A U.S. Ambassador was murdered by an angry mob of Islamic protestors—-sorry, terrorists and the fact that U.S. soldiers carry weapons with minuscule serial numbers referring to Biblical passages is a big deal? Yes. Yes it is. Again. Still. “Nearly three years later — despite the military’s assertion that is making ‘good progress’ — the code remains on many rifles deploying to Afghanistan,” usnews.nbcnews.com reports, “which some soldiers argue is endangering their lives by reinforcing suspicions that the United States is waging a crusade against Muslims.” Which soldiers? OMG. One unnamed soldier in Fort Hood? The base where terrorist (and U.S. Army Major) Nidal Hasan shot 42 people, killing 13; and a soldier shot a comrade to cure his hiccups? As Moonshine7102 asked, is there something in the water there? Brace yourself . . .
“I honestly believe that this is a dangerous situation. It literally could be a matter of life and death for a soldier if he fell into the wrong hands,” said an Army officer who spoke to NBC News from Fort Hood, Texas. “The fact that combatant commanders are not following (rules set by Department of Defense) commanders is very disturbing to me.”
The officer, who asked not to be named out of fear of reprisal from commanders, provided a photograph, taken on Tuesday, of the code on an M-4 rifle assigned to a soldier who is slated to deploy to Afghanistan in coming weeks.
Bullshit. A U.S. soldier gets captured by an enemy combatant, his [far-sighted] captors scrutinize a serial number on the poor schmuck’s ACOG and then decide to execute him? I honestly believe that was a made-up quote. Here’s one that isn’t.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit group that aggressively pursues the separation of church and state in defense institutions, first flagged the issue in late 2009 after receiving scores of complaints from active duty military members.
“It’s constitutionally noxious,” said foundation president Mikey Weinstein. “It’s an embarrassment and makes us look exactly like the tenth incarnation of the crusades which launches 8 million new jihadist recruiting videos.”
Crusade. War on Terror. His point being? The soldiers don’t like it!
Weinstein of MRFF said he has received more than 2,800 complaints from troops about the Jesus rifles — now even more widely known to Afghans and Iraqis, in part because of the controversy.
Iraqis “absolutely” know that it’s a Jesus rifle, said the Fort Hood officer, based on his experience.
I’m a Jew. If a serial number referring to a Christian text enrages our enemies, good! If our troops don’t see that as a good thing, bad! Hang on; what are we talking about here?
The code stamped into the metal of the soldier’s ACOG (Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight) ends with the model number with “JN8:12.” which refers to the New Testament passage, John 8:12, which reads: “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
Is that it? Seriously?
Lest we forget, the 9/11 hijackers were told to meditate on the Koran. Specifically, 8.12 (“cast terror into the hearts of those who are bent on denying the truth; strike, then, their necks!”) and 9.5 (“God instructs his Muslim followers to kill unbelievers, to capture them, to ambush them.”).
I say fight fire with fire. Is that Biblical? It should be. And I wouldn’t mind seeing it engraved on the side of an Army rifle either. Or a serial number referring to a violent Old Testament passage. Or, why the hell not, the Koran.
[Click here to read James Grant’s review of the Trijicon ACOG]