Military chaplains: Being a cog of conscience in the military killing machine [excellent series]

Christian Science Monitor ^ | November 20, 2007 | Lee Lawrence

[Former Military Chick]

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN -- It's the end of lunchtime at the Afghan National Army base of Pol-i-charkhi and, as the mess hall reverberates with the dish-clatter and chair-scraping of soldiers in dark camouflage dispersing, two men linger behind, still digging with spoons into a shared dish of rice and lamb.

US Navy Capt. James Fisher is the guest of Afghan Col. Moheb Moheburahman. The American is fair skinned, every inch of his face and scalp clean-shaven, and with ready smile and can-do attitude, he looks downright sunny. The Afghan has an olive complexion and a full black beard flecked with gray. When he laughs, the white of his teeth brightens his face like a flash of lightning in a night sky. The American has never borne arms in battle; the Afghan spent years in the mountains of northern Afghanistan fighting as a mujahideen against Russian occupiers and, later, against the Taliban. A limp in his walk and a cloudy left eye are leftovers from a Taliban ambush.

Both men are officers, both are clergy, and neither could have imagined joining forces when they made religion the cornerstone of their life and work: Colonel Moheburahman as an Islamic mullah trained in Kabul and now serving in the Afghan Army; Captain Fisher a born-again Christian ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church and committed to ministering to American troops.

As they eat and talk, an interpreter in a gray suit and yellow tie bridges the linguistic divide through word and gesture. Nothing, not even the smiles and the ribbing, gets lost as the two discuss the transformation of the Religious Cultural Affairs (RCA) department of the Afghan Army into a professional military chaplaincy.

[Former Military Chick]

They carry no guns, yet US military chaplains are considered a force multiplier in the war theater. Today, in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military expects chaplains to meet the spiritual needs of troops. But it also recognizes their importance in everything from counseling the young soldier crying in his bunk over a Dear John letter to being a leveling moral presence among troops trained to fight and kill. Reporter Lee Lawrence spent three months with dozens of military chaplains in Iraq and Afghanistan. She profiles six of them in a weekly series.

[elcid1970]

What’s with this “military killing machine” nonsense?

Sounds like Cindy Sheehan, IMHO.

[iowamark]

What an outrageous title! I had to check the link, I couldn’t believe it.

[A.A. Cunningham]

The American is fair skinned, every inch of his face and scalp clean-shaven,

I guess Lawrence somehow missed the eyebrows and mustache while she and the headline editor were busily crafting the "killing machine" line.

[SeeSalt]

"The most effective thing that can persuade Muslims to do dangerous things and to fight," Moheburahman explains, "is to give them the legitimacy of what they are fighting for. I describe the legitimacy of this government and point to verses [in the Koran]."

The Koran is already the "inspirational" source of killing......the infidels.

[Hacklehead]

“Being a cog of conscience in the military killing machine”

As opposed to being a cog in the media lie machine?

[Albion Wilde]

Ping

[randita]

Part 1 of this series is powerful. Left tears in my eyes (in a good way). Part 2 was really neat, as well. I’m bookmarking the rest for reading. So far, there’s nothing anti-chaplain or anti-religious about it at all. It portrays the chaplains in a very positive, albeit human light. I recommend it - at least Parts 1 and 2.

[xzins]

Thanks for the ping, AW.

[George W. Bush]

Can’t say I cared much for that ‘killing machine’ line. Seems defamatory to our troops and to the chaplains.

[Former Military Chick]

I agree, the title can set one off and I concur with the rest on this thread, it could have been better titled but the series is very good.