Tension in Afghanistan Rises after US Soldiers Burn Quran

After the burning of two copies of the sacred book of Islam, the Quran, at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan at the beginning of the week, the issue is beginning to grow into something bigger for the U.S. and especially for Barack Obama.

It has turned into a delicate situation not only because Obama offered a public apology last Thursday, but also because at the same time the White House was trying to calm growing anger amongst the Afghans while simultaneously trying to avoid harsh criticisms at home from the Republicans during an election year.

Despite the diplomatic efforts, thousands of Afghans, who are furious because of the massive disrespect committed by U.S. soldiers in the Bagram Base, moved into their fifth day of protests among various cities in the country.

At least 27 people had lost their lives at the time this article was published. Among them were two U.S. military personnel that were assassinated inside the Afghan Minister of the Interior headquarters by a group of Taliban in the name of “revenge against the burning of the Quran.”

The lack of security within the country forced a company of German soldiers from the International Security Assistance Force to leave their base in search of refuge in the Kunduz region. It also prompted the removal of civil personnel in the British Embassy in Kabul as a “temporary measure.” In the city, Westerners are remaining inside their homes with reinforced vigilance and embassies have doubled their methods of protection.

During the day, hundreds of people have marched to the presidential palace, in the center of Kabul, screaming out against the United States and against the president Hamid Karzai, who is considered a puppet of Washington because of Taliban propaganda.

In a letter directed toward the Afghani president, Obama apologized for the incident in which Afghan workers found burned copies of the sacred Muslim book in a military base, said the White House spokesperson Jay Carney to journalists aboard Air Force One.

Carney indicated that the incident was not intentional, but acknowledged that it has sparked protests against the U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. He also has emphasized the division of the Afghans and international forces that have fought the Taliban for a decade.

Though Carney said the apology was “wholly appropriate, given the sensitivities” about the treatment of the Quran, he reiterated that Obama’s principal worry is the “safety of the American men and women in Afghanistan, of our military and civilian personnel there.”

The incident could make it even harder for NATO, led by the U.S., to win over the Afghans and make it more difficult to be able to bring the Taliban and the government of the country to the negotiating table before the withdrawal of the majority of combat troops by the end of 2014.

Just last month, U.S. employees had to face the consequences that stemmed from a video showing U.S. forces urinating on Taliban cadavers in Afghanistan.

A spokesperson from NATO said that the troops involved in the Quran burning incident should have consulted the cultural advisors to determine how to dispose of the religious material in an appropriate manner.

Some of the evidence had been sent away to a military detention center, a U.S. official said, given the worries that some of it was of an extremist nature and that it was being used as a way of passing messages between prisoners.