May 26, 2005
 

Pakistan and Iran behind Afghanistan protests against Koran desecration?

A few weeks ago, Newsweek reported that US military investigators had found evidence of prisoner abuse at Guantanamo Bay, including sexual abuse & religious humiliation, in order to make them 'sing'. The accused were obviously just following a trend established by peers elsewhere.

Hell broke loose in the Islamic world, especially Afghanistan & Pakistan, obviously mad at the fact that the report talked of the Koran being flushed down a toilet.

Under a lot of pressure from the Pentagon, Newsweek ended up having to retract its story. It has also now modified its policy on quoting anonymous sources. The Red Cross now says that it provided the Pentagon with reports about US military personnel mishandling or disrespecting the Quran.

Sarah Chayes writes in the NY Times that Iran and Pakistan were very likely behind the rioting in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, even as the hunt for Osama continues, a former CIA officer feels that Pakistan conveniently delayed acting on the information provided about a senior Al-Qaeda commander who turned out to be Abu Faraj al-Libbi. Apparently they wanted to ensure that the person wasn't Osama himself.

Labels: al-qaeda, iran