Iraq: Promoting Christianity with a Tank

One of America's concerns in Iraq and Afghanistan is that the American presence not be perceived as part of a Christian crusade against Islam. Sometimes, mistakes have given that impression. Sometimes, deliberate actions give that impression - and why don't those in charge do anything about it?

America Blog reports:

A clever AMERICAblogger sent me the following link to the US Department of Defense's own Marine Corps Web site. It shows a photo taken May 5, 2005 in Iraq. It's a photo of a US tank dubbed the "New Testament" - the name of the tank is written across its barrel. The even funnier part is that this photo MADE IT PAST military censors and the DOD Web page with the photo on it even brags about the name "New Testament" in the caption. So some jerk at the Pentagon knew exactly what this was about and found it funny enough to put on their Web site, and it passed various level of review.

American military commanders have allowed this tank to operate and allowed the message on this tank to be publicized through official channels... yet, it's a report in Newsweek that gets all the blame for harming America's image abroad. I guarantee that those who raised the loudest and most vociferous complaints about Newsweek won't have anything — or at least anything negative — to say about this image. They won't see it as a problem.

A soldier sent Andrew Sullivan the following in response to Sullivan's comments about this story:

"I would hope to see you over here in theater running your pie-hole about your calls to remove Marines from their post for the 'New Testament' inscription on the main battle tank. You would be buried with your insurgent 'friends' that you support, through your criticism of our men and women dying for this mission with a bulldozer."

"For your safety, I would not even be around soldiers, airmen, or marines. Treason is a high crime and misdemeanor and the price is quite high. Your actions border on treason. You could not survive the long days, enemy in-direct and direct fire, and high demands that our soldiers today execute in 100 degree weather. You would have to have a rucksack full of Vagisil for your clam pal to make it a week here.

"Most of us are Christians and will continue to support our faith in any way we see fit. Do the right thing: support us or STFU !!!!!!!!!!"

It's treason for thinking that the conflict in Iraq shouldn't be transformed into a religious conflict by stupid actions like putting "New Testament" on a tank?? I certainly won't support actions like that, I won't support soldiers like the above who use their faith as a weapon, and I certainly won't "STFU" about it. What's more akin to treason: criticizing actions like the above or insisting that all but supportive statements be suppressed? In 1918 Teddy Roosevelt argued that it is "morally treasonable to the American public" to insist that there be no criticism of the president and what this soldier wrote isn't far off from that.

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