With ‘friends’ like Karzai, U.S. doomed

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

Terry Jones is a jerk. He’s the “pastor” of a pitiful group of maybe two dozen people who call themselves Christians and hold Islam in contempt. He burned a Quran last month, eventually leading to rioting in Afghanistan that killed, among others, seven U.N. staffers in a town considered relatively safe in that war-torn country.

Our precious constitutional guarantees of free speech and religion protect disagreeable individuals like Jones and their egregious behavior. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and others have suggested free speech might need to be limited in a time of war when irresponsible outliers such as Jones can put the lives of U.S. troops at risk. That’s not likely.

The Florida-based Jones says he’s received death threats. You’d think Islamist fanatics would hatch a plot against him. But probably not, since he serves their purposes by stirring up hate against the West. Jones is a manifestation of the “useful idiot” described by Lenin. The communist boss was talking about Soviet sympathizers who unwittingly helped a cause aimed at undermining Western values. Jones is a useful idiot for Islamists because his hostility toward them is meaningless in America but powerful in motivating hatred of the West.

That said, consider this: Jones burned the Quran March 20. The rioting broke out April 1. Why, in this Internet age of instantaneous global communications, did it take nearly two weeks for the Quran-burning to provoke lethal attacks? The international and Afghan media ignored or gave little attention to the Jones nonsense, according to the New York Times. So, what happened?

Someone more than a jerk, someone with the immense responsibility to do the right thing, intervened to do the wrong thing. Afghan President Hamid Karzai on March 31 made a speech and issued statements condemning Jones. The next day his condemnation echoed throughout mosques in Afghanistan, and murderous rage was unleashed.

None of the slain U.N. staffers, some of whom were beheaded, were Americans. But with no Americans to hold accountable, the mob turned on Europeans working in Afghanistan to help it get to a better future.

President Obama, U.S. Afghan commander Gen. David Petraeus and other American officials have denounced the Quran-burning. Now, adding insult to injury, Karzai is demanding the U.S. Congress condemn Jones. Karzai is just as culpable — more so given his responsibility as a government leader — as Jones in the rioting that has gone on since Friday and thus far claimed 24 lives.

Karzai’s irresponsible behavior may mark a turning point in the long Afghan war. It’s been suggested the angry rioting was fueled by resentments over U.S. military operations in a difficult war that involves night raids going after Taliban who hide among civilian populations, a war crime. Such attacks regrettably sometimes kill civilians. Karzai has stoked anger over civilian deaths. He and his government are notoriously corrupt, and Karzai, in response to U.S. criticism of that, once even floated the notion that he would join the Taliban.

The Afghan war is based on counter-insurgency strategy — the idea that if U.S. troops protect Afghans from Taliban terrorists and bring security and stability to the overall population, the Afghans will assume responsibility for their own security and future. That ain’t happening. Americans are still doing most of the fighting. The riots show Afghans will use any grievance to turn on us. Karzai’s corrupt government, built on suspect elections last year, isn’t a reliable partner.

In comparison, Iraq looks like a success. We’re leaving Iraq. Why stay in Afghanistan, where Karzai never seems to miss a chance to work against our efforts? Maybe the Taliban might regain power. But 10 years of war might have persuaded them it would be unwise to let the country again be used as a base for attacks on America. It’s time to rethink Afghan policy.