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US burns Bibles in Afghanistan row


The US army in Afghanistan has burned Bibles printed in local ********s, a US colonel in Afghanistan has said, amid concerns they could have been used to try to convert Afghans.

"My understanding is that the [military] leadership confiscated these Bibles so that they could not be distributed around Afghanistan, Colonel Greg Julian told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

"It was their best judgement at the time, that the best way to deal with it, was to destroy them and I understand that they were burnt."

Al Jazeera broadcast footage earlier this month showing troops apparently discussing how best to convert Afghans to their faith.


US army colonel: 'The best way to deal with it ... was to burn the Bibles'

'Hunt them down'
Some of the soldiers who appeared in the video have been reprimanded, US government and military officials told Al Jazeera correspondent James Bays.

The video, shot about a year ago, appeared to show military chaplains stationed in the US air **** at Bagram discussing how to distribute copies of the Bible printed in the country's main Pashto and Dari ********s.

In one recorded sermon, Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Hensley, the chief of the US military chaplains in Afghanistan, tells soldiers that, as followers of Jesus Christ, they all have a responsibility "to be witnesses for him".

"The special forces guys - they hunt men basically. We do the same things as Christians, we hunt people for Jesus ... we hunt them down," he said.

"Get the hound of heaven after them, so we get them into the kingdom. That's what we do, that's our business."

http://aljazeera.net/english/news/as...950874168.html