December 2, 2008: Homosexuality is a
dirty little secret in southern Afghanistan, and this has become a big issue in
Canada. Recently, several Canadian soldiers have complained to chaplains that troops were ordered to ignore
incidents of Afghan soldiers buggering young boys. Now there is a public uproar
in Canada over the issue.
Foreign troops operating in southern
Afghanistan quickly learn that this is a place where men are men, even if they
are sexually attracted to other men, and especially boys. Other Afghans know
about this, and a favorite bit of humor on the subject asks, "why do male
birds fly over Kandahar flapping only one wing?" The punch line is,
"so they can use their other wing to protect their rear end."
Naturally, foreign troops are told to be careful with local ways, and not
offend Afghans by mocking or criticizing local customs that offend, or amuse,
foreign sensibilities.
This puts the Canadian military in an
uncomfortable position. To admit to knowledge of these pederast practices would
oblige them to intervene to prevent such abuse of children. This, of course,
would raise an uproar among Afghans. First of all, Afghans officially deny that
such practices exist. Islam forbids it, even though homosexuality and pederasty
is common in many Moslem nations. Many powerful men indulge, and will use force
to deal with anyone who brings public attention to such activity. But the
Canadian public may demand that Canadian troops aggressively seek to halt such
activity. Since the Afghan men in question tend to be armed, this will get ugly
quickly.
Moreover, the Taliban and drug gangs
have continued to recruit teenage boys for service as gunmen. Younger boys have
been kidnapped, or bought from their parents, to satisfy the sexual needs of
some Taliban and drug gang members. Underage kids are also used as suicide
bombers. More boys than girls have been taken for sexual reasons. Again, that's
just the way it is in southern Afghanistan. The government, however, discharged
all of its underage (under 18) soldiers five years ago, and is on the record as
being opposed to using children for sexual purposes. Still, Afghanistan is all
about defending ancient traditions, and buggery and pederasty are two of them.
