street and nobody seemed to care…
Westboro has even said if Jones doesn’t burn the Koran, they will. Elsewhere, there is an increasing chorus of “hypocrisy” accusations against US officials. The US government previously said it burned Bibles in Afghanistan; even at that time, there was a sense that
“if it had been the Quran, this never would have happened.”
Other news agencies picked up on the “unusual” Read more
According to press reports, General David Petraeus, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, has said the proposed burning of Korans in Florida would endanger US troops:
“Images of the burning of a Koran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan — and around the world — to inflame public opinion and incite violence,” Petraeus said. “Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult.”
While the General is speaking within his purview — the mission and the troops — it is fairly unusual for a military officer to so pointedly address the lawful exercise of an American citizen’s protected rights. The White House also reportedly “condemned” the plans: Read more
The UK’s Guardian has said that General Stanley McChrystal’s ouster from leading NATO forces in Afghanistan has dealt a blow to a long and slow improvement in US-Muslim relations. The article summed it up this way:
McChrystal’s strategy in Afghanistan also had major implications for US relations with the world’s 1.4bn Muslims. McChrystal’s message was simple: we respect you. We honor you. We are here to protect you. You have a great religion and a great culture, and we will help you preserve it and secure a future for your children.
The article calls the choice of General Petraeus to replace McChrystal “solid,” which has been the general feeling in the public (Petraeus was approved unanimously in the Senate). Ironically, however, while McChrystal apparently sported friendly credentials with the local Muslim populations, Petraeus has been accused of being a fundamentalist Christian predator, at least by one person:
General Petraeus has, by his own hand, become a quintessential poster child of this fundamentalist Christian religious predation, Read more
In a seemingly unusual move, US Army General David Petraeus appears poised to give up his leadership at Central Command to take over the job of one of his former “subordinates.” While the situation is not quite that simple, from a military leadership perspective, the ISAF leadership position is certainly inferior to CENTCOM.
That aside, one of the more interesting aspects of this firing/hiring of US military General officers has been the attempt by the media to characterize the enemy’s response. Newsweek had an entire article on “what the Taliban think…” about Read more
William McCoy
edein, 2007.
Topic: Spirituality
Under Orders is subtitled “A Spiritual Handbook for Military Personnel,” has a rare endorsement from active duty General Petraeus, and is written by an experienced chaplain. It has exemplary reviews on various websites. It seems like an excellent reference for a military Christian.
It’s not.
The book’s intended audience are those who are non-religious, non-church-going, depressed, or traumatized. Nothing is said to those who already have a spiritual faith.
Chaplain McCoy, who is sponsored by the Lutheran denomination, doesn’t speak confidently about his own faith. In fact, he has little positive to say about the Christian faith at all. He belittles fellow Read more