A senior American commander in Afghanistan apologized on Wednesday for a “highly offensive” leaflet that contained an image of a dog and the Taliban flag, which includes an Islamic verse.
The Taliban said the leaflet showed what they said was the American forces’ hatred of Islam, adding that Taliban fighters had carried out a suicide attack near the entrance to the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, in revenge. Local officials said that attack wounded four Afghan civilians.
The leaflet, distributed Tuesday by American forces in Parwan Province, north of Kabul, showed a section of the Taliban’s flag superimposed onto the side of a dog, an animal considered unclean by Muslims. The flag contains an Arabic passage from the Quran.
“The design of the leaflets mistakenly contained an image highly offensive to both Muslims and the religion of Islam,” the American commander, Maj. Gen. James B. Linder, said in a statement.
“I sincerely apologize,” said General Linder, the American Special Operations commander in Afghanistan. “We have the deepest respect for Islam and our Muslim partners worldwide.” He added that an investigation would be conducted “to determine the cause of this incident and to hold the responsible party accountable.” The leaflet was intended to encourage Afghans to turn against the Taliban and cooperate with Afghan and coalition forces.
The governor of Parwan, Mohammad Asim, condemned the leaflet.
“Those who have committed this unforgivable mistake in the publicity, propaganda or media section of the coalition forces will be tried and punished,” Mr. Asim said.
The episode highlights one of the challenges facing international forces in Afghanistan, most of which are from non-Muslim cultures. Western forces have generally taken pains to avoid stoking sentiment against foreigners.
The risk of a reaction against international forces has grown more pronounced with a rise in civilian casualties caused by increased airstrikes by American and Afghan aircraft since the beginning of the year.
The Taliban, fighting to restore strict Islamic rule to Afghanistan and drive out foreign forces, issued a statement saying the leaflet made it clear “that this war is a war between Islam and unbelief.”
In 2012, American commanders apologized after copies of the Quran and other religious texts were mistakenly burned at Bagram Air Base.
That event set off large demonstrations in Kabul and other provinces in which several people were killed.
On another occasion, a film of Marines urinating on dead Taliban fighters caused widespread offense, prompting an investigation and criminal charges.
So-called information operations conducted by Afghan government and coalition forces have long been used to try to persuade Afghans to turn against the Taliban and other insurgent groups.
Above the picture of a lion and the dog, the latest leaflet contained an appeal to Afghans to report insurgents to the authorities.
“Take back your freedom from the terrorist dogs and cooperate with coalition forces so they can target your enemy and eliminate them,” it said.
This piece originally appeared on www.nytimes.com on September 06, 2017. Original link.
