Behind the Scenes: Apology for a desecration
By
Michael Ware
CNN
In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN
correspondents share their experiences in covering
news and analyze the stories behind the events.
CNN's Michael Ware covers the Iraq war.
CNN's
Michael Ware says the Quran incident
could have become a crisis.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- What the Iraqi fighter found
threatened America's vital alliance with Sunni
militia.
A week ago in a police station shooting range on
Baghdad's western outskirts, the American-allied
Iraqi militiaman found what one or more GIs had been
using for target practice -- a copy of the Quran,
Islam's holy book.
Riddled with bullets, the rounds piercing deep into
the thick volume, the pages were shredded. Turning
the holy book in his hands, the man found two
handwritten English words, scrawled in pen. "F***
yeah."
The discovery was incendiary. It was an affront to
Islam and a serious challenge to the religious
credentials of the U.S-allied militias, or Awakening
Councils, who turned on al-Qaeda and are now on the
U.S. government payroll.
Largely moderate Sunnis, the American-backed militias
face constant accusations from Islamic groups that
they have turned against Islam to support the cause
of the infidels, or nonbelievers. If this indignity
had gone unanswered, the Islamists' case would have
been won.
Abdullah, the militiaman who found the defaced Quran,
complained to his superiors. Soon, there was outrage
among the tribes and population of Radhwaniya, a
semi-rural area long home to loyalists of the former
regime of Saddam Hussein.
Word of what the Americans had done rippled
throughout the district and the fury spread. Honor
was at stake, and the urge for a violent response
against the insult was strong. However, tribal
leaders made an approach to American commanders in
the region. "Honestly, we have to defend our
religion," said Sheikh Saad al-Falahi, "and relations
[with the U.S.] would deteriorate if they did not
apologize."
Having fought and then negotiated so hard and for so
long to quiet the insurgency in Radhwaniya, American
commanders were wary of the potential crisis.
The U.S. 4th Infantry Division is posted in Baghdad
and surrounds; many of its commanders and soldiers
are veterans of the Iraq campaign. Col. Ted Martin,
commander of the Division's 1st Brigade, immediately
launched an investigation, promising the tribal
leaders a swift outcome.
Investigators soon identified the Army section that
had been at the police station's small arms range,
and a staff sergeant, a sniper section leader from
the 64th Armor Regiment, was the primary suspect.
After denying involvement, the sergeant eventually
confessed, though he claimed he had no idea the book
used for target practice was a Quran. Martin
dismissed the excuse.
On Saturday, about a week after the incident (locals
say the shooting practice was on May 9, U.S. forces
say the Quran was discovered May 11), CNN was present
for the showdown in Radwaniyeh as the Americans faced
the tribes.
U.S. commanders arrived at a police outpost in
heavily armored vehicles to be met by a human
tempest; hundreds of chanting tribesmen lined up
behind razor wire, offering their blood and souls in
sacrifice for the Quran.
A former college quarterback, Maj. Gen. Jeffery
Hammond, commander of the 4th Infantry Division,
stood facing the angry crowd. His face was grim and
fixed as tribal sheikhs swirled around him.
"I am a man of honor, I am a man of character. You
have my word, this will never happen again," the
general told the angry crowd through loudspeakers,
pounding the makeshift podium three times with his
fist.
"In the most humble manner, I look in to your eyes
today and I say, please forgive me and my soldiers."
The act of his sniper was criminal, he said. "I've
come to this land to protect you, to support
you...this soldier has lost the honor to serve the
United States Army and the people of Iraq here in
Baghdad."
Martin stood before the crowd next, opening his
address with an Islamic blessing. He announced the
sergeant had been relieved of duty with prejudice;
reprimanded by the commanding general with a
memorandum of record attached to his military record;
dismissed from the regiment and redeployed from the
brigade.
Holding a new Quran in his hands, he turned to the
crowd. "I hope that you'll accept this humble gift."
Martin kissed the Quran and touched it to his
forehead as he handed it to the tribal elders. The
crowd's voice rose, "Yes, yes, to the Quran. No, no,
to the devil."
But would it be enough to appease the mood in
Radhwaniya? A local sheikh came to the microphone.
"In the name of all the sheikhs," he said, "we
declare we accept the apology that was submitted."
With hands shaken and sheepish thank-yous made, the
general and the colonel returned to their armored
convoy. The crisis, it seems, was averted.
The stakes, though, had been high. If accord had not
been found, says Sheikh Ayad Abd al-Jabbar, head of
the local Support Council, it could have been dire.
"Then surely the situation would have changed in
another direction and more tension will have risen
up, after all the cooperation with the Americans to
restore security."