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Shah Marai / AFP / Getty Images
Afghan demonstrators shout anti-U.S. slogans outside of Bagram airbase on February 21.
KABUL -- The burning of copies of the Quran at an American base in Afghanistan was intentional, said a member of the team investigating the incident that triggered widespread and deadly anti-Western protests.
"We believe it is intentional," Maulavi Khaliqdad, a member of the panel established by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur on Monday. "If they burnt one or two copies, then we could have said it could have been a mistake. But they took hundreds of such books to burn. Everyone knew those were religious books."
While the United States said that burning copies of the Muslim holy book last month at Bagram airfield was a unintentional, the incident sparked violence that killed 30, including American troops shot by Afghan soldiers.
Report: 5 soldiers involved in Quran burning
Also on Monday, a suicide bomber killed at least two civilians after detonating explosives at the gates of the base, Afghan officials said.
The bomber targeted a vehicle belonging to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said district governor Kabir Ahmad Rahil, adding there could be foreign casualties, although a NATO spokeswoman said no coalition troops had been harmed in the attack on Bagram.
NBC's Andrea Mitchell speaks with Gen. John Allen and Amb. Ryan Crocker about what they are doing to protect U.S. forces against the wave of protests occurring the aftermath of the burning of Qurans.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was "revenge" for the Quran burning, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a text message to media according to Reuters.
Impasse?
Doubts are growing that the United States and Afghanistan could narrow sharp differences in negotiations and reach a long-term strategic partnership deal.
The Strategic Partnership Agreement, which Washington and Kabul have been discussing for over a year, will be the framework for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan beyond 2014, when the last foreign combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan.
Afghanistan wants the United States and NATO to agree to stop carrying out night raids on Afghan homes as a precondition for signing an agreement with Washington and a timeline to assume control over detention centers.
Images: Protests erupt over Quran burning
But while the rules covering night raids and air strikes have been tightened, they continue to cause great resentment among many Afghans. Movement on the detention issue has also stalled, causing a deadlock.
"The impasse in talks could threaten the strategic partnership," said an Afghan foreign ministry official.
A senior Afghan government official told Reuters that Kabul has been pressing the Americans hard to hand over the detention facility at NATO's Bagram airbase.
Afghan clerics demand trial of Quran burners at US base
"The United States government thinks Afghanistan does not have the ability or the international standards to run the prison and also insists that night raids can't be stopped overnight as it's a key tool against the insurgents," he said. "The United States government believes that Afghan forces are not yet ready to take over the control of night raids from U.S. troops."
U.S. embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall suggested a pact may not be possible. "We have always said it is more important to get the right agreement than to get an agreement," he said in a statement.
Without a strategic partnership, the United States may find it difficult to maintain a presence in the form of advisers in the country after 2014. That would raise the possibility of prolonged instability in Afghanistan.
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Msnbc.com staff, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
Leave them! Bring everybody home... enough money and lives were wasted there. This war should have ended 9 years ago. If it was not for the politicians who serve military-industrial complex we would have been long gone from that place.
I'd rather them serve a "military-industrial complex" than to build a massive, irreversible welfare state as they are today. But yes, we can burn Qurans that have propaganda and action messages imbedded into their text. That alone makes them NOT Qurans but rather a danger to our troops. If we can't protect our troops and our mission (whatever that is), than, yes we may as well evacuate and sever ALL ties and future support of Afghanistan.
Although, I have a feeling losing control of the airspace over Afghanistan and Iraq is going to come back to cause severe air combat logistical problems in the not-too-distant future.
I would rather have a country where every poor kid gets a free meal in school and free medical care than flush that money down the toilet chasing religious fanatics in Afghanistan.
Max, we already have that. Any child from a low income household is entitled to free meals at school. (Not just lunch, but breakfast, and even a snack in the afternoon, if the school participates in those.) They also get free healthcare as a part of the TANF program.
My question to you, and to everyone else is, how much more money do you want our government to spend, and where is that money going to come from? Democrats want increased social spending and Republicans want reduced tax rates. Both are inflating our National Debt and bankrupting our childrens future.
Of course it was intentional. What do you expect from people who have spent the last twelve years in that hellhole?
Major Mike... sir... I am for a balanced budget and limiting social programs to truly justifiable need cases. US is currently spending more money on defense than the rest of the world combined. And it is mostly borrowed money. Defense spending has to be cut to pre-9/11 levels (half of what is it now). It is not about money spent on US citizens: it is about money wasted on bloated defense.
We should just pack up and leave ALL of these areas were we are so hated . Then when we are attacked again the only response should be to bomb them into the stoneage as this seems to be all that they understand.No boots on the ground at all just fly over and drop it . Not all muslims are terrorists but it does seem to me that they are tolerant of the radicals in there midst and that radical number is growing.I myself am preparing for the worst here at home as we welcome with open arms every person that can cross into this country illegally and instantly become eligable for all the free health education and work programs that my tax dollars pay for while me and my family struggle to hold our jobs and PAY for my kids educations. No free rides for me and mine as we are constantly told that we do not qualify for any of the available programs because we make to much money. Lets get back to the basics of following the constitution and looking after our own here at home . And one more thing... ok the keystone pipeline and lets go after the abundant fuel sources we have here at home. That is the true way to energy independance.
Great! This stupid report just gave these idiots another excuse to riot and kill innocent people for another month. That's all they really want. A reason to spread violence.
Although we know most of them cant read the report. So go ahead media, spread your filth and inflame the violence! You reporters are just as big of morons as the people of Afghanistan.
I agree with the lead comment on this article. Some times we just have to understand when it is time to cut our loses and go home. This business with Afghanistan is just such a time. Never before have I seen such a nation of ingrates as these people.
Let's go home. Let the Taliban lynch Karzai and take over the government. What business does the U.S. have any longer in trying to salvage a country content with and bent on living in the dark ages.
And about burning the Koran. To you Afghans: Our punishment has already been served in American blood. Among you numbers, who will be arrested, tried, convicted and jailed for the lives we lost over this ridiculous episode?
screw these people and their BOOK!
bring home our troops and stop playing cop of the rock [planet] and let these fundamentalist blow eachother to HELL and back.
NEXT
There are no brains at all inside the heads of people who kill over a book of mythology. But don't worry, it is easy to get them to kill each other.
We should leave, and sent spies in to create evidence that our enemies burned Korans. Then we'd have an army of no-brains to fight for us.
Bubba the Love Sponge is hosting a Burn the Book day this Friday. They are burning a Koran, Bible, Harry Potter book, and a few others. Good or Bad idea? He just protested this pastor down here a few months ago and now this.
Of course the Afghan official said it was intentional. Had he said otherwise, whether it was the truth or not, he would have been stoned to death.
That actually sounds a lot like the wars and atrocities attributed to Christianity and within Christianity itself such as between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.
Religious zealots are a threat regardless of what religion is being used as the reason for the violence.
Afghanistan.
A losing game--they just bombed 2 other soldiers again (suicide bombing)---
America is at fault with Burning the Qurans? Did the Investigators know what was in those killer Books--Extremism writings of Terrorism. Is that called Appreciation for the thousands of soldiers who have protected them, then died there?
Karzai is puffing away, while the Country stays primitive, has no clue as to what American Soldiers are doing there, while they hand out candy, and toys to the kids there.
This is crazy---Afghanistan---live like the animals you are in that country, and if you all do away with each other, it would be a much more peaceful World.
American must keep it's own Soldiers in tact, with their blood out of Afghanistan.
This is VIET NAM, all over again. Out, out, out; Our Government needs to step up the exit there.
They have nothing we want, no Oil, or benefits. Just the Opiate Fields, the filth that Karzai is smoking and his gang of how many---corrupt, taking our hard earned money.. The Afghans want their Puff to make tons of money--a very innate reason to be there. Are they going to share their profits with our Government?
Out of Afghanistan right now!
Of course the Afghan investigators were going to say it was intentional, if they had said anything else they would have been branded traitors by the Taliban and killed. The truth is that the Korans that were burned were defaced with anti-west rhetoric and as such should have been destroyed under Islamic law. Of course the Afganis and the Taliban will never acknowledge that fact because it would leave them without this incident to stir up their illiterate following. The other thing that the Aghanis and Taliban are conveniently ignoring is that it was Afghan workers at the base who actually put the Korans into the fire. The books were placed in the trash by NATO workers but the actual burning was done by the Afghan workers.
It is time we brought all of our troops home. No matter how long we stay there, the country will descend into anarchy as soon a we leave. The Karzai government has limited control within the capital of Kabul an virtually no control at all outside of the capital. The idea that we will ever get to the point where we can leave Afghanistan and have the country remain stable is nothing but a pipe dream. It is time to stop kidding ourselves and wasting American lives and just pull all of our troops out.
Did you really think the Afghans. investigator would have seen it any other way?
Better to spend in in the US than the billions the military has spent in some sh*thole. We will leave and it will be unchanged from ten years ago. Time for Karzai to find another sugar daddy to pay his way.
Some of you (Stexas) have stated that these Korans contain "propaganda and action messages imbedded into their text."... where are you getting this info from? Is it factual? What is your source? I think it was a mistake that these books got burned but I think that its ridiculous that ANYONE should die because a book (regardless of content) got BBQed.
I agree with the comments concerning the amount of money the US spends on defense (offense really). Defense programs are ALWAYS overbudget and rarely meet the intended goal of those who ordered them (Navy/Army/marines). this is a FACT... I have worked on may defense programs and found the graft and lack of accountability to be rampant and OBVIOUS. Defense spending should never be considered a jobs program (anti-unemployment) program. We should develop new technologies but until the kinks are worked out of the new weapons systems production of this systems should be limited. F-22 is a GREAT example of an UNNECESSARILY high production level. This A/P is a money pit now and stealth will eventually be rendered moot within the next 10 years. I am not anti-defense spending but we have to re-prioritize the spending in this country before it is too late. Why do we spend more than the next 17 industrialized nations combined on defense?
Not surprised. I kinda figured someone or some persons did this intentionally. What better way to keep the war machine stoked then to do something to purposely enrage.
I do not put it past some of our military and some whose hatred of Islam would be willing to do to keep this war going for better or worse. We already saw how a few in the military act this just owuld not surprise me at all.
who cares if the troops burned some qurans even if intentional!! would we cry or kill their people if they burned some bibles? i dont think so! religion just plain sucks!
The Karzai govt won't last a year after we leave. We should pack continue with an orderly pullout and let them get back to shooting the asses off of each other which is about the only thing they like better than shooting foreigners.
"We believe it is intentional," Maulavi Khaliqdad, a member of the panel established by Afghan President Hamid Karzai,
You, sir, along with your President and fellow countryfolk.....can kiss my patriotic, Infidel ass.
Thank you and have a good day!
Yes, it sure was and should have been. They used the books for other reasons than prayer thereby trying to hide their true intentions which as usually were bad. That makes those little funny books just a tool in the shad that just might get destroyed when found out. Nothing wrong with that at all!!!!
And if you don't like it, too bad, sue me, or better yet, bite me.
Level any building we built. Pack up all equipment and leave. No more money no more lives just let them stew in their own problems.
Lady Cat..........Ever think of running for President? Common sense is so very important, something Obama and his Republican challenger don't have!
The Koran is self-imolating. It only needs to be read by an impartial critic.
And this is an accident.
http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=69123
Poor soldiers are fighting battles under one of the toughest circumstances.
What is the big deal if Quran was burnt intentionally?
When these people blow up mosques in Shiites vs Sunnis battles, they not only burn Qurans but blow up people who read them!
So much ignorance and so little American intelligence. Afghanistan is a rural uneducated society that thrives on the opium trade. The U.S. has not done anything to correct any of those factors. As soon as it leaves, it will revert to the old ways and with the same corruption. Anyone thinking anything else is deluding themselves.
The Americans didn't learn anything from the Russian adventure in Afghanistan. So very very stupid. The least Obama could do is read history and learn that Afghanistan has never been captured or tamed. We cannot rely on Pakistan which is more corrupt than Afghanistan. We killed a few thousand and we can send over drones every once in a while to keep them on their toes.
Take our toys, destroy Iran and get the hell out. NOW!
Just pack up and leave and let the unstable countries in the area fight and do what they have for centuries. Only madmen and Obama are going to believe anything is going to change. Leave the hell hole and take out Iran on the way out.
Steve00000000, you are suspended for a week for violating rule # 5 of the Code of Honor.
While I won't comment on what to spend it on, just that it is spent in the US, I think the money should come from all the foreign aid we waste.
These towel heads are the scum of the earth and should be wiped out. Who cares if the burnt the dam book on purpose or not. It is no reason to riot and kill people. Dam scum that's all those people are.
Religion of peace my ass.
I am thinking of have a Koran burning party at my place, in protest of their violent protest. If they come knocking on my door and threatening me, then they may have to answer to Mr. Springfield...
Last I checked, we invaded their country and greatly overstayed our welcome. Granted, they are dumb-as-rock religious fanatics - but we are even dumber for trying to bring democracy to them, or whatever other lame excuse we have for being there now.
Lets not forget they have the largest Lithium deposits on earth.
Lets not forget that Lithium can be extracted from sea water ad infinitum.
Let not forget the cost is 8 times what it cost to extract on land in Afghanistan because of the purity!
Especially among the Taliban and their supporters.
Time to get out. Max^108 is right.
So you have to guard that Karzai, who is an expert in stealing whatever is given.
They, in turn, decide how the NATO forces should do their battles!
What a pathetic state to fight battles!
It is time to send John McCaine and others, who want interventions/wars in Syria and Iran, to do these battles!
Also, it is time to withdraw stressed out poor soldiers.
Umm I hate to break it to people, but in all of recorded history, Afghanistan hasnt ever been " stable "
It is pretty much a SH!t hole ( per my cousin who spent 3 tours there )
Afghanistan is a country only on a map. It is composed of numerous tribes whose member's primary loyalty is to the tribe, not "Afghanistan".
Once Osama was killed, we should've started packing up the very next day.
Next time this backwater harbors terrorists, just carpet bomb it relentlessly for 2-3 years, but never set another American boot on the ground. When we start to bomb, the first targets should be all the infrastructure we built there over the last 10 years. We've basically thrown all that money and effort away anyway. Take every improvement we've made there back. Reduce the whole country to a pile of rock, just as we found it.
Don't let a few dipstick protesters effect the decision to leave. They are mostly Pastuns that are pissed because we treat the Asian looking Afghans and women like human beings. Best bet is to train Battalions of Women and Harsa to go out and wipe the "non enlightened" Pastuns off the face of the Earth. Some people just need to die... it gives the others a chance to live and prosper.
That's right. Let's ignore then and the vast majority of the American public that wants us out.
Intentional or not - who cares? It's just a book, print more.
And yeah, why are we even still there?
I'm curious what happened to all those Chinese Korans that were full of errors.
None of these zealots can actually read them anyway so errors are not relevant.
Come home, frag 'em and forget 'em.
I agree a book is a book, I always wonder how a mass printerd book on ordinary paper (including the bibl) suddenly becomes holy in itself. This shows how at times religion (any) can be too extreme.
Why is it so imperitive that the President wants to stay in that country. American soldiers are being killed and wounded. Billions being spent to bring a country up from the 5th century, WHY?. Who cares about Afghanistan? Whats this STRATIGIC importanbce of this place to America. Someone please tell me
Because, like it or not, you just cannot just up and walk away from a war. Politicans sign contract, treatys, promise money............they will likely have us in their pockets for years to come. Everyone does. Iran, Irac, North Korea, South Korea, Hell, we are still giving money to the Phillipines and the Navy left Subic Bay in 1993?
Sad thing is, we give all these people money, but lay off Police and Fireman? We even have city's filing for Bankrupcy at home, while we throw money to clowns that dont want it anyway?
John Trent -
Afghanistan sits between Turkmenistan (think Caspian Sea Oil and Natural Gas) and the Indian Ocean, without going through Iran.
http://english.pravda.ru/world/asia/05-06-2009/107728-caspian_sea-0/
meant to reply to you regarding strategic importance of Afghanistan but posted it below.
It is all about oil, money & control for the real powers to be, and we can't leave out the war mongrals lining their pockets & bank accounts.
It's all about money. They have lots of good minerals. Syria has nothing and you can see how much we care about the Syrians being killed by thier leader, not a bit. If you have resources we'll get involved, if not, let us know how it works out.
stop killing people in the name of false gods!!!!!!!!!!! religion is stupid
A few things I don't get, they catch American cilivans, cut off our heads and hang us..........I never read about a trail on that? Not to mention, they burn the American Flag daily!
Are we still giving them money and what for? Last I recall, the GOA could account for $50million of $20Billion. How the hell to you lose track of $19.5Billion dollars? I can think of plenty of crap at home to do with that money!
While I do not condone randomly burning the flag, I am forced to, once again, remind people that the proper way to destroy a flag is with fire. Even if we stole the flags from them every time they were about to burn it, we would just burn it ourselves because it touched the ground.
Notice there doesn't seem to be much focus by the Afghans on the prisoner sacrilege and defacement of these books in passing messages to one another.
Says alot that this country achieved its highest level of culture and civilization when Budhism was the dominant religion.
Osiris...so well stated and true! These hate filled scum need no reason to riot and kill, and we should all be pleased that these cheap trash korans that were filled with messages are gone. The world will never know peace until all vestiges of this hate filled culture called islam have been removed, once and for all.
We should explain that it is policy to burn the trash. Remember that is the reason they gave for burning the Bilbles. No one committed acts of homicide over that!
There is not one American life worth that piece of paper. Not one. The followers of that cult have proven their belief system invalid. Murder, death and mayhem over paper is beyond ridiculous. It just demonstrates that these so-called people (I prefer the term monster) worship paper; they disregarded the meanings on the paper when they raised their hands in violence. In this day and age thousands upon thousands of documents can be run off a press in a matter of minutes, without so much as a change of word, all pristine and new. Murdering anyone over any supposed significance is nothing but vile murderers doing their thing. Words and paper can be reprinted and replaced, people can't be.
I'm still waiting on their apology. I know I'll never hear it, but I'm waiting.
Right. And we are supposed to believe what comes out of any Afghans mouth is the truth? I think it was just another cowardly Taliban sympathizer who arranged to have the Korans burned and have the story get out.
Leave these sorry people to their opium fields.
Pack it up! Let the Taliban have them and good luck.
Afghanistan sits between Turkmenistan (think Caspian Sea Oil and Natural Gas) and the Indian Ocean, without going through Iran.
http://english.pravda.ru/world/asia/05-06-2009/107728-caspian_sea-0/
Carpet bomb the whole @!$%#*n country, turn it into a sheet of glass.
The Osama Obama can apologize for it.
You've got my vote.
That would solve nothing, if you dropped one nuke at 21° 25' 24" N and 39° 49' 24" E in DMS notation. Then the Koran would then have too be rewritten since Muslims would no longer be able to complete the fifth pillar of faith and would pray to a crater. Which would start a chain reaction of the Vatican being blown away, and on and on until the entire world would be at war.
The best way to beat your enemy used to be too show them how much better your culture was than theirs, so they would want to adopt those parts of your culture. I don't think I could say this any more about the modern American culture. From their perspective and what they see on satellite T.V. we look like the most unholy and vile people on the planet.
If we were to readopt and use some of the old school tactics where fear and respect were the same, like you kill one of ours we kill 100 of yours. The first born of every house put to the sword by their fathers own hand or the whole family would be killed.
We would no longer have to fear them because it is we who would be feared, and in doing so we would have beaten ourselves.
So there is no good solution right now, there are solutions but no morally good ones that leave the ideals of " with liberty and justice for all" alive and Lady Liberty is not some crack whore.
I always liked this quote from "West Wing":
Accurate or not, I think this would other countries pause before acting.
leave now and don't flush the toilets.
WHAT TOILETS????
MOSinEur..........The Americans have toilets. I say 'flush' them so the dirty stinky nasty afghans don't feel at home in their sh-t country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Burning of Qurans, intentional? I would assume so.
Since its inception in 2001, the Afghan mission has been rudderless, pointless, and seemingly without an end accomplishment in mind.
On the other hand, this----------incident------- could be useful in bringing light onto the leaders of the subversive element that stands in the way of Western Mercantile Democracy. As an aside, this incident could also serve as the means to end the Karzai Regime, which stands in the way of that end.
And we're supposed to believe a puppet investigator sent by a puppet government?
Obama has lost this war. This is what happens when you elect a clown to the highest office in the land. Time to pack up and come home. Don't bother with a strategic agreement of any kind. Just cease the training of Afghan troops, separate them from our troops, and cut off ALL financial aid to that cesspool ASAP.
When was that war ever WON? Would we know it if it happened? The goals were unclear from day one. We got those that were involved in 9/11 and still hung around. We could be there for the next 50 years and it would be the same.
A
Of course the burning was intentional! Now, mohammed, were the subsequent killings of American soldiers accidental? The US needs to get out of Afghanistan and let them fight their own fricking enemies. We don't need to sacrifice any more American lives doing it for them.
Stability in Afghanistan is a pipe dream. The best we can hope for is to enable the moderates in Afghanistan to be able to maintain the struggle against the fanatics. It is a tribal culture. If we really wanted to make a difference, we would have instituted feudalism, as it would have been the next logical step. A democratic central government is just not within their grasp. As a society, they have not yet evolved to that point. Much of what we criticize inn their culture is actually pretty similar to Europe in the dark ages.
I say...LETS RIOT! AAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH! We need to get the hell out and let them tear themselves apart! D O N E !
Why not be intentional. If it gets the stone headed Obama and the military attention that WE the people and the military don't want to spend another day in that back water, closed minded country that for all the money we have poured into the country turned around and killed Innocent solders over a book.
Ever time this happens I go find a Koran and burn it in my trash can. Just like I do the bible, Jewish and other religious bullsh*t just because I CAN. I would think after they killed those innocent solders, and Obama got on his knees, again, a lot of people burned them in their trash cans.
I think if we had the Afhgans more involved in the investagations into this matter, and determing if there should be a trail, and then had them involved in desiding the punishment, they would feel better toward the West. They might even deside to be forgiving in this matter electing a lesser punishment. You never know untill you try, but it would go further than just an apology in the healing process. It means a lot to them, as they have shown, hopefully the West can be understanding.
Why a trial over books, paper & ink because a culture is so ignorant the believe what ever they are told by their so called holy or spiritural leaders. You speak about the healing process, let see mourn a paper & ink verse about the familes mourning deceased soldiers who weren't even part of the burning . Nay, we are passed apologies. Forgiveness, they should be asking for ours. The most sorrowful ending in all this would be if anyone from the President down allow our soldiers to be used as escape goats to pacify the ingnorant.
*sigh*
We should just leave them to their stinky, back-asswards country. Not one grieving mother/wife or injured GI is worth any of it.
So what if it was intentional? Does that give your countrymen the right to kill Americans and each other?
Your argument is well, simply STUPID. YOU can kill AFGHANS and burn their Holy Books but THEY should not kill AMERICANS. What JUSTICE!
Awabnawa....whatever. What "Holy Book"? If its "holy" to you, no one cares! Why did your prophet marry a 9 year old girl? LOL! Are you angry? Do you now have a purpose in life? LOL!