U.S. troops in Afghanistan taught for years not to oppose “culturally accepted practice” of child sex abuse
What are we in Afghanistan for, if not to stand for our own values and the principles of human rights? Instead, U.S. officials for years were aiding and abetting the destruction of these boys’ lives — and all too often sacrificing the lives of our own troops. This is beyond shameful.
“Those are the ones brought near in the Gardens of Pleasure, a company of the former peoples and a few of the later peoples, on thrones woven, reclining on them, facing each other. There will circulate among them young boys made eternal with vessels, pitchers and a cup from a flowing spring.” — Qur’an 56:11-18
“And they will be given to drink a cup whose mixture is of ginger, a fountain within Paradise named Salsabeel. There will circulate among them young boys made eternal. When you see them, you would think them scattered pearls. And when you look there, you will see pleasure and great dominion.” — Qur’an 76:17-20
“US Troops Taught For Years Child Sex Abuse Is ‘Culturally Accepted’ In Afghanistan,” by Jonah Bennett and Saagar Enjeti, Daily Caller, November 16, 2017 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
U.S. troops deploying to Afghanistan were taught for years that child sex abuse is a “culturally accepted practice” in the country, and were provided no guidance that it constituted a violation of the law and human rights until late 2015.
A new Pentagon inspector general report reveals that although troops weren’t explicitly discouraged from reporting cases of child sex abuse, the issue was not discussed until numerous media outlets reported that troops were encouraged to ignore local Afghan officials abusing little boys.
Interviews of troops from the report suggest that military officials didn’t really care much about stopping child sex abuse.
“In some cases, the interviewees explained that they, or someone whom they knew, were told that nothing could be done about child sexual abuse because of Afghanistan’s status as a sovereign nation, that it was not a priority for the command, or that it was best to ignore the situation and to let the local police handle it,” the report noted.
One interviewee said after he reported an Afghan commander who abused little boys to his chain of command, he was told: “It was out of our control” and “There’s nothing we can do about it” and “It’s their country.”
“Soldiers [were] told to ignore it and drive on,” another interviewee stated.
The cultural presentation sailors had to undergo stated that pedophilia is an issue in Afghanistan, but added that readers should “control and overcome any frustration caused by cultural differences that they may experience during their deployments.”
Additionally, the presentation advised sailors that they should ask their chains of command what to do in specific circumstances.
Marine Corps cultural training told Marines that they “need to understand the culture, accept it without making judgments, and figure out how to work with it or around it to accomplish your mission.”
The training also said that sometimes Afghan men joke about pedophilia, but Marines should just ignore it and “move on.”
Marines were not given any guidance about what they should do if they ever encounter instances of pedophilia….
The first explicit guidance to report child sex abuse only came about in September 2015, following a report from The New York Times, which interviewed former soldiers. They stated they were told to ignore child sex abuse, despite hearing the screams of boys being sexually abused by high-level Afghan officials on U.S. military installations.
