Quran burnings not reflective of values
After a decade of cultural blunders in the Middle East it astounds me we would do something as asinine as burn the Quran. If not purely accidental, juvenile is an apt description for our actions.
A famous military strategist wrote, “Good strategy presumes good anthropology and sociology. Some of the greatest military blunders of all time have resulted from juvenile evaluations in this department.”
Most of the facts surrounding U.S. soldiers burning Qurans are still being investigated. Whatever the investigation reveals — maliciousness, carelessness, or plain dumb decision making — it’s clear our military has vitiated much of the progress we made in Afghanistan.
U.S. relations with the infantile Afghan government are at an all-time low. Riots have broken out, leaving 30 Afghans and six U.S. soldiers dead. For the average citizen in Afghanistan, it has never been more popular to be anti-American.
We need to be more culturally intelligent in our military actions abroad. Over the past ten years, operations in Afghanistan made significant strides in this arena. It’s clear, however, that we aren’t quite there yet.
The process of nation building and counter-insurgency is a long and delicate process. The paramount objective is winning over the hearts and minds of the people. The process may take several decades, and there is no proven formula for success. One thing we do know, however, is culture matters. Needless to say, burning the one item that represents the most significant and central aspect of their culture is ill-advised.
Defenders of the military will justify the actions by pointing out that captive insurgents were using the books to communicate messages to operatives on the outside. While this fact is still under investigation, it still holds little water ever if it’s true. There are less offensive ways to screen coded messages than burning sacred texts. I would start by suggesting they restrict access to or screen suspect books. Or the military could get really creative and bar access to writing utensils for prisoners.
It kills me that we would do something like this, it really does. To make matters worse, the increasingly insignificant presidential candidate Rick Santorum called President Obama’s apology on the matter a sign of weakness. Santorum said the president shouldn’t apologize for something unintentional.
So, we shouldn’t apologize for something if it’s accidental? Isn’t that the kind of country we don’t want to live in — a place where you don’t have to apologize for accidents? Great logic, Rick.
This should not be Americans’ attitude: “Oh, is that your window I broke? Is that your dog I ran over? It was an accident, but sucks to be you, though.”
Where do we go from here? Accident or not, the military needs to set a precedent by doling out severe and highly public punishments. While those involved may be getting the short end of the stick for doing something they may have done in ignorance, there is simply too much at stake. If we hope to be successful in Afghanistan, we need to send a clear message to Afghan citizens that the actions our soldier took are not tolerated and do not represent the U.S.
As citizens, we can be a solution to this problem. Let’s not be an audience for Rick Santorum or the Florida pastor who hosted “Burn a Quran day.”
Culture matters. As the most influential country in a globalized world, we don’t have the luxury of ignoring it.