a FILE - In this June 3, 2010 file photo, Afghan Army soldiers arrive to join a mission with Canadian soldiers with the 1st Battalion, in Khebari Ghar in the Panjwayi district, south-west of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Gunmen, including one believed to be an Afghan soldier, killed two NATO troops Thursday, March 1, 2012 in southern Afghanistan, just hours after the top NATO commander in the country allowed some foreign advisers to return to work at government ministries. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)
(CNSNews.com) – Removing the markings that identify humanitarian aid being delivered to Afghans living in temporary camps is not in response to the deaths of at least four Americans, a spokesman for USAID told CNSNews.com.
“This precedes the current situation over the Quran burnings,” the spokesman said on Wednesday.
The USAID spokesman said the practice is not out of a “particular fear of ordinary citizens,” but of insurgents looking for specific targets.
“There’s not branding in specific incidences where there could be a threat,” the spokesman said. “It’s important to make that distinction.”
But media reports have linked the anonymous help coming from the United States – the largest donor of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan – with the “anti-American climate” in the country.
National Public Radio reported on Wednesday that people at the camps don’t know that some of the aid in the camps for displaced persons comes from the United States.
“But with the anti-American climate in Afghanistan - even before the Quran burnings - USAID has been keeping its logo off the aid it gives because of the danger it might pose,” said NPR reporter Quil Lawrence. “Even for a refugee, it's not safe to bed down on a blanket with a big American insignia on it.
“After the killings of American servicemen deep inside the Afghan interior ministry, some are wondering if the same danger applies to NATO advisors,” Lawrence said.
A Feb. 12 report in the New York Times said the USAID director in Afghanistan “confirmed that the aid was not being identified as coming from the United States, in case it might pose some risk or discomfort to the recipients.”
The same article quoted Lane Hartill, a spokesman for Save the Children, who said the humanitarian organization preferred to distribute aid without identifying the source.
“Our ability to provide help in a place like Afghanistan relies on us being neutral and being perceived as neutral,” Hartill said.
Bee's NOTE:
See the following: Two more troops are dead - shot by Afghan soldiers - American Thinker
and now, please read: U.S. Ambassador Doesn't Rule Out 'Proceedings' Against U.S. Troops Who Burned Qurans - CNS NEWS
I am sure "Save the Children" is a mighty charitable cause and one we should be wholeheartedly supporting. However, I think it is important to remember that our troops have been stationed in Afghanistan for over ten years, not because they want to be there, thousands of miles away from home, but because they are fighting to keep America safe. At first, they went over there to find bin-Laden and fight the terrorists who had attacked America on 9/11.
Years later, the cost in lives and the billions poured into this War on Terror is now boiled down to chasing Taliban terrorists (same as al-Qaeda terrorists), while our Administration speaks of winding down this war and bringing our troops home. And yet, the war is ongoing and never-ending. Our troops put their lives on the line as long as they remain in Afghanistan.
I personally believe that "Save America's Troops" is a far more charitable and worthy a cause than any other charity organization in this world -- period! And to have our Administration apologize to these Islamic countries where our troops are dying and being murdered, by cowards who wear no uniform (or, worse, who have been trained by our very own troops) and then annouce that our soldiers may be tried by NATO, at the requests of Islamic terrorists and a corrupt Afghanistan government, for the mistake of burning a few Korans - the property of Taliban prisoners, is the highlight of stupidity. My mind cannot wrap around the betrayal of our troops, by the very leaders in Washington who should be supporting them! What pure hypocrisy! Since when is the United States military judged by our enemies - Muslims under their Sharia laws? This has got to be the lowest and most nasty reaction by Obama's team since the day he first stepped inside the White House.
And, please, someone, ask this Commander-in-Chief when a President of the United States ever sided with America's enemies at the expense of our troops safety - when?
Never! Never in the history of this nation have we ever fought a war while its President stabbed our troops in the back - never! Common sense has left and in its place, political correctness and stupidity guide our leaders in Washington. Heaven help us all!
Never! Never in the history of this nation have we ever fought a war while its President stabbed our troops in the back - never! Common sense has left and in its place, political correctness and stupidity guide our leaders in Washington. Heaven help us all!
undefined
