Remember the explanation the New York Times gave to Pamela Geller for why it refused to publish our "It's Time to Quit Islam" after it had published a "It's Time to Quit the Catholic Church" ad just days before? That's right: they said our ad "could put U.S. troops and/or civilians in the [Afghan] region in danger."
Yet this New York Times story contains a link to a Los Angeles Times story that includes photos (complete with facial images and name tags) that are sure to put U.S. troops and/or civilians in the Afghan region in danger." Once again, the Leftist media is arrogant, hypocritical, and self-contradictory -- not to mention fanatically opposed to the defense and safety of the United States (which is not to say that our national security is being protected by the fool's errand in Afghanistan).
Jihad Watch reader David comments on the photos: "I have a different explanation for these abuses: When you put inexperienced young men and women in the psychologically traumatic situation of repeated extended overseas deployments and combat and you explain their mission to them in a way that is incoherent and incomprehensible, this is what happens. At some point they can't take it anymore, they break. This is the result of the horrible, pointless abuse of our armed forces by politicians who have no concept of the stress these men and women are under."
"Photos Show U.S. Soldiers Posed With Afghan Body Parts," by Graham Bowley and Alissa J. Rubin in the New York Times, April 18 (thanks to David):
KABUL — Photographs apparently showing United States soldiers posing with body parts of a dead insurgent drew strong condemnation on Wednesday from American officials including Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and the commander of international forces in Afghanistan.The Los Angeles Times published on the front page of its early editions a photograph of what it described as a soldier from the Army’s 82nd Airborne with a dead insurgent’s hand on his shoulder. It said it was one of 18 photographs of soldiers posing with the corpses of insurgent fighters given to the newspaper by a soldier who served in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne’s 4th Brigade Combat Team from Fort Bragg, N.C. The paper said the Afghan died planting a bomb, citing police.
The story was later posted to the paper’s Web site with another photograph of soldiers posing with dismembered legs held upright by ropes.
The photographs were believed to have been taken in 2010, according to a spokeswoman for international forces in Afghanistan. She said it was not yet clear where the photographs had been taken, the number of service personnel involved nor whether they were still serving in the U.S. military.
According to the newspaper, the photographs were taken in Zabul Province in 2010. Zabul is in the south of the country and is one of Afghanistan poorest provinces where the Taliban has a strong presence.
The story said in one photograph two soldiers posed holding a dead man’s hand with the middle finger raised....
Mr. Panetta said in an emailed statement that the photographs did not represent the “professionalism of the vast majority of U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan today.” He also voiced displeasure at the newspaper for publishing the images, saying he was “disappointed that despite our request not to publish these photographs, the Los Angeles Times went ahead.”
Gen. John R. Allen, the senior allied commander in Afghanistan, condemned the actions apparently depicted in the photographs. "The actions of the individuals photographed do not represent the policies of ISAF or the U.S. Army,” he said in a statement, referring to the NATO coalition in Afghanistan. “This behavior and these images are entirely inconsistent with the values of ISAF and all service members of the fifty ISAF countries serving in Afghanistan.”
Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker also said in a statement: “The U.S. Embassy strongly condemns the actions depicted in photos recently made public, which appear to show members of the U.S. military committing disrespectful acts with the bodies of insurgents, killed in their own suicide attacks in 2010.” He said such actions were “morally repugnant, dishonor the sacrifices of hundreds of thousands of U.S. soldiers and civilians who have served with distinction in Afghanistan, and do not represent the core values of the United States or our military.”
General Allen said the military would collaborate with Afghan authorities to investigate the photographs.
The strongly worded statements seemed to be in part an attempt to head off reaction in Afghanistan to the photographs. The photograph — along with a story under the headline “U.S. troops posed with body parts of Afghan bombers” — showed a young soldier posing with what seemed to be a hand on his right shoulder. What appears to be the body of a dead insurgent lies in the background.
Nadir Nadiry, an Afghan human rights activist in Kabul, said Afghans would likely react negatively...
No kidding, really?
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What the NYT and its ilk are apparently incapable of understanding is that if the situation were reversed -- if it were an Arab or Pakistani newspaper with a photo of an Afghan "fighter" posing with body parts of dead Americans -- he would be presented as a hero, and Moslems would be celebrating in the streets.