As our boys continue to die in the war against fundamental - that is true - Islam, without even properly identifying the enemy, our military is prohibited from using the most effective (likely the only) weapon, that God gave us to fight with.
http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geurcOcdRKDO0AJZVXNyoA?p=bibles+burned+afghanistan&fr2=sb-top&fr=yfp-t-701&sao=1http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/cspanjunkie/us-military-burns-bibles-afghanistanBLITZER: Meanwhile, the U.S. military is caught in a raging controversy over bibles that were burned. Some Christian groups are furious that Americans were involved in what they consider to be an unthinkable act right in the midst of a war against religious extremism in Afghanistan.
Brian Todd is here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
You've been digging on this story because it's pretty shocking.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, Wolf. And it speaks to the very delicate and often dangerous balance that U.S. commanders face in war zones -- books that are holy to the majority of U.S. service members burned in the name of protecting them.
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TODD (voice-over): Bibles written in Pashtun and Dari, the two most common Afghan languages -- bibles sent by a church to a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan, bibles that were later burned by the U.S. government. These holy books were confiscated about a year ago at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.
An independent film aired by the Al Jazeera Network had shown Evangelical soldiers worshipping at Bagram and talking about ways to share their faith.
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TODD: But military rules forbid troops of any religion from proselytizing while in Afghanistan. And U.S. officials were concerned that the bibles would be used to try to convert Afghans to Christianity.
A U.S. military spokesman tells CNN, that kind of religious outreach could have provoked a violent backlash against Americans in this devoutly Muslim nation.
But in trying not to offend the Muslim population there, the military seems to have offended some Christians. The president of a Christian group called Open Doors USA is quoted as saying: "It really should shake the core of every Christian to realize that bibles are being burned."
A military analyst, who's also a Pentagon adviser, agrees.
LT. COL. ROBERT MAGINNIS (RET.), MILITARY ANALYST: There's no need to burn the bibles. They could have been shipped back. Just imagine if we were to -- you know, the same United States military were to take a bunch of Korans and burn them. I can imagine the -- the ramifications across the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Could those bibles have been shipped back?
Well, the military says, not really. A military spokesman tells us they worried that the church that had sent them would turn around and send them to another organization in Afghanistan, giving the impression that they'd been distributed by the U.S. government. So the decision was made to throw the bibles away.
And in war zones, U.S. troops are required to burn their trash. A U.S. military spokesman says they understand the sensitivities of Christians here, that this was not an easy decision, but they had to do this force protection -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Is there any indication that any of these bibles were actually distributed to the local population?
TODD: The military says they have no evidence so far that the bibles made it off of Bagram Air Force Base. The soldier who had gotten them did not know that he was not supposed to distribute them. A military chaplain on base corrected that soldier and confiscated the bibles. As far as they know, they never made it off the base.
BLITZER: Brian Todd, thanks very much for that story.
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http://blog.beliefnet.com/bibleandculture/2009/06/us-army-burns-bibles-in-afghanistan.htmlIn the what's the U.S. coming to department, we have now learned that the U.S Army has been burning Bibles in Aghanistan to prevent them from being given to Afghans and influencing them. This apparently has been going on for a while now and is not a recent development. Here is the link to the CNN story for you to check out----
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/20/us.military.bibles.burned/index.html?eref=editionThe Bibles in question were translations into Pashto and Dari, the two main dialects likely to be read by Afghans. Here is the gist of the story courtesy of CNN---
"The unsolicited Bibles sent by a church in the United States were confiscated about a year ago at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan because military rules forbid troops of any religion from proselytizing while deployed there, Lt. Col. Mark Wright said.
Such religious outreach can endanger American troops and civilians in the devoutly Muslim nation, Wright said.
'The decision was made that it was a 'force protection' measure to throw them away, because, if they did get out, it could be perceived by Afghans that the U.S. government or the U.S. military was trying to convert Muslims,' Wright told CNN on Tuesday.
Troops at posts in war zones are required to burn their trash, Wright said."
Burn their trash? The Bible is trash? If you had any doubts that the official policies of the U.S. government are not particularly Christian, even during the Bush administration, you need look no further than this action. Real Christians would simply refuse to burn the Bible. That's even worse than burning the American flag. But let's hear what you think about all this. A special kudo to Ben Devan for sending me this story.
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Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
