A demonstration has been held in south- east Afghanistan accusing US troops of insulting Islam after they distributed footballs bearing the name of Allah.
The footballs were dropped from a helicopter in Khost province.
A spokeswoman for the US forces in Afghanistan said, “Unfortunately, there was something on those footballs we didn’t immediately understand to be offensive and we regret that as we do not want to offend.”
Americans don’t get it, the officer class doesn’t get it and, surely, it looks like our political misleaders will never get it.
After you invade a country, indigenous folks think you bear a responsibility to clean up the mess you made. If you have no understanding whatsoever of the culture of that nation, you ain’t going to be very successful at building a longterm relationship. On trust. On mutual interests.
Will have to admit my lack of understanding. When I read the word football I immediately wondered why we would be dropping NFL footballs in Afghanistan.
I suppose it could have been a marketing gimic dreamed up by Roger Goodell. Maybe that is how the commissioner’s name translates in their language!
I never understood why we decided to occupy after the Taliban were ousted.
We should have just left with a warning that the next time the country’s gov’t decides to host people who attack us we’ll REALLY pave the place over.
this is just absurd.
i think the only reason the world over bends over backwards for these people is because everyone is afraid they’ll scream jihad at the drop of a pin and rain a thousand body parts down on them. (theres an oil joke here too, but it escapes me atm)
i’m sure muslims everywhere laugh there asses off every time they get some major world power to cower in a corner begging for forgiveness because they offended the nation of islam or some such..
pretty sad state of affairs if you ask me.
-s
#29 You may or may not be crazy.
But you are correct in your interpretation of my post at #8. It surprises me that someone would not understand. I guess they teach a revised Golden Rule these days.
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, unless they are Muslim. If they are Muslim the Christian thing to do is to insult and demean them.”
The humanitarian thing would have been to teach them a real sport. Giving them soccer balls shows them that we want to keep them out of the first world.
(And yes, I’m saying the reason soccer isn’t popular in the United States is because we think we’re better than everyone else.)
You know, in a way, it all comes down to the same problem. Why can’t the damn muslims stop being such a bunch of tools?
#36. Actually, soccer is a very good game … for kids.
>>followed by kicking with the offensive unclean foot.
Aw jeez, do they wipe their ass with their FEET? Those people are just savages!