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"And you never ask questions when God's on your side." - Bob Dylan
Why are we there ? How did it start, really ? And how does it look to the people who live there ? How does it look to Afghans, Iraqis, citizens of the Mideast ? Or to Muslims worldwide ? And, how long has it been since a young Robert Zimmerman wrote "With God On Their Side" ?
As for the first two questions, there are many possible answers. 9-11. Oil. Geopolitics. Pipelines. Democracy, say some. As for the remaining three...
Consider this new story of mine, an exclusive for Alternet, Jihadist Web site Uses Mass Baptism of Marines As Proof of 'Christian Crusade' in Afghanistan
Several days ago the L.A. Times blog reported on a Pacific Ocean baptism of 29 Marines from Camp Pendleton, near San Diego -- a story far too enticing and useful for the propagandists of militant Islam to pass up.
Titled "Marines headed for Afghanistan baptized in ocean off Camp Pendleton," the story described a mass baptism of marines from Lt. Col. Lawrence Kaifesh’s 3rd Battalion unit as "part of Operation Sword of the Spirit, a program meant to prepare the battalion for duty in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand province." The piece was republished by the leading Jihadist Web site Ansar Al-Mujahideen, under the heading "Crusaders Baptized Before Leaving For Afghanistan."
As Military Religious Freedom Foundation founder Michael Weinstein quipped,
Surely the Taliban and Al Qaeda will be sending bountiful fruit baskets to Lt. Col. Kaifesh, and his entire culpable USMC/DoD chain of command, for so magnificently advancing the cause of their "U.S. as Crusaders" propaganda machine.
Whether you love it or hate it, oppose it or consider it bitterly necessary, it's fair to say that the overwhelming majority of Americans, from the far left to the far right, are opposed to needlessly inflaming the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq so that more American troops are killed and wounded.
The power of religion to inflame conflict is immense, and that's why official Department of Defense policy treats the issue of religion in the Mideast theater of operations with great respect. But as I write in my Alternet story,
That’s official Department of Defense policy, at least. But a powerful renegade faction in the U.S. military seems bent on sending a radically contradictory message, as illustrated by examples in a book on diversity in the military, Attitudes Aren’t Free: Thinking Deeply about Diversity in the US Armed Forces, published in May 2010 by the USAF Air University Press.
In the chapter "Against All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic," [PDF file of chapter] by MRFF’s senior research director Chris Rodda [also author of Liars For Jesus: The Christian Right's Alternate Version of American History] details the most egregious incidents that have helped undermine Pentagon policy. Here is Rodda’s list, titled, "Top 10 Ways to Convince the Muslims We’re on a Crusade":
10. Have US Military Officers, Defense Department Officials, and Politicians Say We’re in a Religious War.
9. Have Top US Military Officers Appear in a Video Showing Just How Christian the Pentagon Is.
8. Plant Crosses in Muslim Lands and Make Sure They’re Big Enough to Be Visible from Really Far Away.
7. Paint Crosses and Christian Messages on Military Vehicles and Drive Them through Iraq.
6. Make Sure That Our Christian Soldiers and Chaplains See the War As a Way to Fulfill the Great Commission.
5. Post Photos on the Internet of US Soldiers with Their Rifles and Bibles.
4. Invite Virulently Anti-Muslim Speakers to Lecture at Our Military Colleges and Service Academies.
3. Have a Christian TV Network Broadcast to the World That the Military Is Helping Missionaries Convert Muslims.
2. Make Sure Bibles and Evangelizing Materials Sent to Muslim Lands Have Official US Military Emblems on Them.
1. Send Lots of Arabic, Dari, and Pashtu Language Bibles to Convert the Muslims.
These examples still shock me even though I helped to research a number of them, working for MRFF back in 2007. They should shock you too.
Few in American media or civilian society have a grasp on how far a religious supremacist form of evangelical Christianity has penetrated the United States military which, as Mikey Weinstein is quick to stress, is the most lethal military on the planet. Many in that tendency seem to want, like some Islamic militants, a true religious war. Over the past several years the Military Religious Freedom has emerged as the principal bulwark against those who want to turn the US military into an engine of evangelism and religious crusade.
As I describe in my Alternet story,
MRFF works to protect the rights of U.S. armed forces personnel to be free from unconstitutional religious proselytizing. Only a few days after MRFF’s research network picked up the L.A. Times baptism story, the MRFF has, according to Weinstein, picked up over new 30 clients, some at Camp Pendleton but also in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, who have turned to the foundation as a desperate last resort in reaction to what they feel is a dangerous climate of religious coercion. Weinstein says they’re all Christian Protestants, and he stresses that 96 percent of MRFF clients are Christians persecuted for not holding the "correct" sort of sectarian beliefs.
I'm in a rush this morning and don't have time for eloquence. But if you consider these issues as important as I do, I'd suggest sending, to your friends, relatives, and colleagues, a link to my Alternet story, to the MRFF website, and to Chris Rodda's "Top 10 Ways to Convince the Muslims We’re on a Crusade" book chapter. The examples in the chapter have been cited as evidence in MRFF lawsuits filed with the Department of Defense and they've been featured in numerous media stories, in print, radio, and television. But, still, only relative handful of Americans know about this. So, your help in spreading the word is deeply appreciated.
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