Thursday, May 22, 2008

Sniped

In the news, an American sniper in Iraq used a Koran for target practice. And got caught. And then there were apologies and expressions of regret and I suspect somebody's military career just crashed and burned. But what I can't get over is this quote from the article:

On Tuesday, Khalaf al-Elyan, a senior Sunni Arab lawmaker, said the sniper must stand trial, preferably in Baghdad.

"It is a dangerous case. We had been silent and accepted the killing of our sons, the destruction of our homes and the theft of our money, but we do not accept insults to the holy Quran," he said at a news conference.

Just so we're clear- America can kill your kids and destroy your homes, but desecrating a holy book is crossing a line.

Someone please tell me, exactly how long do we need to occupy Iraq before we can come remotely close to understanding what the hell is going on their heads?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess a Quran clutched in the hands of a mutilated body or burned to ash in a bombed out ruin doesn't count.
Clearly there is a point system here like in William Shakespear's "Deathrace 2000"...Or was it Vonnegut?

Chaon said...

Deathrace 2000 was Isaac Asimov's best work, and Judy Garland's performance was very strong in the film verison.

Robin said...

I prefered Frank Sinatra as the car mechanic myself.