Why the Afghans keep killing Americans

This past week nine Americans fighting for freedom and democracy and other Good Things in Afghanistan were shot by Afghans -- the very people they were trying to help. (There is some doubt about the first two, since the chain of events inside one of the most "secure" buildings in Kabul is unclear, but the Taliban are claiming responsibility so let's work with that.)

The proximate cause of the killings and this week's anti-American riots was the burning, by "ISAF" (read "American") troops of some copies of the Qu'ran which had been thrown into a binful of trash and taken to a burn pit. Spokesthingies for the ISAF and the American military have apologized profusely, but saying "we're sorry" apparently isn't good enough for those damn Afghan Muslims!

And why should it be? Suppose the shoe was on the other foot. Suspend your disbelief and suppose the Afghan army somehow occupied Washington DC [Hmmmm... Ed.] and carted a truckload of Bibles off to the incinerator. What would be the likely reaction of the American citizens whose country was being occupied by an army of dirty infidels? You don't need an expert to tell you the American people would go ballistic... so to speak and rise up against the heathen foreigners.

Of course experts could have told the Americans occupying Afghanistan that ignoring religious and cultural sensitivities could only lead to tears. But even if such advice were given, would it have been heeded. Americans are notorious for lack of understanding of foreign cultures. That's "foreign" as in anything outside the borders of the lower 48.

Actually it's worse than lack of understanding. It's wilful ignorance. The American troops in Afghanistan are not cultural, political or historical experts. They are fearful and far from home. And they have been taught all their lives that Arab Muslims are dirty, sly, cruel enemies of All That is Good. Why they're even worse than those faggoty French and other, whiter foreigners.

The US soldiers are victims of their government's propaganda -- brave fighters in the "war on terror". Their commanders believe it too. So does their Supreme Commander. The pity is that before the USA finally throws in the towel, hundreds or perhaps thousands more Americans will be killed on Mission Impossible.

Footnote: Walt is dismayed that both Gingrich and Santorum have declared the American apologies for the burning of the Qu'rans wrong or worse. "Why should we apologize?", they ask. It's exactly that kind of patronizing contempt for other peoples' cultures that has informed -- read "misinformed" -- US foreign policy for two hundred years, with the results which could have been predicted, in the case of the Middle East, at any time after 1947.

Further footnote: Ron Paul maintains a stance on American involvement in foreign wars totally at odds to that of Newt and Rick. If Mr. Paul was president, no apologies would be necessary, because Americans would not be over there in the first place.