Islam: Up Close and Personal

It has only really been since we have forcibly occupied Muslim societies in Iraq and Afghanistan that we have had the opportunity to see, up close and personal, through the eyes of troops on the ground, the uglier, seamier side of ordinary Muslims and ordinary Muslim society which likely would never have been data-gathered otherwise, whether by Muslims themselves, or by PC/MC-addled United Nations human rights groups. 

Buried in the pages of a recent report of interviews with our men and women deployed in Afghanistan, conducted by the US Military (hat tips to Andrew Bostom and Diana West), we learn the following:

As West put it:  

...the U.S. Military conducted interviews (of course buried in a report few are reading and left untouched by the mainstream media) of American military personnel about how they felt trying to “win the hearts and minds” of creatures who have no hearts or minds...

Here are some quotes from that report:

Many US soldiers were appalled by the rampant torture of dogs and puppies they witnessed while being based with ANSF [Afghanistan National Security Forces] units. Many ANSF members are prone to inflicting abuse onto stray dogs they bring to the base for “entertainment” purposes.

Other ANSF members, while not condoning the torture, fail to see any importance in such behaviors given the standing of dogs in Islam.  Dogs are seen [in Islam] as vermin and many ANSF members find it inexplicable that anyone could be concerned about such "trivial matters," and deeply resent any interference.  [So much for "not condoning the torture"...-- Hesp]  This animal abuse is a substantial psychological stressor for many US soldiers and has been the cause of many serious social altercations with ANSF members.

US soldiers reported that they had observed many cases of child abuse and neglect that infuriated them and alienated them from the civilian populace. They made it very clear that they wanted nothing to do with people who treat children so cruelly.

Although not reported by the US soldiers who participated in this study, there have been numerous accounts of Canadian troops in Kandahar complaining about the rampant sexual abuse of children they have witnessed ANSF personnel commit, including the cultural practice of bacha bazi, as well as the raping and sodomizing of little boys…

Similarly, US soldiers…mentioned the poor treatment and virtual slavery of Women in Afghan society, and how they found such practices repugnant.

They found it unpalatable to befriend other men who had such primitive beliefs; the cultural gulf was too wide.

They were repulsed by the abuse and neglect they observed in how children are treated in Afghan society.

US soldiers largely reported that they did not care for Afghan civilians due to these factors as well as their suspected sympathies for the insurgents.

[End quote]

These aren’t “extremists” or “Salafists” – these are the ordinary “moms and pops” which our men, under our insane COIN policy, have to try to befriend, sit on mats in yoga-style and drink tea with, and spend our blood, money and precious time helping to become human.

 
Had we never had the grim opportunity to intrude upon Muslim societies and turn over the rocks and see the maggots crawling underneath, we’d basically be thinking like Bush, Romney, Daniel Pipes, and the whole PC MC establishment -- at least those of us who can see what's as plain as the nose on our face.

Given the mountains and oceans of data we do have which indicate a galaxy of dots screaming for connection, and given the problems with data-gathering from Muslim societies which I noted above, it is irrational to persist in demanding irrefutable data before we condemn Islam.