E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSKABUL - Senior Afghan clerics said on Friday a U.S. apology for the burning of copies of the Muslim holy book at a NATO base last month would never be accepted, and demanded a trial and punishment for those who committed the "evil act."
"Those who committed this crime must be publicly tried and punished," members of a senior council of clerics said after meeting President Hamid Karzai, according to a statement issued by his office.
"The council strongly condemns this crime and inhumane, savage act by American troops by desecrating holy books of the Quran."
Report: 5 soldiers involved in Quran burning
Despite an apology from President Barack Obama, the desecration of the Quran at the U.S. Bagram airbase, which is being used by both U.S. and foreign forces under the NATO banner, ignited a wave of anti-Western fury across the country. Muslims consider the Koran the literal word of God and treat each book with deep reverence.
Two Americans have been killed following days of protesting over the recent burning of the Quran at a NATO military base. NBC's Atia Abawi reports.
At least 30 people were killed in the protests.
The Quran burnings hurt U.S. efforts to win more trust from Afghans, an essential part of efforts to weaken the Taliban and force the militant group to negotiate an end to the war now in its eleventh year.
Prof. Fawaz Gerges of the London School of Economics explains whether the Quran-burning incident and subsequent Taliban attacks on NATO could alter U.S. plans in Afghanistan.
A string of attacks on NATO troops by Afghan security forces followed the Quran burnings, including the high-profile killing of two U.S. officers in the heavily guarded Interior Ministry.
The killing of two U.S. officers, allegedly by a police intelligence officer, in the heart of the heavily guarded Interior Ministry raised particular concern and cast fresh doubt over the effectiveness of Afghan security forces.
Santorum: No apology needed for Quran burning
If their capabilities do not improve before foreign combat troops head home at the end of 2014, the country could face prolonged instability.
An Afghan government commission investigating abuse accusations at the largest U.S. jail in Afghanistan, which is at the Bagram site, has said inmates had reported being tortured and being held without evidence.
Control over Afghans captured by U.S. forces is a major stumbling block in negotiations between Kabul and Washington on a strategic partnership agreement. NATO's night-time raids on Afghan homes, which Karzai objects to, are another point of contention.
Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- Rival hard-liners face off as Iranians vote
- Anti-Putin activists pay high price but refuse to back down
- A global icon is reborn: Londoners meet $36,000 per seat red bus
- Red Cross convoy reaches 'medieval barbarity' of Homs
- Putin in power until '24? 10 key questions about Russia's election
- Mom, boy kill man -- thought he was a pedophile
Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world
Leave a Comment:
What does it take for Christs sake. Get out of there, what are we defending? It was a mistake, done and if you can't deal with it, tough and they can't and the only thing more stupid than them is us for even being there. Bin Laden is dead, why are we there. Oh yes and he was sheltered by the people we give money to so they will be our firends. They hate us, now get over it.
Why the HELL are we continuing to even acknowledge these ignorant bastards!! Just tell them to go F**K themselves, pull all of our troops - including NATO, etc - OUT of that god-forsaken @!$%#hole of a country, and then just NUKE it.
There. I've said it and I will NOT take it back!
I'm right there with you. I have only one favor to ask. Can I PLEASE be the one to push the button?
Ok Joe - I will add you to the growing list of volunteers who want the privilege!
Tell this towel head mother effer to stick his trial up his ass!!!! Get our troops the hell out of this rat hole county, and then turn it into radioactive glass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We can draw staws to who gets to push the button. I would be willing back out of this drawing...just someone with some balls...unlike the idiots in washington... will push the damn button and get this over with before we have another 9/11 event in America...again!
These mother effin towel heads would do it again (9/11 event) in a New York minute....so what the hell are we waiting for here?????
"The council strongly condemns this crime and inhumane, savage act by American troops by desecrating holy books of the Quran."
Should we also try the people that burned Bibles in the local languages in Afghanistan?
Why is it OK to burn Bibles, but not defaced Qurans with terrorist messages written in the margins?
There is a reason that Afghanistan is probably the most backward country on Earth.
You can't cure 'stupid'.
It's time to bring our troops home, let them revert to treating their wives and children like 'Chattel', and forget about the idea of a Democracy, since there seems to be an incurable dichotomy between Islam and our concept of Democracy.
Islam seems to require that all real power rest in the hands of religious leaders, who are not subject to 'elections'.
We in the U.S. demand that the Afghan Clerics be tried for burning our flag and directing the murder of out troops. Screw You Afghan Clerics and your dog prophet Mohamed.
Perhaps we should politely tell these Imams that the vanquished do not get to direct the victors in a war to do anything. Then we should try these Imams in a military tribunal for conspiracy to kill US soldiers. If found guilty - they should be executed. And any protesters should be allowed to become martyrs. CIWS weapons systems should be installed at the corners of all bases over there - when the base gets shot at again - just go 'live fire' on the CIWS.
For those of you who did not have the courage to serve in the military - CWIS is a 'close in weapons system' used on capital ships to protect from incoming threats. It was also mounted on C130's in Vietnam (and were called magic dragons - as they shot flames). They shoot about 4000 rounds per second - and effective stops all threats. I guarantee that after this weapon is used, the number of base attacks would drop very quickly.
This would be a win-win for all. It would stop US forces from being killed, and would allow these nut-jobs to actually validate their lunatic fundamentalist religion (they would each get their 70 Virginians).
If troops are to be out, then there should be no repetition of blunder of sending troops, aids workers including via Red Cross to any Muslim nation including Syria and Iran.
Why be selective after getting badly burnt?
We need to get those 5 soldiers out of the country ASAP and tell the politely tell the clerics in question to go sc@*w themselves. This is not about justice. It is about sheer petty revenge they can use their precious Sharia Law on! As Americans, there is not a snowballs chance in Hades (or Afghanistan - same difference) that the five would get a fair trial anyway! We need to accelerate getting ourtroops out of that misbegotten flyspeck piece of dirt where we are neither wanted nor appreciated. Let these neolithic barbarians battle it out among themselves without us. Karzai is a backstabbing two faced conniver who wants to suck up to the Iranians and the Pakis. Let them be welcome to each other.
An ongoing perfect example of why muslim nations will always be backward, hate filled, and failed. Allowing a cleric to control secular problems is simply never going to work. These hate filled muslim scumbags will never allow justice, integrity, or honesty. And of course with this entire incident isn't it interesting to note the reply from the American muslims! Nothing! Not a word, not a deed, not a demand for prudence and justice, only quietly sitting by which means acquiescence. These muslims only come to America and Europe to eat at our table, bringing nothing and quietly supporting the terrorist scum.
In the eyes of Muslim Clerics, there is no other religion. Either you are Muslim or you are against God. Therefor to a Muslim cleric if you are not Muslim you must die of be enslaved.
In a Muslims eyes all real Jews and Christians became Muslims, therefore any Jews now are fakes and must be removed (killed or enslaved) any Christian must be misguided and therefore killed or enslaved.
This is why it is a severe crime to burn a Quran (penalty is death) and why it is the duty of all Muslims to destroy anything else not Muslim. Example Burning of a Christian Bible.
Thus, this is why burning a Christian bible is perfectly fine for a Muslim, but why Muslim cry Jihad if a Quran is burned. To a Muslim there is no other Religion but Islam. Islam is God's Religion and everything else is against God.
It's always been a problem region. Those who are able to live and behave like decent human-beings ought to be given the chance to get out and then... solve the problem once and for all. This Planet is already doomed to disease and destruction caused by third-world over-population anyway - we'll be helping the Earth in the long-run if we do a bit of Cruise Missile target practice! The Israelis are about to do this to Syria anyway.
These clerics do not have the right to demand squat If left to the Marines they would have killed em all and let God sort them out and we would have been home 3 years ago and not pissing around and burning their hate filled trash. To hell with the Clerics I say.
Afghan clerics demand trial of Quran burners at U.S. base. Demand in one hand and $h*t in the other and see which one fills up faster, dumba$$es !!
It's high time to call it a day in Afghanistan and let the people decide whether they want to live in a civilized society or one where listening to tunes gets your head sawed off (I'm jamming now, see how f**king with me about my tunes works in my house, you Taliban pu$$ies !!)!! If they won't react to outrages like 17 people being MURDERED by Taliban Psychopaths for listening to music but get all murderous and riot-ee over a few Qurans being burned by Coalition forces (which was an absolutely IDIOTIC thing to do, no doubt about that), I see little hope for them, but hopefully they will one day wake up and discard of the Taliban d*ckweeds like the garbage they are !!
While I believe we were entirely justified to pay the Taliban thugs and their al-Qaida butt buddies a visit in 2001, why we're still there over a decade later escapes me !! Leave them and leave them a picture of a nuclear test with the promise that if any BULL$H*T like 9/11 comes out of their Fred Flintstone (apologies to Hanna-Barbera) country again, we'll pay some "glowing" attention to them !!
The truth is, it happens every day somewhere in the world. Do you know why we don't hear of it here? Two reasons:
excerpt pulled from plancksconstant.org/blog1/2010/09/muslims_burn_bibles_routinely_and_often.html
If I recall, the reason the books were burned was the inclusion of terrorist messeges in them. Do the clerics also seek a trial and punishment of those who desecrated their holy books with terrorist messeges? Also, since they already are saying punishment, it seems the trial would be a farce.
Take our troops, take our money,Let Karzai pay for his own security and say Bye idiots feel free to kill each other.
Translation: licence to murder without remorse, to be racist and sexist and to be a self-righteous liar.
Please pass the State sponsored Islamic candy.
Exactly!
I have two letters for a reply to the 'clerics' F and U.
To bad they can't put this much energy into say...bettering their country!
Anyone who thinks that they can apply logic to the Afghanistan situation(s), does not have the least amount of logic on his/her possession.
Get out Now. Suck it up, we failed, better yet, THEY failed themselves. When 80% or more or Afghans are totally ignorant, you cannot save them from themselves.
If westerners kill someone by accident, they want western blood. When one of their own kills 100 Afghans, nothing is said. Just what is it that our government or military leaders do not understand?
Start a systematic withdrawal of all western troops. Separate Afghan troops from western troops and insure that the western troops have ample fire power - to overwhelm any opposition - including the Afghans we trained.
What a cesspool did we get into? We just haven't learned not to step on dog poop.
Anyone who thinks that they can apply logic to the Afghanistan situation(s), does not have the least amount of logic on his/her possession.
Get out Now. Suck it up, we failed, better yet, THEY failed themselves. When 80% or more or Afghans are totally ignorant, you cannot save them from themselves.
If westerners kill someone by accident, they want western blood. When one of their own kills 100 Afghans, nothing is said. Just what is it that our government or military leaders do not understand?
Start a systematic withdrawal of all western troops. Separate Afghan troops from western troops and insure that the western troops have ample fire power - to overwhelm any opposition - including the Afghans we trained.
What a cesspool did we get into? We just haven't learned not to step on dog poop.
Sportdog
What of all the Quran's the Taliban destroyed when they were bombing girls schools?
This isn't about a few worthless books, it's about getting rid of America and returning the Taliban to power.
The best thing America could do for Afghanistan is round up all the clerics and shoot them.
What those people need is something to keep them busy, like a small pox epidemic, I say we help them out. Everybody should have a copy of the Quran, to keep in the bathroom in case you run out of toilet paper.
No trial of a single soldier!
First these Islamic clerics should be tried for their jihads and promoting Islamic radicals and terrorists and exporting them all over the world.
If these people had not killed us and try to kill us in our backyards, why anyone would go near them?
Why did they give 9/11?
If these Islamic cult followers don't follow any logic, have we world patents on "logic."?
WTF!
They do"nothing" to those who destroy "our" holy books!
They do "nothing" to those who burn "our" American flag!
And now.... we are suppose to punish "our" American soldiers? Men and women who give thier lives for us and protect us ????
Should they have kept the books and pass them on to others so that they can read all the hateful things that were written in them? And pass on those thoughts and ideas of how they can destroy America?
Actually, I think it's time we put the Koran and Hadith on trial. The Koran is a bully book, that teaches it's adherents to make war with, plunder, kill, subjugate and terrorize the unbeliever.
Perhaps we need to ask ourselves if there is a cause effect relation between Islamic fidelity, and the resulting culture of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
If the US turns those soldiers over, they will defintely kill them. Those Muslims are so darn "tolerant" (sarcasm) Dan is right we need to get our people out of there. Let them fend for themselves.
Did they hand over Osama?
First the Saudi and Paki rulers and clerics of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan should be tried for their breeding and exporting of Sunni Islamic radicalism and terrorism through their Sunni extremists Salaffi and Wahhabi mosques all over the world.
No apologies and no handing over a single poor soldier, who is doing the dirty jobs for Saudis, oil companies, their lobbyists and puppet politicians.
We had enough of one-sided garbages from these Islamic religious beasts.
Jonathan...well stated, so damn true! It's time we now put on trial these hate filled imans who preach killing Americans daily and do all possible to bomb and kill innocents. Never an apology to these scum, and again always remember the voices we hear from the American and European muslims....which is nothing! Silence only while they sit quietly and provide secret support to these scum muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.
If they treat each book with "reverence" then why were all the qurans that were burnt, COVERED IN WRITING, by the prisoners??? In shariah law this is considered BLASPHEMY and punishable by beheading??? How come these muslims arent being killed?. I also saw video where HUNDREDS of their qurans were DUMPED IN A SEWER in palestine (google it). How come they arent looking for these hundreds of muslims and burning, looting, maiming and killing over their "precious" unholy book?? I will tell you why, because they are ALL FULL OF GARBAGE...ENOUGH ALREADY, ENOUGH.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The killing of more than 2 dozen NATO soldiers resulting from this incident is not enough for these cultists... I am sure there will be more attacks and more murders to come...
If these cultists (muslims/islamists) just used half the energy they bring for good, the whole world would be a better and safer place... but they would rather hold on to cult ideals from 1,000+ years ago to show how inhumain and barbaric they really are and will never actually join the human race here in the 21st century.
Also this rediculous sharia law has no bearing here in the United State... this judge from PA should be thrown off the bench as his decision was unAmerican and has nothing to do with this cultist attack... this judge is totally incompetent to do a judicial position...
We should bring our soldiers home and let President Hamid Karzai continue without any military, security, and most of all FINANCIAL assistance from the United States. He has a chance to bring foreign business into his country and he can provide no security and that he has no control over his people. So, leave them to their own, let them exist rather than improve their situation. I saw a documentary showing a bunch of young Afgan men that said they only want to provide for their families. They wanted jobs and an education.
The fanatics from any religion cannot be reasoned with. Protestant, Mormon, Catholic or Muslim they are all whack jobs and should be dealt with accordingly. We cannot tolerate or be bullied by the Afghan crazys or allow the evangelicals to take over here. If the evangelicals take over the US we will face their version of sharia law. Eliminate religions and you eliminate 90% of world conflict.
Remember your words today concerning those of us who truly represent Jehovah God, michael (most of your "religions" listed are phonies)...you WILL heart them again when you stand before Him on Judgement day...we shall see how "tough" you are then, right before He Casts you into Hell, FOREVER. Fall on your knees and REPENT NOW, before it's too late.
Way to make Michael's point branxoz!
branxoz
You "represent" God in what manner? From reading your post maybe a fight promoter, a little MMA cage action. It's easy to see why so many wars are fought in "gods" name
branxoz
You "represent" God in what manner? From reading your post maybe a fight promoter, a little MMA cage action. It's easy to see why so many wars are fought in " God's" name.
When Shiites and Sunnis blow up their mosques on Fridays, do they take out Quran first?
Why are those involved not tried and hanged in public?
Do the Islamic religious Nazi beasts have one-way streets in all things?
Most of the infidels demand: bomb these Islamic clerics first to save the world.
If Shiites blow up the Sunni Islamic clerics, then I support them!
Too bad! You can't have a trial!
**** it just bomb that country back to the stone age and be done with it.
Yes, Leatherneck918, and afterwards wipe it from the books because they are just too stupid to exist.
it wouldn't take many bombs to put them back in the stone age, they are almost there.
Sportdog...you are correct. I don't know why we apologized to begin with. The "bad guys" had already broken the law by writing in these Quarans, Korans...however you spell it. Let them deal with the real reason they were burned. Most of these Afghans do not read, so they just take the word on the street for gospel, and who knows what they have heard. Karzai is the one of the problems in my opinion. He should be re-iterating the fact that the books had been defaced.
Reprimands for this violation have already been handed out by the Afghan's because they have attacked and killed many people citing anger about the burning. It is done and we really need to get out of there.
Okay, I'm down with that; as soon as they bring to trial those who murdered our people. Not a minute before.
Is anybody home in Congress? The White House? The Pentagon? NATO headquarters? Yo, Homeland Security: please forward some of these comments to POTUS, where they might do some good.
For anybody who's paying attention, GET US OUT OF THERE! (Sorry for shouting - but I'd pee on a sparkplug if we could bring everybody home from that sewer.)
time to get out and cut funding.
we must get out of this crazy hell hole. bring out boys home....stop helping these horrible people. people out there - do something about this.. stand up and insist we pull out of there. the people will have to do this - those in power are not. show those in charge that we care !!!
if they repermand our troops in any way ,we need to remove all in charge starting with the commander in cheif. we as americans need to have the back bone our leaders dont have.
OK....we get it. Next time we will martyr the damn books with a little C4. Happy ???
why god did you make muslins retarded.(sorry,all people of faith)
Walk away from Afghanistan. They hate the help they are getting. The troops are thought of a infidels even though they are the infidels. When they are left to themselves, they will return to the stupidity of seventh century life in the dirt, and tell themselves they are happy.
I have gotten to the point that I want to puke every time I hear the words Islam or Muslim or Quran. These sanctimonious phonies are the limit. Let's stop wasting our young peoples lives and our money and just pull out of this third world fecal hole. Why not put a fence around Iraq, Afghanistan, & Pakistan? Then only let all the phonies mentioned above in. This way there would be a special place for all the "Holy" & "Righteous" Muslims to blow each other to smithereens, all in the name of Islam. The world would be a much better and safer place.
Didn't Muhamad Ali convert to Islam because it is the religion of peace? Aren't Muslims, Jews, and Christians all decendant from Abraham? Isn't killing in the name of religion still just killing? I don't want to be associated with any of these self centered fools that justify stupid acts in the name of God. Religion is the problem not God.
Well someone who just may be starting to understand the difference. It is refreshing.
You cant reason with a mad dog why bother, time to let them just go back to killing each other and solve the problem once and for all. We believe in freedom they believe its there way or no way. Turn an American over to there type of so called justice NEVER!!!!!!!! Time to get out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If anyone should be brought to justice it should be the Afghan people who play the victim. They grow crops of poppy while their children starve. The poppy helps fund terrorism and the misery of millions of addicts. Has anyone forgotten the images of women being brutally beaten for a small inch of skin showing? Has anyone forgotten the honor killings kidnappings and the twin towers? Their duplicity speaks for itself.
Lastly I have read the US military gives all religious material to Muslims who are charged with the removal of the Qurans. Of course the Muslims would never accept that explanation because as we all know they never do anything that is wrong.
They were on US soil. There is no way that they should be on trial.
Why haven't these clerics apologised for KILLING americans?
Fire the POTUS and the General for apologizing to these Godless barbarians. The POTUS is to represent and serve the USA and the American people, not apologize for us, the General is supposed to protect his soldiers first and foremost. The American mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers are not feeling good about apologizing to the enemies of freedom that have purposefully killed and maimed over a book that is printed on the same paper as a fatwa.
Obama erred greatly when he apologized. This was not a mistake, this was necessary. And what should have happened was that they should have sought the assistance of a respected Imam to oversee the proper destruction of these already desecrated books. Since this was not done at the beginning, the proper response would have been to get an Imam to over see the proper disposal of the ashes of those books.
Perhaps the US should pull out until its president and top military officials get some proper cultural sensitivity training so that they can do what is right without insulting the people they are trying to help at every turn.
On two separate occasions, the US government has allowed the remains of Americans, soldiers on one occasion and 911 victims on another, to be dumped in an American landfill. These remains had first gone to a morgue so this was not a case of a few peices accidentally getting tossed with mangled building debris from the site. This does not help our case.
I know that it is hard. Sometimes it seems like we are fighting for animals over there, but if we are not any better, then how can we help others to be better.
Boy! I know the old saying " the buck stops here". But you must realize that military experts in the cultural sensitivity training, and foreign affairs, are dealing with this every day. But once in a while something or someone will slip up, and whoops there goes another diplomatic failure. I wrote tons of war training guidance for the US military, I am sure the fact finding papers written by myself and many other officers and enlisted advisers, covered the disposal of religious artifacts and material of all nations.
But the President and his staff, and the military staff, can't monitor the situation 24/7 down under. That's why he has Officers and Non Commission Officers of all the services to carry out these task. But sadly as wars drag-on the expertise and seniority of the leaders station in many of these strategic post, lack these job skills like at this prison.
Many of our young leaders are operating throughout the world filling the void opened by the retirement of our senior leadership. The young officers and (NCOs) taking their place are operating on minimum skills, some of these young leaders have just gotten out of high school, or college and must hit the ground in a train as you go status.
The only cure for this is to bring back the old soldiers who are still physically capable to perform in these hot spots. Recall the old officers and noncoms to duty until we have scaled down to a level the military services can carry out it's strategic missions, and receive the proper training from the older soldiers. Get the adviser's back into the field before we have another Pearl Harbor or Somalia Black Hawk Down incident.
Draw down but don't strip your senior leadership experience until all the young leaders have been trained and capable of standing on their own. And as for getting out of Afghanistan immediately this is what the President has ordered, but it must be done with caution or you will have more of these types of incidents of senior leadership failure. And don't let any of the war mongering politicians, like the Republican candidates, and (John McCain), get this country back into another shooting war until this young military receives it's proper training, from the generals down to the lower ranking soldiers.
I am an independent voter who will vote for president Obama to complete this mission and get our troops out of this mess, just like he is trying to do without the help of the party of "NO" who's leader (Bush) and his henchmen, lead this country down this path to unfunded wars, and economic failure. The Republicans are already working on another conflict in the middle east as ordered by their divine leaders in UN-holy Israel, and the UN-holy USA military industrial complex. America better stop this Republican war drums now, or more of your family members and friends will be killed in another senseless unfunded war.
""BUNCH OF DUMB ASS, VAGINA CONTROLLING, WAR MONGERING, TEA-REPUBLICAN PARTY FOOLS''WAR FIGHTER OUT""HOOAHhhhhhhhhhhh""""""""""""