By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2012 – While U.S.
service members in Afghanistan made mistakes in handling Qurans in February,
there was no intent “to disrespect the Quran or defame Islam,” the general
investigating the incident wrote in his report.
U.S. Central Command released the
results of the investigation into the incident, in which Qurans removed from a
library for detainees were mishandled at Bagram Airfield.
Six soldiers will receive nonjudicial
punishment for their parts in the incident, which sparked protests throughout
Afghanistan.
The report, written by Army Brig. Gen.
Bryan G. Watson, found plenty of blame to go around. Still, he stressed time
and again in his report that none of the personnel involved acted maliciously.
The report details how U.S. service
members at the detention facility in Parwan began by looking through books in
the facility library to stop messages from being transmitted among detainees.
This grew into a project to get rid of books that a translator deemed
extremist, according to the report.
In his investigation, Watson found that
up to 100 Qurans and other religious texts were burned at the Bagram Airfield
incinerator. Watson wrote that although U.S. service members did mishandle
Qurans and other religious texts, “I absolutely reject any suggestion that
those involved acted with any malicious intent to disrespect the Quran or
defame the faith of Islam.”
The general pointed to a lack of
communication among leaders and commands. He also found that senior leaders at
the facility did not give clear guidance, and that mid-level and junior leaders
chose “the easy way instead of the right way to address a problem.”
A contributing factor was ignorance
among Americans on how to handle Qurans and other religious tracts. The general
also found poor adherence to established operating procedures.
Afghan soldiers at the facility tried to
make the American soldiers understand the gravity of the situation, but they
were rebuffed. “That U.S. service members did not heed the warnings of their
[Afghan army] partners is, perhaps, my biggest concern,” the general wrote.
The U.S. Army took immediate corrective
action and implemented many of the investigation’s recommendations, along with
re-emphasizing proper handling of religious materials to all soldiers during
pre-deployment training to minimize the potential for reoccurrence, Army
spokesman George Wright said today. “Training soldiers in the proper handling
of religious material is a continual process to ensure they uphold their
responsibilities,” he said.
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