by Jack
(left – armed man kicks headstone)
Armed Muslims desecrated war graves to show their hate for Westerners in the wake of the inadvertent Koran burning in Afghanistan. Rioting over this accident has now claimed about 40 lives, including 6 US soldiers and the violence is spreading to other Muslim nations. Watch their video – click here.
Three war cemeteries in and around Benghazi, Libya were attacked and many grave markers were destroyed. In one scene a man standing on a ladder with a chisel and hammer chips away at a “Cross of Remembrance” (see photo on right). Even an Italian War cemetery was attacked and Italy at the time was fighting with the Nazis, but the common thread is these were Western graves and mostly Christian. Libyan leaders expressed regret and said they will investigate the incident as a crime.
Ironically, it was but a few months ago when Westerners from France, England and the United States came to the rescue of Libyans fighting to rid themselves of a ruthless dictator. Many Libyan lives were saved because of this and it is doubtful if their revolution could have succeeded without their help.
Now, because of a minor transgression thousands of miles away, done completely without malice hundreds of Libyan Muslims used this pretext to justify vandalizing the graves of the war dead. Keep in mind, this was a highly coordinated, premeditated attack on three cemeteries that could not have been accomplished without the cooperation of a large number Muslims, including clerics, within the Benghazi community. The attackers were so proud of their desecration they released their video to the press to show the world their enmity towards us.
Elsewhere, in the Western world, there were no revenge mobs, no Islamic cemeteries were vandalized, no mutilated bodies were dragged through the streets or hung from bridges, not even a Libyan flag was burned. Here people reacted mostly with quiet dismay. A few of us will write editorials or blog stories to vent our collective frustration and express our disapproval. I’m finding it difficult to understand how even religious bigots can rationalize such abhorrent behavior.
With every passing atrocity or act of terrorism, I find myself asking (more and more frequently) what’s wrong with them?
They are like children. Lacking strong moral leadership they become like wild animals…Lord of the Flies.
Just goes to show that man is flawed in his very nature and requires strict parenting in decency and right and wrong to assure civility and a community of relative peace.
In the last three years in particular the ME has deteriorated with little chance for freedomm and democracy to flourish. We are empowering the most radical, uncivilized elements.
Since the American people cannot be certain that strength in our own leadership will follow, term to term, I am now beginning to agree with Dr. Paul about at least some of his foreign policy positions. Without follow through and a commitment to long term support and diplomacy, intervention is doomed to fail no matter how worthy our intention and goals.
Blowing innocent people off the map is no answer to terrorist strikes against us either so basically we are sc***ed.
Jack,
It was like this when I was in Lebanon and Saudi back in the early 1950. You just did not hear about it.
Nice to hear from you Jerry and we appreciate you weighing in on this. May I ask what you were doing in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia back then? How were you treated?
It sure looks like we’ve got a big problem on our hands that seems to be getting worse with time.
I found this page as the first link in a Google search on this topic.
Perhaps what needs to be done now is for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to be given some serious funding and for all war graves to be removed from these countries. Repatriate the war dead to their homelands without exception. If the blasted locals feel it to be a slap in the face that this occurs, good – that is what it is intended to be!
I feel disgust at this behaviour of muslims – especially since the local muslim community in New Zealand remains silent about the matter (and our press did approach them for comment). I have several relatives who died in North Africa fighting the German Afrika Korps, and the thought of their graves possibly being at risk because of some hysterical sod is deeply unpleasant.
Jonathan, glad you sent your comments in on this. I think you’ve hit on a very good idea. We really shouldn’t leave them in this foreign countries where the natives behave badly. Actually I’m surprised they are still there, they should have been brought home long ago where they are appreciated and their sacrifices mean something.