Afghanistan: Demonstrators Torch Foreign Compound In Kabul After Quran-Burning At U.S. Base

KABUL, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Demonstrators in the Afghan capital Kabul set fire on Wednesday to part of a housing compound used by foreign contract workers during a second day of violent clashes after copies of the Koran, Islam's holy book, were burned at a NATO base.

A Reuters witness said the fire damaged part of a guesthouse at the Green Village complex, where 1,500 mostly foreign contractors live and work. (Editing by Michael Georgy and Sanjeev Miglani)

Comments

[bigdavepolicy]

12:45 PM on 02/26/2012

We accidentally burned some books, they burned down a building...with people inside..

[badwolf62]

11:45 PM on 02/22/2012

history doesn't change as much as people think. the Muslims began hating Christians in 232 Ad when Pope Heraclas of alexandria visited Afghanistan and Bu t t FO C K ED Muhammad before leaving. Not much has changed since then!

[Robert59]

06:47 AM on 02/22/2012

Petraeus proves he is once again an idiot. The GOP elevated him to hero status and forced us to pour even more resources into an ill advised war. What turned the war around in Iraq was not the surge, but putting the sons of Iraq on our payroll and Shiites tooling around in pickups kidnapping and killing Sunnis every chance they got. The Shiites realized they could only defeat Sunni baathist terror by doing the same.

[Robert59]

06:42 AM on 02/22/2012

This illustrates the vast chasm between us and them. We don't understand their culture and we don't want to. So we offend them and act shocked when they riot or murder a few foreigners. You cannot win hearts and minds of people you have no sense of shared identity with. Even if we do good we will always be seen as occupiers and infidels. Time to get out of this disaster. My heart goes out to the families who have lost loved ones in this misadventure.

[LeftForTheDay]

06:41 AM on 02/22/2012

Was Obama protesting the US with them?

Wouldn't surprise me one bit.

[OhioPaul]

06:38 AM on 02/22/2012

We went into Afghanistan when the Taliban would not give up bin Laden after 9/11. For the life of me I can not understand why we are still there. The war on terror is being fought on the Internet. There is no geopolitical front line. There is no bin Laden trapped at Tora Bora. The documentary Restrepo clearly shows the futility of asymmetrical warfare with the opponents on home turf owning the mountainous terrain in a nation of tribal war lords in a country which was never really a nation-state with Kabul in control of just Kabul.

[antinepotism41]

06:38 AM on 02/22/2012

It appears many muslims have more concern for a printed copy of their theology than human life itself. They call Gabriels words to a meditating cave dweller a religion? A few weeks ago a muslim male murdered his wife because she delivered onto him a female baby. If they learned science a bit they would know the male determines the sex of the baby not the mother. So this muslim male should have committed sucide if he was a true believer in his instilled faith.

[knute9]

06:37 AM on 02/22/2012

Should we burn down mosques and kill muslims every time a Bible is burned?

[nasoni raralevu]

09:57 AM on 02/22/2012

No. The Bible talks about love.It means you love your enemies as well.We do not have to proove anything.Lets love God from our hearts, Soul and strength.Keep the Faith and follow the great commission, that we take the word to the whole world.Faith in Jesus is based on Love.Love is stronger then burning mosques.In the End when Jesus comes back, the whole world will come to their knees that HIS word is true and it stands for ever.You will be taken up to meet him in his Glory.He is coming soon.

[Boduognat]

10:49 AM on 02/22/2012

With one million dead Iraqis and a country in complete devastation and ruin after "sock and awe", and the half million dead Iraqi children that Madeline Allbright in 1998 thought were "worth the prize"...

maybe you're a bit ahead of schedule?

[pallmallguy]

06:37 AM on 02/22/2012

by contractors they mean mercenaries

[CaptainObvvious]

06:36 AM on 02/22/2012

While I am not justifying what they're doing I think people, mostly conservatives take the most simplistic view on this.

We are a foreign force occupying their country, killing their civilians, destroying their buildings, etc... When they see the Koran burning they aren't just reacting to a burning book but to an act of absolute disrespect to them and their culture while we do the above listed things.

Its like if China invaded America under the pretense of helping us in some way. They kill thousands of innocent Americans, destroy half our cities, patrol the streets in tanks and show no sign of ever leaving... Then we see a camp filled with burning American flags...

People tend to get into the American way of thinking... That we're the only people on the planet... Try and see things from the point of view of someone else.

[markk54]

06:33 AM on 02/22/2012

It seems like this mob wanted blood. The quickly realized the error of attacking a well fortified military base so turned to easier targets. Watch for more on Friday after the Imans have a chance to whip up some more hatred with their sermons in the Mosques.

[DoctorGreeves]

06:32 AM on 02/22/2012

The thing Muslims hold most sacred we desecrate again and again. After a decade and all our blood and treasure, some f@@ls have to burn Korans. Unbelievable.

[Steppinwolf]

09:10 PM on 02/22/2012

Not to mention blowing the pizz out of Mesopotamia and it's people. Fs&F

[YAMO]

06:30 AM on 02/22/2012

Cremation (ie. burning) is the accepted honourable disposal of many things, such as the American Flag, the deceased etc. So what is the big deal? Oh wait, we are dealing with people that would stone a woman to death for a suspected sexual infraction. Now I understand.

[Sol76]

06:27 AM on 02/22/2012

Are the US, NATO and Australia going to let this go unpunished? These people do not understand subtlety and by attacking the compound they have crossed a line. It is time for the foreign forces to put aside aspirations of nation building and remind the protesters who the occupiers are and what they are capable of doing to the occupied, otherwise they should go back home with their tails between their legs and stop risking the lives of our soldiers.

[kapalabhati]

06:11 AM on 02/22/2012

Kind of like the GNOTP...