Dempsey doubles down on the dumbassery
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is blaming you guys for the murders of US soldiers by sneaky and cowardly Afghans, too, according a link sent by melle1228 to Fox News;
If you don’t want to be shot in the back by your Afghan training partners, the Pentagon advises, don’t offend their religious sensibilities. Don’t kick your feet up on a table, for instance, and never ask to see a picture of their wives and kids. “There’s a percentage [of attacks] which are cultural affronts,” Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said in a recent interview.
Dempsey echoes the concerns of Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi, the Afghan National Army’s chief of staff, who earlier this month argued both sides need to do more to “teach” foreign troops Islamic traditions and values to reduce the chance of violent reactions to cultural slights.
There have been more that 50 deaths this year from these types of murders. In August we were told by General John Allen that the attacks were because Afghans were dehydrated and hungry from Ramadan, just a week after the White House told us that the scores of casualties this year was “negligible”. That was a day after three head-shed guys were killed because their desks didn’t face their door.
The Taliban even bragged that they were able to take advantage by placing their infiltrators in the ranks of the ANA and ANP because of the high rate of recruitment.
So Dempsey is going to “echo concerns” of the Afghan government – the same government which dismisses the “single shooter” explanation in the Bales massacre. the same government which said that the murders were the result of “foreign spies” a few weeks ago.
And where was Dempsey when DoD was warned about the possibility of a surge in these attacks a year and a half ago? And it was a scant few weeks ago that Big Army, which includes Dempsey, thought it would be a great idea to have our troops carry weapons in a combat zone.
But here’s a list of things that will get you punished “severely”, according to the Fox article;
To avoid offending them, US commanders are putting troops through intense Muslim sensitivity training. Among other things, they’ve been ordered to:
* Wear surgical gloves whenever handling a copy of the Koran.
* Never walk in front of a praying Muslim.
* Never show the bottom of boots while sitting or lying across from a Muslim, which in Islam is considered an insult.
* Never share photos of wives or daughters.
* Never smoke or eat in front of Muslims during the monthlong Ramadan fasting.
* Avoid winking, cursing or nose-blowing in the presence of Muslims — all viewed as insults in Islam.
* Avoid exiting the shower without a towel.
* Avoid offering and accepting things with the left hand, which in Islam is reserved for bodily hygiene and considered unclean.
Troops who violate the sensitivity rules face severe punishment.
Category: Terror War
So when do they get a briefing about what offends us? When do we get to shoot them for violating our cultural standards?
“Avoid offering and accepting things with the left hand, which in Islam is reserved for bodily hygiene and considered unclean.”
Yes I can see that. Wiping your ass with your bare hand would be unclean.
“Avoid exiting the shower without a towel”
Unless you are a goat. Plus a Towel-Head won’t know what a shower is.
Feet on the desk will get our guys killed? Obama’s fault!
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/03/picture-of-the-day-hard-at-work-obama-puts-his-feet-up/72500/
That’s it.
Pack up and head home.
This show is over.
“Avoid exiting the shower without a towel”
Is it because Moooslims don’t, ahem, measure up to our guys?
We’ve had hacks at the highest levels of the military before (Shinseki leaps to mind), but Casey, Mullen and especially Dempsey have taken PC hackery to entirely new levels. In a sane world a political stooge like Martin Dempsey would have quietly retired as a LTC a long time ago.
#6 Smaj Hey! Quit disparaging retired LTC’s! But I know what you meant so no offense taken.
So, Marty, just whose side are you on? What are we trying to achieve in Afghanistan? Why do you and the CinC feel the need to kiss the ass of these people? By the way, did you check out Drudge’s headlines yesterday? All those enraged Episcopalians blowing people up because they’re angry about the latest Disney cartoon movie?
Warrior. Not you.
American. Not you either.
4 star scumbag.
Its not on the list so I assume its okay to beat them upside the head with a smoked ham?
Blowing your nose? Seriously? Oh, I probably shouldn’t even say anything.
It a perfect world when the new administration is sworn in in January 2013, the majority of these hacks (Dempsey et al) will be asked to submit their resignations. But then again, in a perfect world, Yoko would’ve taken the bullet instead of John……..
#7, no offense intended. Little Marty, thanks to his blatant political hackery, has gone far beyond his personal level of incompetence. Some of my best friends are LTCs (and I mean that).
“….. both sides need to do more to “teach” foreign troops Islamic traditions and values….”
So, we’re supposed to Islam-ize our Soldiers? One step at a time I see.
This is like a crazy Twilight Zone version of Animal Farm, only the Christian values founded United States of America is slowly starting to resemble ‘Teh Moolims’. Can’t wait to see the new Army Creed: “La Il’aha, Allah Il’ah.” (phoenetic)
#5 I think it’s more that the idea of personal hygiene frightens and confuses them. They’re like hippies in that way. It’s why I have to either put a tarp and some air fresheners, or power clean my seat if I give a friend of mine a ride, which has since stopped, but still.
Dempsey’s wife once had his secretary fired for not doing a personal errand for her on the government dime.
Oh, and they also forgot:
* Don’t turn your back on your ANA counterparts.
* Don’t conduct COIN operations during daylight hours while observing RAMADAN (’cause your ANA partners get hungry/dehydrated/frustrated during this period)
What else did I miss?
Severly punnished? What is next? Are they going to award 50 postumous article 15’s?
What about encouraging Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi and his subordinates to learn about American culture for a change? After all, they are the HOST nation and should at least try to adapt to how we do things? In the states at least, I don’t try to learn Spanish, Japanese, German, Arabic, Spanish or any other language to adopt to others cultural sensibilities (though it has been helpful from time to time in certain situations). The thing about that culture is that no matter what you do… no matter how well intentioned… anything Americans do over there will be perceived as an affront to them and their religious beliefs. It seems as though our senior military leaders are towing the same line as the CiC – apologizing for simply being American.
When our very existence and way of life are deemed by them to be such an abject insult, I don’t think any amount of sensitivity training is going to amount to jack shit.
Has anyone found a full un edited version of the interview?
Why do I keep reading this blog? All I see is news that pisses me off
@22
Cause you’re rather know, and be pissed off, than sticking your head in the sand like too many of our citizens?
@17 you missed the part about “f#ck ’em, kill them all and let their little god sort them out”
If the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has gotten tired of the heat in his kitchen, he needs to get out.
It’s not insensitivity to the Afghanis that’s getting our troops killed, it’s lack of intestinal fortitude in the higher command levels.
That would be you, MISTER Dempsey. (I refuse to use your rank, since you seem to have forgotten which country you work for.)
Oh, and Dempsey, while I’m thinking about it…
Go tell the families of our murdered troops that they are dead because they were “culturally insensitive.”
A cast-iron frying pan wrapped around your head would be a good start to fixing YOUR “cultural insensitivity,” you moron.
@24 – VI – “…little god sort ’em out”. That’s good trash. I suppose some folks missed the sarcasm in my last post. I take this stuff seriously, and don’t subscribe to the nonsense they are pushing out as mechanisms to fix the debacle over there. They understand head pounding, so why don’t we just give them one? Maybe they’ll eventually come around.
Please, everyone goes through a cultural class in the workup. most (grunts – i was with them) did not interact with any locals, only I did really, with myself being CA. most of the locals were so used to Marines(Americans) being there they did not care about anything that we did because they’ve seen it all before. Only a few times that I actually asked if I had offended them, or I would ask if I sit another way(cross legged like a man does sometimes with my feet pointed out facing them) and they said “we don’t care we know its how you all sit sometimes and its comfortable for you” that includes locals and ANA.
its pretty stupid that this administration just a couple of weeks ago said the deaths were ‘negligible’ FU Jay carney(or whoever said it faggot. now everyone is even more stupid with the cultural insensitivity shit. how about officers(especially higher rank ones that skip out on the classes and workups) actually go to the classes. or weed out garbage recruits(with some actual intel gathering to see if they are legit or not) before more pamphlets of cultural crap comes along.
white house and these general officers are idiots.
BTW I was in Musa Qalah – still today considered one of the most dangerous places in Helmand, and a Taliban stronghold.
@27 I also like “f#ck their prophet and the mountain he came in on”
My dog tags have said “no pref” since 1978, so draw your own conclusions about me….no offense intended to those who believe whatever they believe…I support your right to do so, along with your right to freely voice an opinion.
But if you want to be a murderous jihadist thug or try to shove your belief down my throat without respect for the law of the land, well, regardless of which man in the sky you subscribe to I don’t mind offering a response you probably will find offensive. Ignorant masses are easily controlled through religious means in impoverished lands, keeping the theocratic aristocrats ruling by edict and enriching the very same theocrats in the process at the expense of the poor and uneducated they purport to serve.
Ollie-ollie Clark bar.