The accidental burning of several Korans at an Afghani prison—possibly the dumbest and most insulting gesture to test an already strained relationship between Afghanistan and the US—could have been prevented.
A source familiar with the American and Afghan military's joint investigation of the incident tells the Times the books were some of the 1,652 slated for burning because officers were suspicious that the prisoners were using notes in their margins to "organize." Once the books were rounded up, they were transported to the incinerator. When an Afghan army officer told his American counterpart that they should check to see if any of the books were Korans, it was too late.
Both Afghan and American officials believed that the three soldiers driving the holy books to their destination had little or no understanding of what they were carrying. “For those three soldiers, this was nothing more than a work detail,” one military official said.
Just minutes later, when the work detail began to heave the books into the flames, an Afghan laborer standing nearby offered to help. But when he drew close, he realized what was happening and began to scream.
For him and others it was a nightmare come to life. “One of my friends called to me, ‘The Americans are burning our holy books,’ and we rushed over there,” said Mohammed Zafar, 24, who has worked for five years as a laborer near the gate.
As the Afghan laborers tried to extinguish the flames with their water bottles, at least one laborer plunged into the smoldering ashes to retrieve the books, Mr. Zafar said.
The Americans immediately stopped, but not before at least four books had been badly burned, according to a notice from the presidential palace shortly afterward.
It doesn't appear that the books contained any conspiratorial writing. "We overly rely around here on linguists," the American official said. Six American soldiers are being investigated for the burning, one of which was an interpreter who is described as "Afghan-American."
This incident would be a slapstick, Three-Stooges-esque caper if it weren't a war zone, and if 29 Afghans and six Americans hadn't lost their lives in the ensuing riots. The Times puts it best:
At the very least, the accounts of the Americans and the Afghans involved in the investigation offer a parable of the dire consequences of carelessness about Afghan values, despite the cultural training required for most American service members serving in Afghanistan.
