Report: Bush apology for Quran shooting

Can you imagine the outcry from the religious right if an Iraqi soldier training in the US had used the Bible for target practice?

See, there is a time for WORDS. Now this goofy president has them over there for NOTHING and if they werent there being IDLE, this would not have happened. Now apologize GOOFY!

Yeah, I think he should face the firing squad….You have got to be kidding me, like we don’t have bigger problems right now. This is getting out of control..... bring our boys back home and let them rot….

Bush should apologize for the shooting of our soldiers!

The service member should write his own letter of apology to Nouri al-Maliki, even if he doesn't sign his name (no need for demands for a fatwa to begin).

May I ask if this service member was a (misguided) fundamentalist Christian?

If you read the previous thread on this you will see how all the pudits on the right came out with all sorts of posts saying so? finally a good use for that book, etc...clearly showing they have no clue to the enemy we fight. Is it any wonder why we are entering our 6th year? They blame a whole religion instead of the extremists...much like the abortion bombers of the Christian religion. Please remove the spurs from these cowboy politicos and vote adults into the government again.

All Americans should form a line and step forward if they belive this war is a War of Christian vs. Muslim. All scum, who step forward should be shipped out immediately.

I had previously been in favor of the action in Iraq as better to fight them over there than here. But this action against our solider is the final straw. Bush's capitulation to the Muslim radicals is positively cowardly. So what the guy shot up a book? Isn't it bad enough that 4000 of our brave men and women were thrown into this poorly managed war to die? Anyway, this certainly signals the end for me. Get out of Iraq today and see how poor, sensitive Nouri al-Maliki fares against those that will fill the vacuum when we leave; maybe books isn't all they'll shoot at!

"Can you imagine the outcry from the religious right if an Iraqi soldier training in the US had used the Bible for target practice?"

For Americans this would be a tempest in a teacup. American Christians are well calloused to religious insult. Remember the crucifix in a bottle of urine art exibit? It's the bitter half of the freedom of speech pill and no great number of folks in the "religious right" would lose sleep over it. The fact that this is an "international incident" reveals more about the character of freedom deprived people who are also praticitioners of a religion prone to outrage, than about the immaturity of a lone US soldier.

Posted by: Edward | May 20, 2008 11:27 AM

The fact that you remember the controversy about the crucifix and the urine is all the answer needed. You didn't just let it go. You remembered your anger and the protests about it years later.

The Iraqis are feeling the same way today.

"So what the guy shot up a book? Isn't it bad enough that 4000 of our brave men and women were thrown into this poorly managed war to die?"

Ron the point is shooting up this "book" will cause more of our solders to die. It will harden the resolve of those fighting our solders. The Quran means alot to a billion plus people. It's a direct insult to who they are and it happened in the context of the world's biggest power occupying a muslim country. How would you feel if China occupied the US and one of its solders denegrated something you hold dear? Our flag? Your religion if you practice? Your ethnic heritage?

Right on Edward. Thanks for being a voice of reason in the company of individuals like Hearts & Minds. Hearts & Minds cannot understand your point through his liberal, anti-American, anti-Christian, terrorist-sympathizing lens.

Posted by: John | May 20, 2008 12:23 PM

Wow, how is being against the desecration of a religious book "Anti-Chiristian", "terrorist sympathising" or "Anti-American" ?

What does shooting the Quran do for Christians, Americans, or the war on terror?

To follow up on my previous comment. This shooting of the Quran, Abu Ghraib, the Palestine situation, the caricature of Mohammed, our invasion of Iraq, and so on are each a sort of September 11th to the Muslim world. Until we can acknowledge that these are just as important as September 11th for us for the Muslim world, we will not stop contributing to the problem.

We need more people in the world to understand that there are many legitimate interests in the world. Though many of them may conflict, that does not mean one is necessarily less legitimate. Too much of the dialog in this world is coming from people who only assume that their needs are the most legitimate in the world.

Our soldiers have to be smarter than that. If millions of muslims lose their minds over a cartoon, they will certainly do so over the shooting of the quran. Just don't do it.

Frank: The US punishing the soldier who shot the Quran is a noble example of taking the high road. It shows that we are more morally solvent than the extremists who wish to wage war based only on religion, i.e. the terrorists. It does seem extreme when taken out of context; however, it is the right thing to do to demonstrate that our country does not tolerate the prejudices demonstrated daily by the extremists we are fighting.

it is the right thing to do to demonstrate that our country does not tolerate the prejudices demonstrated daily by the extremists we are fighting.

Posted by: Tommy Atkins | May 20, 2008 12:42 PM

I have to say I find this funny....when we had this thread previously, pundits like Jeff wrote...."finally, a good use for this book" some wrote ...so?..It is quite obvious the right not only tolerates, but encourages it.

If millions of muslims lose their minds over a cartoon...
Posted by: Herbie H. | May 20, 2008 12:37 PM
;
Millions Herbie H.? Or did you really only see on TV a rally of a few thousand people who were upset and within this group of thousands a dozen or so people saw fit to burn effigys and flags. Why do you exaggerate?

I guess all you right-wing nutjobs would consider Bush's apology as "appeasing" the enemy.

I personally think that religion is a bunch of non-sense fairytales that the weak buy into to give meaning to their pointless lives. But thats beside the point. The Quran is as important as the Bible to a whole lot of people. Those of you that consider yourselves religious yet still applaud the act of shooting the Quran or even dismiss it as not a big deal are misguided and should look into finding out what your religion really preaches.

How about Bush getting to act
like a man, has he forgotten he start the damn war?? "q"

Bill "Hussein" R.: I think you are missing my point. I am saying that punishing the soldier who shot the Quran is the right thing to do. I can't really understand your comment, as it is practically devoid of context. Again, if we allow our soldiers to shoot up Qurans, we are demonstrating the same kind of bad behavior demonstrated by extremists who want to kill us because, for example, of a cartoon. We must take the high road, and punishing this soldier is the way to do it.

What an exceptional waste of time these message boards are! Everyone does such a great job summarizing a very complex issue in their 2 or 3 anger-filled sentences, and we're all falling over each other in our rush to change our minds. What could we possibly do with this time instead? Oh yeah, read some real news somewhere else.

Tommy...I wasn't pointing out anything in your post. I was making a point how many on the right seemed to support this soldiers actions.

Imagine what would happen, say in rural Alabama, if someone were caught using a Bible as a shooting target?

I think we all know the person would be lucky to escape alive.

This is just one more tiny contribution to thousands proving that what the United States has done in the Middle East is going to prove a disaster long term.

Wow, what a great way to escape the hell of Iraq!

Shooting a Koran seems like a low price to pay for your life and sanity!

What's next in this crazy war of Bush's??? McCain would take this insanity to a whole new level. Obama 2008