Posted on Sep 8, 2015
"Colonel: Soldiers Should Not 'Impose' On All Afghan Customs, Including Child Rape"
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From: Breitbart
United States soldiers should tolerate all Afghan customs, even if they go against American moral values, suggested Col. Steve Johnson, referring to a decorated Green Beret who has been reprimanded by the U.S. Army for “striking” a child rapist in Afghanistan back in September 2011.
“You cannot try to impose American values and American norms onto the Afghan culture because they’re completely different… We can report and we can encourage them,” Col. Johnson told The News Tribune. “We do not have any power or the ability to use our hands to compel them to be what we see as morally better.”
The practice of influential men using underage boys as their sexual patterns, known as “Bacha Bazi,” is an illegal but common custom in Afghanistan.
Sgt. First Class (SFC) Charles Martland, the Green Beret, is expected to be kicked out of the Army by November 1.
Johnson’s comments drew the ire of Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) who, along with severRep. Al Green (D-TX) Beret veterans, argues that the Army should not discharge Martland for standing up to the alleged rapist, identified as Afghan local police (ALP) commander Abdul Rahman.
The incident took place in Afghanistan’s Kunduz province.
Hunter, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, declared that the Army’s decision to dismiss Sgt. Martland shows the “moral decay” currently afflicting military leadership. Rep. Hunter told Breitbart News:
Martland’s experience shows the type of moral decay among certain aspects of military leadership—starting at the top. In fact, had he not intervened in my opinion, that should have been grounds for removal. At what point will Army leadership stand up for Martland for doing the right thing? Instead, they continue to hide behind a process that seems to makes most sense, in the case specifically, to an Afghan rapist who was happy to see Martland pulled from duty.
Rep. Hunter, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, has written three letters to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter asking him to intervene in the Army’s case against the Green Beret, for the purpose of granting him his wish to continue serving in the U.S. Army.
Sgt. Martland admitted “striking” the alleged rapist accused of kidnapping, chaining, and raping a 12-year-old boy and then beating his mother for pleading for help. The local police commander reportedly laughed about committing the crimes.
Rep. Duncan Hunter disagrees with Col. Johnson’s comments about U.S. soldiers having to tolerate all Afghan customs even if they go against American moral values.
“It is, in fact, a fundamental duty for our military to project American power, strength, and values,”wrote the congressman in the most recent letter addressed to Sec. Carter, dated September 1. “The ALP commander’s action was a human rights violations—and SFC Martland was right to step in and attempt to protect the child from further harm.”
Duncan also noted that Col. Johnson, in talking to The News Tribune, claimed the alleged rapist was “an inch from his death” after he was assaulted by Sgt. Martland and Quinn.
A cultural adviser and linguist who witnessed the incident contradicted those allegations, telling the office of Rep. Hunter, on condition of anonymity, that the rapist exaggerated the nature of his wounds, adding that the provincial police chief “strongly condemned” the alleged rapist and suggested that “he should be dismissed, arrested and put away.”
The police chief commended Sgt. Martland for confronting the Afghan police commander who allegedly laughed when approached by Martland.
Prior to the September 2011 incident, Col. Steve Johnson commanded Sgt. Charles Martland when he was the commander in the Army’s 1st Special Forces Group.
Johnson was in Afghanistan when Martland and Capt. Daniel Quinn, his Green Beret team leader, approached Rahman for allegedly kidnapping, chaining, and raping a 12-year-old boy and then beating his mother for reaching out to the Green Berets for help.
The Army reprimanded Martland and Quinn, relieving them from their duties in Afghanistan’s Kunduz province where the incident took place back in 2011.
Quinn has since taken a private sector job in New York. Sgt. Martland is fighting to stay in the military.
Sgt. Martland is now facing involuntary discharge from the Army.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Army and the public affairs office for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, citing the Privacy Act, told Breitbart News that the Army was unable to confirm whether or not the September 2011 incident is linked to its decision to remove Martland.
When Breitbart News asked for a comment on accusations that the Army had chosen to side with the rapist instead of Sgt. Martland, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, said, “The Privacy Act prevents us from releasing any additional information about the administrative action taken regarding this topic.”
When the 2011 incident occurred, Sgt. Martland was serving with an elite Joint Base Lewis-McChord unit.
http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/09/02/colonel-u-s-soldiers-should-not-impose-on-all-afghan-customs-including-child-rape/
United States soldiers should tolerate all Afghan customs, even if they go against American moral values, suggested Col. Steve Johnson, referring to a decorated Green Beret who has been reprimanded by the U.S. Army for “striking” a child rapist in Afghanistan back in September 2011.
“You cannot try to impose American values and American norms onto the Afghan culture because they’re completely different… We can report and we can encourage them,” Col. Johnson told The News Tribune. “We do not have any power or the ability to use our hands to compel them to be what we see as morally better.”
The practice of influential men using underage boys as their sexual patterns, known as “Bacha Bazi,” is an illegal but common custom in Afghanistan.
Sgt. First Class (SFC) Charles Martland, the Green Beret, is expected to be kicked out of the Army by November 1.
Johnson’s comments drew the ire of Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) who, along with severRep. Al Green (D-TX) Beret veterans, argues that the Army should not discharge Martland for standing up to the alleged rapist, identified as Afghan local police (ALP) commander Abdul Rahman.
The incident took place in Afghanistan’s Kunduz province.
Hunter, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, declared that the Army’s decision to dismiss Sgt. Martland shows the “moral decay” currently afflicting military leadership. Rep. Hunter told Breitbart News:
Martland’s experience shows the type of moral decay among certain aspects of military leadership—starting at the top. In fact, had he not intervened in my opinion, that should have been grounds for removal. At what point will Army leadership stand up for Martland for doing the right thing? Instead, they continue to hide behind a process that seems to makes most sense, in the case specifically, to an Afghan rapist who was happy to see Martland pulled from duty.
Rep. Hunter, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, has written three letters to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter asking him to intervene in the Army’s case against the Green Beret, for the purpose of granting him his wish to continue serving in the U.S. Army.
Sgt. Martland admitted “striking” the alleged rapist accused of kidnapping, chaining, and raping a 12-year-old boy and then beating his mother for pleading for help. The local police commander reportedly laughed about committing the crimes.
Rep. Duncan Hunter disagrees with Col. Johnson’s comments about U.S. soldiers having to tolerate all Afghan customs even if they go against American moral values.
“It is, in fact, a fundamental duty for our military to project American power, strength, and values,”wrote the congressman in the most recent letter addressed to Sec. Carter, dated September 1. “The ALP commander’s action was a human rights violations—and SFC Martland was right to step in and attempt to protect the child from further harm.”
Duncan also noted that Col. Johnson, in talking to The News Tribune, claimed the alleged rapist was “an inch from his death” after he was assaulted by Sgt. Martland and Quinn.
A cultural adviser and linguist who witnessed the incident contradicted those allegations, telling the office of Rep. Hunter, on condition of anonymity, that the rapist exaggerated the nature of his wounds, adding that the provincial police chief “strongly condemned” the alleged rapist and suggested that “he should be dismissed, arrested and put away.”
The police chief commended Sgt. Martland for confronting the Afghan police commander who allegedly laughed when approached by Martland.
Prior to the September 2011 incident, Col. Steve Johnson commanded Sgt. Charles Martland when he was the commander in the Army’s 1st Special Forces Group.
Johnson was in Afghanistan when Martland and Capt. Daniel Quinn, his Green Beret team leader, approached Rahman for allegedly kidnapping, chaining, and raping a 12-year-old boy and then beating his mother for reaching out to the Green Berets for help.
The Army reprimanded Martland and Quinn, relieving them from their duties in Afghanistan’s Kunduz province where the incident took place back in 2011.
Quinn has since taken a private sector job in New York. Sgt. Martland is fighting to stay in the military.
Sgt. Martland is now facing involuntary discharge from the Army.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Army and the public affairs office for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, citing the Privacy Act, told Breitbart News that the Army was unable to confirm whether or not the September 2011 incident is linked to its decision to remove Martland.
When Breitbart News asked for a comment on accusations that the Army had chosen to side with the rapist instead of Sgt. Martland, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, said, “The Privacy Act prevents us from releasing any additional information about the administrative action taken regarding this topic.”
When the 2011 incident occurred, Sgt. Martland was serving with an elite Joint Base Lewis-McChord unit.
http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2015/09/02/colonel-u-s-soldiers-should-not-impose-on-all-afghan-customs-including-child-rape/
Army
Afghanistan
Customs and Courtesies
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 151
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Same crap was happening in Iraq. Cultural rape and abuse is still rape and abuse.
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As members of the military, there are certain times we have moral obligations that bleed over to become legal obligations. We are obligated to report sexual assault. We are obligated to report human trafficking. We are obligated to report suicidal ideations.
This isn't a question. This is a lack of integrity and morals on the part of anyone else who heard this and did nothing. Failure to act is tantamount to committing the act yourself.
I'm reminded of a quote from Edmond Burke: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
I hate to take something real, and add "Hollywood" to it, but this second quote is very appropriate as well. "...They watched as her assailant walked away. Now, we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men." - Boondock Saints
This isn't a question. This is a lack of integrity and morals on the part of anyone else who heard this and did nothing. Failure to act is tantamount to committing the act yourself.
I'm reminded of a quote from Edmond Burke: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
I hate to take something real, and add "Hollywood" to it, but this second quote is very appropriate as well. "...They watched as her assailant walked away. Now, we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men." - Boondock Saints
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SFC Joseph Weber
When I was in Iraq in 2009 we found out our Iraqi General had two 'bed warmers' as he called them. Young boys. I got mad during a meeting when we found out about it and called him a pedophile. I was told by my AF LTC that it was none of our business and there was nothing we could do. I felt like I had done something but i probably could have and should have done more. I could have called the NY Times or CNN then.
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SSG Warren Swan
SFC Joseph Weber - Stan 08-09. I knew about that BS going on too with the ANA, ANP, and the ABP. Report it is all you can do unless you witness it which thank goodness I never did and neither did my guys. To see it personally would change everything and it might not be in a good way for anyone. Hence the Man Love Thursdays jokes, except it's not really a joke at all.
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So, we're supposed to be helping people in this God-forsaken country and yet, we get hemmed up if we interfere with imposing upon "local customs". If kicking out quality soldiers is the response to trying to do the right thing, why in the hell are we there in the first place?
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I can't respond to this travesty, unless freed up to use profanity against our administration and all the lackies in the DOD.
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I don't see this "suggestion" as something that could be seen as a lawful order, I would of done more then just slap the guy.
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This undermines our values, morals and mission. It's hard to win "hearts and minds" of the people you are trying to help when we have to stand by with our hands tied and do nothing when our "allies" act morally depraved and carry out counter productive actions against the people they are their to protect. The soldier did what was morally right and stood by the code of conduct and values we are taught to defend and uphold. I, like so many others could have easily and without hesitation, would have done exactly the same in that situation regardless of the circumstances and punishment. It undermines the mission of connecting with people ( kinda hard to convince a village of afghans to trust you to protect them against the Taliban when you can't even protect them from being harassed or worse from your afghan security counterparts). If this is the case then the soldier should not be penalized and be given the ability to continue to serve. This man in the worst situation in a war zone did what was morally right and it shows the character of the type of leaders we need in our service. He didn't jeopardize the mission or his men and he showed the afghan people he was there to assist and that Americans don't tolorate degenerates, even if they wear the title of "Allie".
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Child rape can not be tolerated no matter where it takes place. There are no circumstances where this should be allowed.
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Just because a culture tolerates sexual violence and rape does not mean the culture is right.
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1LT William Clardy
MAJ Ken Landgren, your comment reminds me of the apocryphal story of a British officer in India talking to a local VIP: "By all means, continue your tradition of burning widows with their dead husband. And we will practice our tradition of hanging men who do such things."
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I liked the one comment I saw that said that interestingly the Taliban were punishing the perpetrators of this abuse while we are busy punishing those who report it or try to stop it. But then the Taliban do not have to deal with all the multicultural acceptance crap that we do, where we cannot say that one culture is better than any other, all must be equal and so therefore we must accept whatever bad things these cultures do. I must have missed the small asterisks in the trafficking in people training that said that trafficking was OK if it was a local custom.
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SFC William Farrell
Its just totally insane, stone age thinking Lt Col Stephen Petzold . Child abuse is child abuse, no matter how you look at it. Rape is rape, regardless of how old the person is. My war was Vietnam and I can only say if it was Afghanistan and I saw this happening, I think I would have been killing a few of them!
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