U.S. Mistakenly Drops "Blasphemous Soccer Balls" on Afghanistan

[Reuters/Washington Post] Hamid Shalizi - The U.S. military in Afghanistan on Monday expressed regret for a campaign aimed at winning hearts and minds that ended up offending scores of Muslims. U.S. troops on Friday dropped dozens of free soccer balls for Afghan children from helicopters, all marked with flags of various countries. But those depicting the Saudi Arabian flag included the Islamic declaration of faith and the names of Allah and Mohammed. The idea of kicking something bearing their names is considered offensive.


2007-08-30 01:00:00

Full Article

BACK

Visit the Daily Alert Archive