Some bloggers
have been discussing the alleged sexual misconduct of the Jordanian peacekeepers in East Timor for a while now and I must admit I’m extremely embarrassed and shamed by the scandal. I just hope these soldiers will be harshly punished for tarnishing the reputation of our country and people.
There is a follow-up by the same Aussie author to an article I posted here regarding this terrible and disgusting behavior. The full article is here. This is an excerpt:
The deployment of Jordanian peacekeepers to East Timor was probably one of the most contentious UN decisions to follow the bloody independence ballot. It was eclipsed only by the cover-up and inaction that followed when the world body learned of their involvement in a
series of horrific sex crimes involving children living in the war-battered Oecussi enclave. Children were not the only victims — in early 2001, two Jordanians were evacuated home with injured penises after attempting sexual intercourse with goats.
Meanwhile, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, recommended an overhaul of a tattered U.N. military system in the world body’s 17 peacekeeping operations of some 64,000 personnel.
"The reality of prostitution and other sexual exploitation in a peacekeeping context is profoundly disturbing to many because the United Nations has been mandated to enter into a broken society to help it," Zeid wrote after visiting Congo and interviewing officials and victims.
The Washington Post has a feature examining the situation from a different angle here.
Oh, I think I’ve been pretty clear on that. I believe that fundamentalist Islam has to be greatly diminished as a force in the world. I think the best way to do this is via economic growth and increased liberty in the Middle East. I believe prosperity will bring modernization and a diminishment in the vulnerability of young Arab men to fiery lunatics who preach jihad against America and Israel, lunatics like Sheik Omar Abdel-Rachman. (And I hope the sheik is enjoying March in Rochester, Minnesota, the first month since October when the average daily high temperature is above the freezing point of water.)
The difference between the Christian New Testament (all of which I’ve read) and the Islamic Koran (much of which I’ve read) is stark. (And if I’m going too far in raising this topic, please feel free to delete this comment and tell me so that I can avoid the error in the future.) George W. Bush cannot cite Christian scripture when invading Iraq – there is none that justifies it. All he can do is hope that it’s not too much of an affront to his God, and that he will be forgiven for it. There are passages in the Koran that justify, and even demand, violence against non-Muslims.
In the modern world, the practice of dhimmitude is unacceptable. The ordering of people’s status under law based on gender and religion (and race) is unacceptable. Dividing the world into a house of peace and a house of war, and practicing jihad against the latter, is unacceptable. That’s the sum of my major objections to Islam.
And please – by “modern” I don’t mean “western”. Equality under the law, for instance, is a core principle in legal systems around the world.