Pentagon suspends course after study materials posted online suggested that Mecca and Medina may have to be obliterated
guardian.co.uk,
Friday 11 May 2012 08.28 BST
A course for US military officers has been teaching that America's enemy is Islam in general and suggesting that the country might ultimately have to obliterate the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina without regard for civilian deaths, following second world war precedents of the nuclear attack on Hiroshima or the allied firebombing of Dresden.
The Pentagon suspended the course in late April when a student objected to the material. The FBI also changed some agent training last year after discovering that it, too, was critical of Islam.
The teaching in the military course was counter to repeated assertions by US officials over the past decade that the US is at war against Islamic extremists, not the religion itself.
"They hate everything you stand for and will never coexist with you, unless you submit," the instructor, Army Lt Col Matthew Dooley, said in a presentation last July for the course at Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. The college, for professional military members, teaches mid-level officers and government civilians on subjects related to planning and executing war.
Dooley also presumed, for the purposes of his theoretical war plan, that the Geneva conventions that set standards of armed conflict, are "no longer relevant".
He adds: "This would leave open the option once again of taking war to a civilian population wherever necessary (the historical precedents of Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki being applicable to the Mecca and Medina destruction decision point …)"
His war plan suggests possible outcomes such as "Saudi Arabia threatened with starvation ... Islam reduced to cult status".
A copy of the presentation was obtained and posted online by Wired.com's Danger Room blog. The college did not respond to The Associated Press' requests for copies of the documents, but a Pentagon spokesman authenticated the documents. Dooley still works for the college, but is no longer teaching, said Joint Chiefs Chairman, Gen Martin Dempsey. Dooley has refused to comment.
A summary of Dooley's military service record provided by Army Human Resources Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky, shows that he was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduation from the US military academy at West Point, New York, in May 1994. He has served overseas tours in Germany, Bosnia, Kuwait and Iraq. He has numerous awards including a Bronze Star Medal, the fourth-highest military award for bravery, heroism or meritorious service.
In what he termed a model for a campaign to force a transformation of Islam, Dooley called for "a direct ideological and philosophical confrontation with Islam", with the presumption that Islam is an ideology rather than just a religion.
He further asserted that Islam has already declared war on the west, and the US specifically.
"It is therefore illogical" to continue with the current US strategy, which Dooley said presumes there is a way of finding common ground with Islamic religious leaders, without "waging near total war", he wrote.
The course on Islam was an elective taught since 2004 and not part of the required core curriculum. It was offered five times a year, with about 20 students each time, meaning roughly 800 students have taken the course over the years.
Though Dooley has been teaching at the college since August 2010, it was unclear when he took on that particular class, called Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism.
The joint staff suspended the course after it had received a student complaint, and within days Dempsey ordered all service branches to review their training to ensure other courses do not use anti-Islamic material.
On Thursday, Dempsey said the material in the Norfolk course was counter to American "appreciation for religious freedom and cultural awareness".
"It was just totally objectionable, against our values, and it wasn't academically sound," Dempsey said when asked about the matter at a Pentagon news conference.
"This wasn't about ... pushing back on liberal thought; this was objectionable, academically irresponsible."
In his July 2011 presentation on "counterjihad", Dooley asserted that the rise of what he called a "military Islam/Islamist resurgence" compels the United States to consider extreme measures, "unconstrained by fears of political incorrectness".
He described his purpose as generating "dynamic discussion and thought", while noting that his ideas and proposals are not official US government policy and cannot be found in any current official defence department documents.
A Pentagon inquiry is seeking to determine whether someone above the professor's level is supposed to approve course materials and whether that approval process was followed in this case, said Col Dave Lapan, spokesman for Dempsey.
The problem of negative portrayals of Islam in federal government is not new. A six-month review the FBI launched into agent training material uncovered 876 offensive or inaccurate pages that had been used in 392 presentations, including a PowerPoint slide that said the bureau can sometimes bend or suspend the law in counterterror investigations.
That is significant because ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the FBI has stressed the importance of working with Muslim community leaders as an important part of the battle against terror. The FBI review began last September after Wired.com reported that the FBI had discontinued a lecture in which the instructor told agent trainees in Virginia that the more devout a Muslim is, the more likely he is to be violent http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...se-islam-enemy
Re: US military course taught officers 'Islam is the enemy'
Why am I not surprised?
Was it not a sign of the ending years of this world when people will turn against Muslims? I say we're the targets and will be till the world ends. Just seeing how the media and western governments loathe our presence is obvious.
Re: US military course taught officers 'Islam is the enemy'
format_quote Originally Posted by *dua
Why am I not surprised?
Was it not a sign of the ending years of this world when people will turn against Muslims? I say we're the targets and will be till the world ends. Just seeing how the media and western governments loathe our presence is obvious.
I think this is part of what Jesus talked about in the Bible. He said that the believers will be persecuted for their faith. Of course, modern Christians assume that he was referring to Christianity, but I see no reason why it doesn't apply to Muslims as well (since you know... Muslims are the true believers in God).
Re: US military course taught officers 'Islam is the enemy'
Well no suprise but the outcome is different, reading that US soldiers wearing diapers in Afghanistan made me laugh. (hope its true)
Anyway, they're known for their barbaric crimes against Muslims, they don't distinguish between a old man and a mujahid with a gun. We're ''sand******s'' or ''muzzies'' so yeah.... the world is against us but we're strong and Allah Subhana wa'a ta'ala is on our side, they can bomb us, they can imprison us but they can't kill the truth...never.
http://www.youtube.com/user/robinb4life?feature=mhee
I will not calm down until I will put one cheek of a tyrant on the ground and the other under my feet, and for the poor and weak, I will put my cheek on the ground. - Umar ibn khattab(Ra)
Re: US military course taught officers 'Islam is the enemy'
What really shocks me is it took 8 years for somebody to complain...or even notice the anti-islam rhetoric being taught to these agents. I am starting to think more Muslims shouuld deal with the extremists since the US government obviously is too blinded by bloodlust to really care if the masses they slaughter are innocent or not.
Then again, maybe it shouldn't shock me as much when it comes to inaccuracies in education since that seems to be a huge issue overall in the US. Children are just not getting a good education period, even in general subjects.
Re: US military course taught officers 'Islam is the enemy'
They attacked Afghanistan and Iraq, killed hundreds of thousands of people and continue to kill people. We shouldn't be shocked by threats they are making when bombs are dropping on Muslims today.
Last edited by TrueStranger; 05-11-2012 at 06:48 PM.
Re: US military course taught officers 'Islam is the enemy'
I just read of this earlier ironically the minute i woke up i saw this on a news blog. The comments all responded saying "well justified" or "killing every Muslim will rid this world of evil". People seriously dont know that atheist have killed more people then any "religious scourge ". A manw ith a tiny mustache comes to mind, Stalin, Ho Chee Min who was one of the worst, genghis khan, Rwandan, Dersim massacres, Vietnam, North Korea, Guatemala, US carpet bombing on Japan and Germany killing thousands non combatants, and Russia killing Afghans like cattle, . Fact still stands that secular genocides and murders are the greatest and if you say Islam is your enemy then that would be ignorant. America has made more bombings on countries on foreign soil and international death squad strikes by Spec Ops then any other country and the irony is we havent declared war on those attacks. America has been waging proxy battles on Islamic nations years before terrorism came to mind. The American opinion is "if you kill numerous amounts of civilians and innocent people then they wont be mad at you". Oh if only that was true. I have so many friends and their response is "i dont care what we do in foreign soil" sadly that thinking is very dangerous. In the GOP debates the first topic that came up was war, it was stated that America should quit the Afghan war and go on Cuba. Cuba "apparently" is "the greatest threat to the world", so let me repeat myself. "A NON-NUCLEAR nation that is 230 times SMALLER then America with an Army even smaller poses the greatest threat to America even though they have done nothing threatening and work with the US now". Oh politics are laughable and i feel ashamed to say I am an American so much
Re: US military course taught officers 'Islam is the enemy'
Salaam,
It is the sort of attitude expected from barbarians. When America is involved in a conflict, it is always good vs evil. A simplistic and pathetic analysis of conflicts.
I was looking at myself talking to myself and I realized this conversation...I was having with myself looking at myself was a conversation with myself that I needed to have with myself.
Re: US military course taught officers 'Islam is the enemy'
Hardly suprising. This just confirms what most of us already knew. The whole 'War on terror' nonsense is just a fancy slogan to cover up the truth, their War in reality is really against Islam and always has been.
In our Nabi's, Peace be upon him time he, peace be upon him, his followers and companions, May Allah grant them Jannah were all persecuted. Their goal has always been to persecute the Muslims and defame Islam in whichever way they can but little do they know at the end of it, with Allah's blessing they will most definitely be the losers.
Last edited by IslamicRevival; 05-11-2012 at 10:43 PM.
Re: US military course taught officers 'Islam is the enemy'
format_quote Originally Posted by dqsunday
I am starting to think more Muslims shouuld deal with the extremists since the US government obviously is too blinded by bloodlust to really care if the masses they slaughter are innocent or not.
The core of it is simple tribalism; Us vs Them thinking. We all have it in us to like those like us and band together against an external threat or opponent, "them". In this case, from the american public's point of view you had 9/11 which prompted americans to label muslims as the new "them". It used to be communists. The more right wing and tribal of them go on to beat the drums of war and indeed they don't care who is innocent and who is guilty, because "terrorist" just becomes a code word to them for brown people overseas. The same tribalism infects the less extreme as well, such as creeping into newscasting where you'll see reports on american dead but no reports on "enemy" dead (who are actually innocent victims most of the time but grouped as "them").
The same thing happens within all other societies to some extent, including yours and mine. It is basic to human nature. It is the the ugly flip side of empathy. We should always be on guard against it, in others and most importantly in ourselves.
Re: US military course taught officers 'Islam is the enemy'
the brutality of some / many US soldiers prove that how they are
' brainwashed ' - their hearts are full of hatred against Muslims . No wonder , this type of course syllabus is encouraging them to become more inhumane.
may be end time is near and we may watch the destruction of holy Kaaba during our lifetime ?
Signs of the Final Days
Destruction of Ka’aba
Muslim: Book 41, Number 6951:
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The Ka'ba would be destroyed by an Abyssinian having two small shanks.
Re: US military course taught officers 'Islam is the enemy'
Can anyone give me one reason and one benefit that America would get if they for destroying Islam?
The war isn't fighting Muslims, get a grip this isn't genocide. **** me some of you people of deluded as hell
Re: US military course taught officers 'Islam is the enemy'
format_quote Originally Posted by UnitedStates#1
The war isn't fighting Muslims, get a grip this isn't genocide. **** me some of you people of deluded as hell
you really are an example of how the u.s government and it's trolls have a fear of a united Islam which will outshine their decadence.
they consistently CLAIM that they have no war against Islam,
while consistently PROVING that they do.
here's another example from a famous CIA piece, notice how they subtly use a fairytale in order to be able to claim innocence (unless you claim that the cia is in the business of writing fictional fairytales with taxpayers money (i mean - not the fairy tales they insert in the news and in the papers)).
also notice how they use the demonized "bin laden" / goldstein (who is innocent of their accusations) to create a generalization with Islam and it's core concepts such as Caliphate (Islamic government).
while inserting insidious suggestions for policies and approaches they can take - including sectarian violence and chaos:
here's a "lesson's" part of the nazi style brief
The appeal of a Caliphate among Muslims would vary from region to region, which argues for western countries adopting a differentiated approach to counter it.......................
Re: US military course taught officers 'Islam is the enemy'
format_quote Originally Posted by Tragic Typos
Salaam,
It is the sort of attitude expected from barbarians. When America is involved in a conflict, it is always good vs evil. A simplistic and pathetic analysis of conflicts.
First off Islam is certainly not the enemy and any american,nato, or foreign military who is waging war in the middle east believing that should be ashamed of themselves. It is a war on radicalism and extremism and protecting the sovereignty of America and other countries that is all.
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