Editorial Cartoon

A Moral Injury for America and Sgt. Martland

There’s a difference between respecting cultural differences and turning a blind eye to child rape, which has become the accepted norm for U.S. Forces and NGOs operating in Afghanistan. Close to a Trillion U.S. tax payer dollars have been sunk into Afghanistan in over a decade of occupation, and what have we really accomplished? We will leave the Taliban firmly in charge, and with the impression that our moral compass points in all directions.

SOFREP agrees with Congressman Hunter who is quoted below in the Los Angeles Times. The Army colonel’s statement is proof that there’s a major fracture in internal leadership culture that permits an environment where child rape is acceptable in trade for building rapport with monsters, and good men get relieved of duty instead of promoted up the ranks.

This is a moral injury for America.

You've reached your daily free article limit.

Subscribe and support our veteran writing staff to continue reading.

Get Full Ad-Free Access For Just $0.50/Week

Enjoy unlimited digital access to our Military Culture, Defense, and Foreign Policy coverage content and support a veteran owned business. Already a subscriber?

There’s a difference between respecting cultural differences and turning a blind eye to child rape, which has become the accepted norm for U.S. Forces and NGOs operating in Afghanistan. Close to a Trillion U.S. tax payer dollars have been sunk into Afghanistan in over a decade of occupation, and what have we really accomplished? We will leave the Taliban firmly in charge, and with the impression that our moral compass points in all directions.

SOFREP agrees with Congressman Hunter who is quoted below in the Los Angeles Times. The Army colonel’s statement is proof that there’s a major fracture in internal leadership culture that permits an environment where child rape is acceptable in trade for building rapport with monsters, and good men get relieved of duty instead of promoted up the ranks.

This is a moral injury for America.

But an Army colonel this week was quoted in the Daily Beast news website saying of Martland and Quinn, “They put their team’s life at risk by doing what they did, by risking catastrophic loss of rapport” with local Afghan officials.

Hunter (Congressman and former USMC Officer) responded: “To say that you’ve got to be nice to the child rapist because otherwise the other child rapists might not like you is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard — totally insane and wrong.” 

 

About SOFREP News Team View All Posts

The SOFREP News Team is a collective of professional military journalists. Brandon Tyler Webb is the SOFREP News Team's Editor-in-Chief. Guy D. McCardle is the SOFREP News Team's Managing Editor. Brandon and Guy both manage the SOFREP News Team.

COMMENTS

You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article.

More from SOFREP

REAL EXPERTS.
REAL NEWS.

Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis.

TRY 14 DAYS FREE

Already a subscriber? Log In