While dishonoring dead corpses is not a good thing to do, it is a far cry from indiscriminately turning non-combatants into corpses, as has happened as result of suicide bombings throughout the world

Here we go, another scandal involving U.S. troops in a combat zone. I’m getting tired of hearing about military scandals.

Not that I’m tired of them happening, I’m just tired of hearing about them. I don’t condone some of the actions that have taken place, but most of them have been overblown.

The latest infraction is the abuse of two dead bodies of Taliban members. According to The New York Times, the people were already dead when their bodies were burnt and used for propaganda purposes. Burning bodies is a slight to Islam.

Qurans being desecrated, prisoners being humiliated, and dead bodies being used to offend Muslims. I’m unimpressed.

Don’t misconstrue what I’m trying to say, these things shouldn’t happen. But put them in perspective as compared with what the Taliban and other Islamic radicals have done to U.S. personnel and civilians, not to mention other Muslims.

First off, there was the notorious Abu Ghraib incident, where U.S. personnel humiliated prisoners. Of course things like this shouldn’t happen, and the people who did it should be punished.

But let’s put it in perspective: prisoners being humiliated? I’ll take that any day over having my head removed with a sword, which is what Islamic fundamentalists do to their captives.

Then there was the incident where U.S. personnel were desecrating a Quran. Big deal. I once desecrated a Bible back in my atheist days. Sure it’s insensitive. But it’s not nearly as offensive as chopping off people’s heads on video.

People shouldn’t worry so much about offending a religious document — they should be more concerned about killing innocent people. We shouldn’t forget that not all of those that have been decapitated have been military personnel. Many have been civilians.

Now there is the incident with dead bodies being burnt and treated in a manor that is against the traditions of Islam. How about dragging bodies through the streets? That’s not exactly Christian doctrine for how our dead are treated. Yet, this happened in the Muslim country of Somalia in 1994. No one denounced this act, yet people are crying foul when it happens to them.

While dishonoring dead corpses is not a good thing to do, it is a far cry from indiscriminately turning non-combatants into corpses, as has happened as result of suicide bombings throughout the world. If Muslim extremists truly want to honor the dead — and honor their religion — they must stop killing non-combatants in the name of Islam.

I don’t approve of these negative things that U.S. personnel are doing. It is not what the U.S. is about, and besides, it makes us look bad. But I think these things need to be put in perspective.

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