Gen. Schwarzkopf: If You're Not Too Busy, Could You Please Come Back and Knock Some Heads Around?
In his autobiography, It Doesn't Take a Hero, Gen. Schwarzkopf recounted his run in with Franklin Graham's organization, Samaritan's Purse -- an incident that made it clear that the Saudis' fears and complaints of Christian evangelizing were not unfounded. While some of the Saudis' fears, as the general explained, had resulted from Iraqi propaganda about American troops disrespecting Islamic shrines, the attempt by Samaritan's Purse to get U.S. troops to distribute tens of thousands of Arabic language New Testaments to Muslims was real.
*Lt. Gen. Khalid Bin Sultan al-Saud, commander of Saudi Arabia's air defense forces, appointed by King Fahd as Gen. Schwarzkopf's counterpart. As the New York Times reported in December 1990, following this incident, the Pentagon issued guidelines which included putting restrictions on American troops discussing religion with the Saudis and taking Bibles outside of military compounds. The troops, of course, still had access to the usual variety of worship services on their bases, but they were told to be discreet about things such as wearing crosses or Stars of David, being instructed to wear these religious symbols inside rather than outside their uniforms. It was left to the discretion of individual company commanders to determine how visible religious services should be, depending on their particular location's proximity to Saudi populations. In some cases, decisions not to display crucifixes or other religious symbols were made, and while this led to a few complaints, the majority of the troops willingly complied, understanding that these decisions were being made for their own security. As one Jewish soldier quoted in the New York Times article put it, "I may just finish up in an Iraqi P.O.W. camp some day, and I'd just as soon not have them single out a Jew for special treatment." A Christian soldier, quoted in the same article, saw no infringement of his freedom to worship in the policies, saying, "I think the religious services here are super. We need that spiritual growth, that spiritual comfort, and I don't need a cross in the room to allow me to worship God."
Gen. Schwarzkopf allowed chaplains in the field with combat units to continue wearing their religious insignia, but asked those in the cities to remove theirs. Recounting in his autobiography the speech he made to the chaplains, Schwarzkopf noted that he told them, "...if you're worth a damn as chaplains, your troops already know who you are. You don't need insignia." Schwarzkopf received an unexpectedly positive reaction from the chaplains to this new policy, writing:
What a far cry these chaplains were from those of today, who turn every instance of not being able to display a cross or pray in Jesus' name in every situation into an imaginary war on Christianity. Also restricted by the Pentagon in 1990 was news coverage of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia engaged in non-Islamic worship services, for fear that television broadcasts of these services could be used as a propaganda tool. As a Defense Department official quoted in the New York Times article put it:
Ignoring the experience and wisdom of Gen. Schwarzkopf, and the common sense policy decisions handed down by the Pentagon officials of 1990 to keep our troops safe, the U.S military is now not only permitting, but participating in and promoting, everything that Schwarzkopf said had to be stopped for the safety of our troops. What's now being allowed so far eclipses what was seen as dangerous in 1990 that its stupidity is almost incomprehensible. In 1990, the Pentagon was worried that film of a simple non-Islamic religious service in a Muslim country would be fodder for propaganda by our enemies. Now, as I wrote about last week, we have things going on like missionaries from a Christian reality TV series being embedded with U.S. troops in Afghanistan to film episodes of their Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) TV show, broadcasting to the world scenes of Afghans being evangelized with New Testaments in their native language.
Chief Warrant Officer Rene Llanos of the 101st Airborne Division, referring to a special military edition of a Bible study daily devotional published and donated by Bible Pathways Ministries, told Mission Network News that "the soldiers who are patrolling and walking the streets are taking along this copy, and they're using it to minister to the local residents," and that his "division is also getting ready to head toward Afghanistan, so there will be copies heading out with the soldiers." And, like the many civilian missionaries who see the U.S. occupation of Iraq as a window of opportunity to evangelize the Iraqi people, Chief Warrant Officer Llanos continued:
According to Army chaplain Capt. Steve Mickel, in the newsletter of the International Ministerial Fellowship, who was doing his evangelizing while passing out food in the predominantly Sunni village of Ad Dawr:
This is "difficult," Chaplain Mickel, because it is illegal! When asked in a German TV report if his organization's activities can lead to people dying, Todd Nettleton, Director of Media Development for The Voice of the Martyrs, one of many organizations that call themselves "humanitarian" organizations to gain access to Muslim countries, responded:
And, of course, Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse, the organization whose activities in 1990 prompted Gen. Schwarzkopf and the Pentagon to impose their strict policies in Saudi Arabia, has been back in action since the beginning of the Iraq invasion. Samaritan's Purse was one of a number of evangelical groups who were actually poised at the Iraqi border in 2003, just waiting for the invasion to begin so they could follow and start converting Muslims. Graham's comments about Islam, which included calling it a "wicked and evil religion," led some Defense Department employees to protest his appearance at a Good Friday Prayer service that year, an event sponsored by the Pentagon Chaplain's Office. Many U.S. military bases now participate in or promote Graham's Samaritan's Purse "Operation Christmas Child." The program, which collects and sends millions of shoeboxes full of gifts to children in foreign countries, is promoted in base newspapers and on official military websites, including the website of Shaw Air Force Base, where, recently, Hugh Wilson, the Young Adult Ministry coordinator at the base's Palmetto Chapel, said in one of several articles about the program, "Every shoe box contains the Christmas story in the native language of the child who will receive it." According to Shaw AFB, suggested gifts to put in these boxes, many of which, clearly coming from America, end up in Muslim countries, include "Bible story and picture books" to evangelize the children and draw them away from the religion of their parents. According to MRFF founder and president Mikey Weinstein, a honor graduate of the Air Force Academy, former JAG, and a White House counsel in the Reagan administration, the successful policies and leadership of Gen. Schwarzkopf proved that ensuring religious freedom for our troops can be accomplished without posing a national security threat:
Gen. Schwarzkopf: If You're Not Too Busy, Could You Please Come Back and Knock Some Heads Around? | 2 comments (2 topical, 0 hidden)
Gen. Schwarzkopf: If You're Not Too Busy, Could You Please Come Back and Knock Some Heads Around? | 2 comments (2 topical, 0 hidden)
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