US soldiers say they’re ordered to ignore Afghan soldiers who sexually abuse young boys
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The last time Lance Corporal Gregory Buckley Jr spoke to his father, the Marine told him in 2012 that he could hear Afghan police sexually abusing children.
Listen to Pope Francis preach and you start to notice some patterns. His homilies are not complicated. He speaks in stories and images, and sticks to one simple theme. He does not worry about name-dropping or citing doctrines, texts and authors. He gets the people to laugh.
In short, he is an everyday priest speaking to his parish—just one that happens to be on the whole world. This style was on full display in Cuba, where the pope has been speaking in his native Spanish, and nearly half the time, off the cuff.
“Francis’ homilies suspend time and place in wondrous ways,” Timothy Matovina, professor of theology and co-director of the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies, says. “He doesn’t just interpret the Gospel, he allows the Gospel to interpret us, to let the voice of the Lord speak today as it did those centuries ago.”
Central to Francis’ skill as a preacher is his ability to listen to the people he encounters and respond in a way that both honors their experience and meets them where they are. At an evening prayer service in Havana, Sister Yaileny Ponce Torres movingly told Pope Francis about her work with disabled individuals and how she has found God through her encounters with them.
After hearing her words, Pope Francis decided to scratch his planned remarks to instead teach about poverty, and the value of the poor. “Love poverty like you love your mother,” he told the worshippers. “”When one seeks in his interior preferences the smallest, the most abandoned, the sickest, the one no one pays attention to, who no one loves, the smallest one, and serves the smallest one, he is serving Jesus in a superlative manner.”
Francis also used that moment to give practical instructions to priests who were present, and told them he wants them to treat people who come to confess. “When they show you their misery, please … don’t punish them,” Francis told them. “You have one sole function: the mercy of God.”
When, immediately after, Francis spoke to the youth in Havana gathered behind the church, he made a similar choice. A Cuban youth talk about welcoming others who think differently, and Francis began writing down notes—apologizing to the youths that he was sitting while they stood in the rain, but assuring them that the reason was so he could take notes on what the young man was saying.
Francis encouraged them to build community across their cultural and ideological divisions. He used images from his experience to connect with the group. He told a story from his own experience in Buenos Aires of meeting a group of construction workers—including a Jew, a communist and a Catholic—all working together for the common good.
And he spoke personally. “I’m not sure if in Cuba they use this word, but in Argentina, we say, Don’t be wimpy,” he said. “Open yourselves and dream. Dream that the world with you can be different. Dream that if you give the best of yourself, you are going to help this world be different. Don’t forget. Dream.”
Even his homily at his mass in Holguín on Monday, when he stuck to his prepared remarks, Pope Francis displayed some of his rhetorical flourish. It has the feel of the spoken word versus the written doctrine. And it is one of the reasons that everyday people connect with him.
“[Jesus] invites us slowly to overcome our preconceptions and our reluctance to think that others, much less ourselves, can change,” Francis preached. “He challenges us daily with the question: ‘Do you believe it is possible that a tax collector can become a servant? Do you believe that a traitor can become a friend? Do you believe that is possible that a carpenter can be the Son of God?’”
When Pope Francis visits the U.S. this week, he will give 18 speeches, and only four of them are slated to be in English. The rest will likely be in Spanish. It will be an opportunity for Americans to see up close what the pope’s preaching style is like.
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Commenters expressed outrage at the perpetrators and at the American officers who instructed subordinates to ignore the abuse they witnessed.
Ignoring Sexual Abuse in Afghanistanby By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
The American military cannot allow sexual assault of children on its bases or give the impression that it is condoned.
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Bomb Explodes Outside Somali Presidential Palaceby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
A suicide car bomb has exploded near Somalia's presidential palace in the capital, Mogadishu, killing at least seven people. Hospital sources say at least another 21 people were injured in the blast which occurred just after 6 p.m. local time on Monday. Doctors at Mogadishu's largest hospital, Medina, told VOA's Somali service that more than half the injured are in serious condition. The suicide bomber rammed his car packed with explosives near a checkpoint of the presidential palace, which houses the offices of Somalia's president and prime minister. Security officials say a convoy carrying the United Nation's special envoy to Somalia, Nick Kay, was preparing to leave the palace when the explosion occurred, although it is not clear if he was the target of the blast. Kay was not harmed in the attack, but two of his private security guards were killed. In a statement following the attack, Kay condemned "this barbaric act of terrorism and attempt to undermine the political progress." Somali and U.N. officials were meeting at the palace to discuss the transitional process for Somalia in 2016. The Associated Press reports the Islamist group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the bombing. Al-Shabab has been trying since 2006 to overthrow the Somali government and establish a strict Islamic state. The group controlled most of southern Somalia as recently as 2010, but was pushed into the countryside by African Union and Somali government forces. The militants carry out frequent attacks, often targeting government officials and African Union troops.
Agence France-Presse 4:22 p.m. EDT September 21, 2015
Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Walid al-Muallem attends a May 27 press conference in Damascus.(Photo: Louai Beshara/AFP)
DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria predicted Sunday that Russia's growing military role will prove a game changer in the fight against jihadists, as 75 rebels trained under a beleaguered US program entered the fray.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, by contrast, said Moscow's support for the regime in Damascus only risked sending more extremists to conflict-wracked Syria and could further hamper peace efforts to end the country's years-long civil war.
"More important than the supply of arms to Syria is Russia's participation in the fight against Daesh and (al-Qaida franchise) Al-Nusra Front," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.
Muallem, quoted by Syrian media in an interview with Russia Today television, said Moscow's increased role would "show up America's lack of a clear strategy" against the jihadists.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has provided vital support to his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad throughout the armed revolt against the Damascus regime that erupted in 2011.
Moscow argues that any military support is in line with existing defense contracts, but reports have surfaced this month of secret deployments to Syria, where Russia has a naval facility.
Washington, which has led an international coalition carrying out air strikes against IS in both Syria and neighboring Iraq over the past year, has repeatedly warned Moscow that bolstering Assad will only make the situation worse.
'Division 30'
A US-backed rebel faction and a monitoring group said Sunday that 75 Syrian rebels trained to fight jihadists under a beleaguered American program have crossed into northern Syria from Turkey.
"Seventy-five new fighters trained in a camp near the Turkish capital entered Aleppo province between Friday night and Saturday morning," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Hassan Mustafa, spokesman for the "Division 30" unit to which some of the rebels were deployed, confirmed to AFP that the group had entered Syria.
"Their training in Turkey lasted two months and they went directly to the front lines with Daesh. They are now in the town of Tal Rifaat," Mustafa said.
According to Abdel Rahman, the group entered in a convoy of a dozen cars with light weapons and ammunition, under air cover from the US-led coalition.
Before the fresh batch of fighters, the US-led train-and-equip program had only managed to vet and train some 60 rebels to fight IS jihadists on the ground.
The $500 million program run out of Turkey has been fraught with problems.
Shortly after the 54 fighters embedded with Division 30 in July, they suffered a devastating assault by Al-Nusra Front.
More than a dozen of Division 30's fighters were either killed or kidnapped by Al-Nusra, which accused them of being "agents of American interests".
The United States has since used its air power to help Division 30 push back other Nusra attacks and has said Syrian troops could be targeted if they attacked the US-backed forces.
US officials have also expressed fears Russia may strike the Western-backed rebels fighting Assad and ultimately risk a confrontation with forces fighting IS.
US-Russia Talks
Moscow has been pushing for a broader coalition of forces to take on the jihadists.
On a visit to Berlin, Kerry said that "continued military support for the regime by Russia or any other country risks the possibility of attracting more extremists and entrenching Assad and hinders the way for resolution."
But despite its reservations, the United States on Friday launched military talks with Russia on the four-year-old conflict that has cost more than 240,000 lives.
French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, meanwhile, arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, days after he said France would also launch airstrikes against IS in Syria "in the coming weeks."
On the ground, a new ceasefire went into effect on Sunday between pro-government forces and Islamist rebels in three battleground districts, a local official and the Britain-based Observatory said.
The truce covers the two remaining villages in Idlib province in the northwest still in government hands and the rebels' last stronghold near the Lebanese border, the town of Zabadani.
"The truce in Zabadani, Fuaa and Kafraya which began at noon (0900 GMT) has held except for some sporadic fire on Fuaa in the afternoon," said Abdel Rahman.
Sunday's ceasefire is the third attempt to halt fighting in the three areas. A ceasefire last month lasted only 48 hours.
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A senior Pentagon official admitted to the Washington Free Beacon late Monday that Afghan forces allied with U.S. troops in the war-torn country have been caught sexually abusing children.
The admission comes on the heels of reports that the Obama administration has been punishing U.S. soldiers who blew the whistle on this sexual abuse.
U.S. lawmakers early Monday expressed shock and outrage over the report and called on Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staff, to immediately address a policy of ordering U.S. troops to ignore such sexual abuse.
When asked about the practice, a Pentagon official admitted that such abuse was taking place but denied that there is an official policy that instructs U.S. troops to ignore it.
“This is an abhorrent practice, and we are deeply concerned about it,” the official told the Free Beacon. “This form of sexual exploitation of children is a violation of Afghanistan’s laws and international obligations.
“There is no policy in place that directs any U.S. military or government personnel overseas to ignore human rights abuses,” the official said. “On the contrary, we monitor such atrocities closely and have continually stood up for those who have suffered exploitation and denial of basic human freedoms.”
The official did not explicitly deny that U.S. troops who reported abuses had been punished.
In the current environment, such abuses by Afghans working with the United States fall under governance of country’s domestic laws, according to the official.
“Generally, child sexual abuse is a matter of domestic law, unless the activity constitutes a gross violation of human rights (GVHR) or a violation of the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC),” the official said.
If Afghans engage in sexual abuse that is witnessed by U.S. personnel, reports are forwarded “up the chain of command” for further review, the official explained.
“That said, consistent with clear [Department of Defense] policy on the issue of sexual assault, trafficking in persons, and similar matters, Commander U.S. Forces-Afghanistan expects all personnel to treat others with respect and dignity and expects that any suspicions of sexual abuse are immediately reported up the chain of command,” the Pentagon said.
“Any sexual abuse, no matter who the alleged perpetrator and no matter who the victim, is completely unacceptable and reprehensible,” the official added.
The United States has worked to train Afghan forces to respect “human rights” and not to engage in the sexual abuse of children, the official further said.
“Both our annual Trafficking in Persons report and our Human Rights Report on Afghanistan have noted this form of child sexual abuse, and training of Afghan law enforcement has focused on human rights in order to improve reporting and accountability,” the official said. “We continue to urge the Afghan government to strengthen enforcement of its laws.”
The White House on Monday declined to address reports first issued by the New York Times that U.S. troops were being punished for exposing the sexual abuse of children.
“For the rules of engagement and the kind of structure that’s in place to guide the relationship between the United States and Afghan members of the military, I’d refer you to the Department of Defense for that,” the White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.
In several instances, U.S. soldiers could hear child rape occurring, but they were “told to ignore these events because it’s part of Afghanistan’s ‘culture,’” according to the Washington Examiner.
Rep. Vern Buchanan (R., Fla.) expressed shock and dismay at the reports in a letter sent to Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Dempsey.
“I urge you to immediately reverse the Pentagon’s shameful policy of punishing soldiers who try to stop the sexual abuse of children in Afghanistan,” Buchanan wrote in a letter to Dempsey that describes “a chilling policy that told American soldiers to look the other way when Afghan allies sexually abused young boys, sometimes on military bases.”
“American soldiers serving our nation in the Army and Marines in Afghanistan have been told to stand down when encountering child sexual abuse perpetrated by local allies,” Buchanan writes. “Protecting child predators is abhorrent and inconsistent with our values as a nation. I call on you to end this shameful policy immediately.”
The post Pentagon Admits U.S. Allied Afghans Are Raping Children appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
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Hungary's parliament gave Monday the army and police sweeping new powers to keep migrants out as populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned that Europe was being "overrun."
Syria predicted Sunday that Russia's growing military role will prove a game changer in the fight against jihadists, as 75 rebels trained under a beleaguered US program entered the fray.
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Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu agree to consultations to avoid "misunderstandings" amid fresh reports of a Russian military build-up in Syria
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US says 12 fighter jets and 12 support aircraft have arrived in recent days in Syrian air base in Latakia, where four jets were stationed last week
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